'Aaraattu' 3-day box office collection: Mohanlal-starrer has decent first weekend

The film's three day collection stands at Rs 8.20 crore

Mollywood star Mohanlal's latest movie Aaraattu, which hit the screens on Friday, has ended its opening weekend on an ordinary note. The film collected Rs 3.5 crore at the Kerala box office on day 1, receiving mixed reviews from the audience. It witnessed a drop on the second day itself, raking in nearly Rs 3 crore. The flick saw limited growth on Sunday, ending its extended weekend with a total of Rs 8.60 crore, according to a Pinkvilla report

It marginally edged out Pranav Mohanlal's Hridayam as the romantic drama earned Rs 8.49 crore in its first three days despite opening on a lower note. The perception is that Aaraattu has not been able to reach its potential as the word of mouth is not as impressive as expected. The film will need to put up good numbers today and stay strong in is the second week in order to emerge as a success. This, however, is easier said than done as it is likely to face competition from Valimai, slated to hit the screens on February 24.

Bheemla Nayak, starring Pawan Kalyan, too may affect its prospects when it premieres in theatres on February 25 as it is a remake of the popular Malayalam movie Ayyappanum Koshiyum.

Aaraattu, directed by noted filmmaker B Unnikrishnan, is an action-comedy that caters to a mass audience. It features Shraddha Srinath as the leading lady and marks her first collaboration with 'Lalettan', This is her second Malayalam movie as she made her acting debut with Kohinoor, which premiered in theatres in 2015. The cast includes actor Siddique, Ramachandra Raju of KGF fame, Prabhakar and Neha Saxena

This is Mohanlal's first theatrical release after Marakkar, which hit the screens last year. The period drama was directed by Priyadarshan and revolved around the life of a naval admiral. The biggie, which featured Manju Warrier as the female protagonist, bombed at the box office while receiving negative reviews.