Katrina Kaif & Vijay Sethupathi’s Merry Christmas, too, is a well-made, polished film with a unique narrative. Read more.

Given the kind of genre that Merry Christmas belongs to and the manner in which the trailer of the film was cut, which didn’t really reveal much, it was always expected that the film would open in 2 crores range and then it would all boil down to how word of mouth translates into box office numbers in days to come.

This is what happened, as well as the Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi film, which took a start of 2.30 crores. This is the at-par score for the film, and a lot would depend on how the multiplex audiences pick up pace from here. Sriram Raghavan has made a film that caters primarily to the thinking audience, and it’s entertainment of a different kind, which is quite class-appealing. Hence, once this segment of the audience grabs the film, it can keep gathering very good momentum over the weekend and then beyond.

Pre-pandemic, such genres of films were quite popular at the multiplexes and ended up doing around 50-60 crores kind of business if made well. Merry Christmas, too, is a well-made, polished film with a unique narrative, and if it turns out to be successful, then there will be a lot of confidence imparted to many other urban multiplex releases that are lined up for 2024.