John Abraham's The Diplomat inches past his last release Vedaa in the first weekend

John Abraham's latest film, The Diplomat, has opened to a steady response at the box office, registering a three-day India net collection of Rs 13.30 crore. The film is set against the India -Pakistan relationship and the conflicts faced by diplomats. The film had a good start on Friday with Rs 4 crore collection , followed by a slight surge of 16.25% on Saturday, collecting Rs 4.65 crore. The early estimates for Sunday suggest an identical collection of Rs 4.65 crore, indicating stable audience traction over the weekend.

Interestingly, The Diplomat has managed to surpass the collections of John Abraham’s previous release, Vedaa, which had an extended weekend due to its Independence Day release on August 15. Vedaa had collected Rs 14 crore over its first four days but faced stiff competition from Stree 2 and Khel Khel Mein. In contrast, The Diplomat has touched Rs 13.30 crore in three days, showing a relatively better hold despite lacking the advantage of a holiday release.

Comparing their day-wise collections, Vedaa had a robust opening at Rs 6.3 crore on Thursday but saw a sharp decline of 71.43% on Friday, collecting just Rs 1.8 crore. It recovered slightly over the weekend with Rs 2.7 crore on Saturday (a 50% jump) and Rs 3.2 crore on Sunday. The film’s fluctuating performance hinted at mixed word-of-mouth and competition affecting its long-term prospects.

In contrast, The Diplomat has maintained a more consistent trend, with minimal drops and stable weekend growth. With positive critical reception and John Abraham’s strong presence in action-thriller roles, The Diplomat is expected to sustain well in the coming weekdays and could emerge as a box office success. However, its long-term performance will depend on weekdays.

The Diplomat has an open run at the box office till next week as 27th March sees the release of L2E- Empuraan with Mohanlal and Prithviraj and March 29th will see Sikandar starring Salman Khan hitting the theaters on the occasion of Eid.