Neeyat box office: Vidya Balan's whodunnit underwhelms in box office debut, collects THIS much on Day 1

Vidya Balan returned to the big screen with the detective multi-starrer movie, Neeyat, after 2019’s Mission Mangal. Amid high expectations, the low footfall on the opening day turned out to be a big disappointment at the box office. As per reports, the film managed to earn a meagre Rs 1 crore on the first day of release.

As per industry tracker Sacnilk, the morning show witnessed low occupancy of about 7.95 per cent. Even afternoon and night shows turned out to be average, registering an occupancy of 9.85 per cent and 18.67 per cent respectively. It is being said that the film’s way ahead would also be difficult considering Kartik Aaryan and Kiara Advani starrer Satyaprem Ki Katha's current reign at the box office. Further, negative reviews have diminished the possibility of any wonders in collections on the opening weekend.

Also read: Neeyat Movie Review: Vidya Balan's charisma also fails to save this choppy wannabe Agatha Christie inspired flick 

Directed by Anu Menon, the film’s synopsis read, “When a mysterious murder takes place at exiled billionaire Ashish Kapoor's birthday party, the prime suspects are his close family and friends. In the film, Ram Kapoor plays the role of exiled billionaire, while Vidya Balan takes up the role of CBI officer Mira Rao, who investigates his death. Besides them, the film has a talented ensemble cast including Rahul Bose, Neeraj Kabi, Shahana Goswami, Danesh Razvi, Prajakta Koli, and Shashank Arora among others.

Neeyat marks Vidya’s second collaboration with director Anu after their 2020 release Shakuntala Devi that directly streamed on OTT platform, Amazon Prime Video. The film clashed with 72 Hoorain at the box office, however, the latter film comparatively has a lesser-known face except Pavan Malhotra. On the same day, i.e. July 7, 2023, Sonam Kapoor’s crime thriller Blind and Huma Qureshi’s Tarla made way for digital releases.

Meanwhile, the DesiMartini review of Neeyat reads, “Neeyat attempts to transport us into the Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes era with Vidya Balan's character being a callback to Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot. The dark and mysterious mansion has many secrets amidst its lavishness, a ferocious storm indicating the arrival of something sinister and each suspect whose motives are unearthed as the film progresses. However, the writing and screenplay are extremely shoddy with the plotline getting predictable by the climax which is the biggest red flag for a murder mystery.“