Kalki 2898 AD, the dystopian sci-fi epic from Nag Ashwin, has finally released on OTT. Having earned Rs 1100 crore at the worldwide box office, the Telugu pan-India title is India’s highest-grossing film this year. It released in Hindi on Netflix and in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam on Amazon Prime Video. Given the hype around the film, it was expected to break viewership records but that has not exactly come to pass.
While the viewership figures of Kalki 2898 AD from Amazon Prime Video are not available (the streamer never releases viewership figures), the ones from Netflix are promising but far from record-breaking. In its opening weekend, Kalki 2898 AD generated 4.5 million views on Netflix, which is among the top 10 this year for Indian films on the platform. The figures are more than films like Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (2.9 million), Shaitaan (3.2 million), and Maharaja (3.2 million).
However, several of the big Bollywood titles have Kalki 2898 AD beat when it comes to viewership figures on Netflix. Ranbir Kapoor-starrer Animal sits at the top with 6.2 million views in its opening weekend. It is followed by Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone’s Fighter with 5.9 million, and Shah Rukh Khan’s Jawan with 5.2 million views.
But while these are some big films, another film that has Kalki 2898 AD comfortably beat is a surprise. The Kareena Kapoor, Tabu, and Kriti Sanon-starrer heist comedy Crew sits in the third spot with 5.4 million views in its opening weekend. These numbers, however, should be taken with a pinch of salt considering all the other films are exclusively Bollywood while Kalki 2898 AD primarily released in Telugu, which means its Amazon numbers are likely to take it past all these films’ viewership.
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