Historical drama Emergency emerged as actress-director Kangana Ranaut’s biggest opener since the COVID-19 pandemic, staying ahead of Abhishek Kapoor’s Azaad, a period drama that launched Raveena Tandon’s daughter Rasha Thadani and Ajay Devgn’s nephew Aaman Devgn, latest trade reports revealed on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the release of a ‘reloaded version’ boosted the collections of Pushpa 2: The Rule on Day 44.

Emergency, which explores the 21-month long Emergency period in India with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi at helm, earned Rs 2.35 crore nett on its opening day, according to industry data-tracking portal Sacnilk.

Despite its lukewarm reception, Emergency has become Kangana’s biggest Hindi opener since the COVID-19 pandemic. Her previous film, Tejas (2023), reported an opening of Rs 1.25 crore nett.

Alongside Kangana, who portrays Indira Gandhi, Emergency boasts an ensemble cast, including Milind Soman as Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, Anupam Kher as Jayaprakash Narayan, and Shreyas Talpade as Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Emergency clashed at the box office with Abhishek Kapoor’s latest period drama, Azaad, which managed to collect just Rs 1.5 crore nett on its opening day.

Azaad emerged as the lowest opening day grosser among films directed by Abhishek Kapooir. Kai Po Che (2013) had a solid opening collection of Rs 4.5 crore nett while Kedarnath (2018) minted Rs 6.8 crore nett on Day 1.

Kapoor's last directorial, Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui, starring Ayushmann Khurrana, earned Rs 3.5 crore nett on opening day.

Meanwhile, Allu Arjun’s Pushpa 2: The Rule remained strong at the box office on Day 44 despite the new releases. The Sukumar-directed blockbuster collected Rs 1 crore nett on Friday, bringing its domestic total to a staggering Rs 1,225.7 crore nett. An extended cut of Pushpa 2 released in theatres on Friday with 20 minutes of extra footage.