Paresh Rawal’s courtroom drama, ‘The Taj Story,’ is nearing Rs 20 crore but faces a significant box office slowdown. After a moderate opening and promising weekend, the film saw sharp drops in weekday collections. Despite a compelling premise, limited mass appeal and competition have impacted its theatrical run, with recent collections showing a steep decline.
Paresh Rawal’s controversial courtroom drama The Taj Story is inching towards the Rs 20 crore mark, but the journey has been far from smooth. After completing 21 days in theatres with a total of Rs 19.8 crore, the film added a mere Rs 5 lakh on Day 22 (4th Friday), highlighting a sharp drop in momentum and signalling that the film is now on its final legs at the box office.The film which revolves around a court case filed by Paresh Rawal’s character questioning the authenticity of Taj Mahal. The film started on a moderate note, earning Rs 1 crore on Day 1, but witnessed encouraging growth over its first weekend. Collections doubled on Saturday with Rs 2 crore, followed by a solid Rs 2.75 crore on Sunday, taking the opening weekend total to a reasonably strong Rs 5.75 crore. Despite this promising start, weekday numbers quickly exposed the film’s limited audience reach. The first Monday fell sharply to Rs 1.15 crore, and although minor fluctuations followed, the first week concluded at Rs 11 crore decent, but clearly short of what was required for long-term momentum.
In Week 2, The Taj Story maintained some stability over the weekend, collecting Rs90 lakh , Rs 1.75 crore, and Rs 2.15 crore on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday respectively. However, the film once again collapsed during weekdays, with numbers dropping below the Rs 1 crore mark and settling between Rs 40 to Rs 60 lakhs. The second week ended with Rs 6.7 crore, representing a 39% decline from Week 1.Week 3 saw a steeper fall, reflecting the film’s fading presence in theatres. Collections slid to Rs 30 lakh on the third Friday and stayed modest through the weekend with Rs 50 lakh on Saturday and Rs 65 lakh crore on Sunday. The film wrapped up Week 3 with just Rs 2.1 crore, an alarming 68% drop from the previous week.With Day 22 adding only Rs 5 lakh, The Taj Story now stands at Rs 19.85 crore, still struggling to officially cross the Rs 20 crore milestone. Despite Paresh Rawal’s performance and the film’s historical appeal, the movie suffered from limited mass traction and strong competition, which affected its long-term sustainability. Paresh Rawal will be next seen in Priyadarshan’s Bhoot Bangla with Akshay Kumar and he is expected to start Hera Pheri 3 by early next year.
