Actor Puneeth Rajkumar's latest movie Yuvarathnaa opened to a good response at the box office on Thursday (April 1), collecting around Rs 10 crore despite the Covid-19 pandemic. It stayed strong on Friday and raked in approximately Rs 6 crore, a good number for the working day.
The commercial drama remained the choice of the family audience on Friday even though its prospects were affected by the Karnataka government's decision to cap the seating capacity in theatres in eight districts at 50 per cent due to the recent increase in Covid-19 cases.
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While official figures are yet to be revealed, initial estimates suggest that the day-3 collection might be around Rs 4 crore in a best-case scenario. The figure might have been more than Rs 10 crore had theatres been operating at full capacity.
Yuvarathnaa is the third major Kannada movie to hit the screens under the 'new normal'. Dhruva Sarja's Pogaru made a major impact at the box office and emerged as a big hit. A few feathers were, however, ruffled due to its 'sexist' storyline. The Darshan-starrer Roberrt, the next big release after Pogaru, proved to be a crowd-puller despite being perceived as a routine commercial drama. It remains to be seen whether Yuvarathnaa proves to be a profitable venture in the long run.
The Santhosh Ananddram-directed movie features Puneeth in a new avatar and revolves around a young man's fight against the system. The biggie is Appu's first release in nearly two years. He was last seen in the much-hyped Natasaarvabhowma, which clicked with the target audience.
Yuvarathnaa features Sayyeshaa as the leading lady and marks her Sandalwood debut. The cast includes Prakash Raj, Sai Kumar Sonu Gowda, Diganth, and Dhananjay.
With the film in theatres, Puneeth is expected to turn his attention to his upcoming film James. The actioner is directed by Bharjari helmer Chethan Kumar and features Priya Anand, who acted opposite 'Appu' in Raajakumara, as the leading lady