The new Hindi horror-comedy, Munjya, has captured the audience’s imagination and is making waves at the Indian box office.
Despite stiff competition from the big release Chandu Champion, Munjya held its ground, showcasing its popularity among moviegoers. The film had an impressive global opening of $3 million and has since earned $5.6 million worldwide in just seven days. In India alone, it grossed $4.9 million in its first week. By the eighth day, Munjya crossed the $6 million mark globally.
Munjya features a unique lead role with a CGI actor portraying the spirit Munjya. This innovative choice has drawn significant attention, marking India’s first film to feature a CGI actor in the lead. The film stars Abhay Verma, Mona Singh, Sharvari Wagh, S Sathyaraj, and Suhas Joshi. The supernatural character Munjya, created with advanced special effects, is the result of over a year of work by India’s Prime Focus Group. Directed by Aditya Sarpotdar, the movie is based on a well-known folklore from the Konkan region of Maharashtra.
Despite the simultaneous release of Kartik Aaryan’s Chandu Champion, Munjya remained resilient. On its second Friday, it grossed $500,000 compared to Chandu Champion’s $600,000. The following day, Munjya earned $860,000 while Chandu Champion made $980,000.
Munjya opened strongly on Friday, June 7, with $600,000 and doubled its numbers on the second day, reaching a two-day total of $1.6 million. In India, it opened with $550,000, soaring to $1.3 million on the second day.
The success of Munjya has brought a much-needed boost to the Hindi film exhibition industry, which has seen lackluster performances from big-budget movies like Maidaan and Bade Miyan Chote Miyan in recent months. Munjya ranks among the top ten Hindi films with the best opening weekend scores in 2024, placing seventh and surpassing films like Rajkummar Rao’s Mr. and Mrs. Mahi and Sidharth Malhotra’s Yodha.
The top spot remains with Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone’s Fighter, followed by Ajay Devgn-R Madhavan’s Shaitaan, Tabu and Kareena Kapoor Khan’s Crew, and Tiger Shroff and Akshay Kumar’s Bade Miyan Chote Miyan. Other notable films on the list include Shahid Kapoor-Kriti Sanon’s Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya and Yami Gautam’s Article 370.
Munjya is the fourth film in the horror-comedy universe created by producer Dinesh Vijan under Maddock Films. This successful franchise began in 2018 with Stree, starring Rajkummar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor, followed by Roohi in 2021 and Bhediya in 2022. Munjya is produced and presented by Vijan and Amar Kaushik. Maddock Films recently announced the release date for Stree 2, featuring Kapoor and Rao.
While big-budget Hindi films have struggled at the box office, several small-budget films have found success. Rajkummar Rao’s rom-com Mr. & Mrs. Mahi has completed two weeks in cinemas, grossing $6.5 million. Rao’s Srikanth has also performed well, earning nearly $8 million in a month.
