Bollywood star Akshay Kumar on Thursday thanked viewers for giving the exhibition sector "the greatest week in Indian film history" following the positive response to his film "Oh My God 2" and Sunny Deol's "Gadar 2", both of which were released on August 11.
According to the Producers Guild of India (PGI) and Multiplex Association of India (MAI), August 11-13 was the "busiest single weekend" since cinema halls opened after the Covid pandemic with "Gadar 2" earning Rs 134.88 crore and "OMG 2" raising Rs 43.11 crore at the domestic box office.
The actor used the hashtag #OhMyGadar in an apparent reference to the combined success of "OMG 2" and "Gadar 2", both sequels.
"A big thank you to our audiences for all the love for #OhMyGadar and giving us the greatest week in Indian Film History! Pyaar aur aabhar (Love and gratitude) #Gadar2 in cinemas #OMG2 in cinemas," Akshay said in his post on X, formerly called Twitter.
Interestingly, the actor is also seen singing "Udd Ja Kaale Kaawan", the song from "Gadar 2", in his film "OMG 2", where he is in the role of a messenger of lord Shiva.
Written and directed by Amit Rai, "OMG 2" features Pankaj Tripathi as a devotee of Lord Shiva named Kanti Sharan Mudgal and Akshay. Produced by Cape of Good Films and Wakaoo Films, the film touches upon various issues of teenagers and the importance of sex education.
Wakaoo Films on Wednesday announced that "OMG 2" has earned Rs 79.47 crore since its release. "Aapka pyaar hee hamara puraskaar hai (Your love is our reward)," the production banner captioned the box office update on its official X page.
"Gadar 2", directed by Anil Sharma, earned Rs 32.37 crore on the sixth day of its release taking its total domestic box office earnings to Rs 261.35 crore, according to production house Zee Studios.
"Mohabbatein jab milti hain .. aashirwad jab milta hai .. toh kamaal hota hai .. 6th day .. collection never before like this .. GOD is v kind," Sharma said in his post on X.
Set in 1971, "Gadar 2" follows Tara Singh (Deol)'s journey to Pakistan to rescue his son, Charanjeet Singh, played by Utkarsh Sharma, from the Pakistani Army.
"OMG 2" and "Gadar 2" along with Rajinikanth's Tamil movie "Jailer" and Chiranjeevi's Telugu title "Bhola Shankar" earned a combined gross box office collection of over Rs 390 crore over the weekend across all India theatres, according to PGI and MAI.
Sun Pictures, the banner behind "Jailer", on Thursday said the film had minted Rs 375.40 crores in the first week of its release (August 10). The earnings were the "highest 1st week gross collection in the history of Tamil cinema", it added in an X post.
Movie halls across the country shut down in March 2020 when the Covid pandemic hit India. They opened towards the end of 2021 but had to close whenever Covid cases spiked. They finally opened in March of 2022.
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