'Airlift' 2nd Saturday box office collection: Akshay Kumar's film collects Rs 94.50 crore in 9 days

Akshay Kumar's "Airlift" continued to keep the cash registers ringing at the Indian box office in its second week. The film collected Rs 94.50 crore nett in the domestic market in nine days.

"Airlift" managed brilliant collection at the Indian box office in the first week and inched closer to the Rs 100-crore mark. But it faced threat in the form of "Saala Khadoos" and "Mastizaade", which hit the screens on 29 January. Trade analyst predicted that these new releases would force Akki's film out of many theatres, and also take a toll on its business in its second week.

As predicted, "Airlift" witnessed steep decline in its numbers. When compared to its opening day, the movie showed more than 62% drop in its business on its second Friday. But with both new releases getting mixed talk, the Akshay Kumar-starrer once again became the first choice for many film-goers on its second Saturday and the film showed big leap on the ninth day.

"Airlift" has collected Rs 11 crore nett at the Indian box office in two days of its second week. Its nine-day domestic total collection has reached Rs 94.50 crore. The film is set to surpass the Rs 100-crore mark on its second Sunday. Taran Adarsh tweeted: "#Airlift is all set to cross ₹ 100 cr. Remains the first choice of moviegoers. [Week 2] Fri 4.50 cr, Sat 6.50 cr. Total: ₹ 94.50 cr. (sic)"

Akshay Kumar already has three movies — "Housefull 2", "Rowdy Rathore" and "Holiday" — in the Bollywood movies club of Rs 100 crore. "Airlift" is all set to be his fourth film to achieve this rare feat. Adarsh tweeted: "#Airlift will be Akshay Kumar's 4th film to cross ₹ 100 cr, after #Housefull2 [2012], #RowdyRathore [2012] and #Holiday [2014]. India biz. (sic)"

Akshay Kumar had four big-ticket movies in 2015 that were expected to cross the Rs 100-crore mark at the Indian box office. They came closer to the mark but failed to surpass it. His 2015 releases "Baby", "Singh Is Bliing", "Gabbar Is Back" and "Brothers" collected Rs 95.50 crore, Rs 90.25 crore, Rs 86 crore and Rs 82.47 crore, respectively, at the Indian box office.