MUMBAI, June 29: Kajol’s return to the big screen with Maa, a mythological horror film, wrapped up its opening weekend with a total box office collection of ₹17.36 crore, according to early estimates from Sacnilk.
The Vishal Furia-directed film, which marks Kajol’s first horror project, opened with ₹4.65 crore on Friday, grew slightly to ₹6 crore on Saturday, and witnessed a further jump on Sunday with ₹6.71 crore. The Sunday spike helped offset the film’s slow start and reflects steady word-of-mouth traction despite mixed critical reception.
“Maa had an overall Hindi occupancy rate of 30.99% on Day 3, with audiences increasing steadily through the day: 10.71% in morning shows, 35.57% in afternoon shows, and 46.68% by evening,” Sacnilk reported.
The film faced a box office clash with Vishnu Manchu’s multilingual epic Kannappa, which featured cameo appearances by Prabhas, Mohanlal, and Akshay Kumar. On Day 3, Maa outperformed Kannappa, which earned ₹5.66 crore that day. However, Kannappa’s overall opening weekend collection is still ahead of Kajol’s film, though exact figures were not available at the time of filing this report.
Backed by Ajay Devgn, Jyoti Deshpande, and Kumar Mangat Pathak, Maa stars Indraneil Sengupta, Ronit Roy, and Kherin Sharma in key roles alongside Kajol. The story follows Aambika, a woman who travels with her daughter to her deceased husband’s ancestral village only to confront a centuries-old demonic curse rooted in mythology. The film weaves in the tale of Maa Kali and the demon Raktabeej, grounding its horror elements in Indian lore.
While Kajol’s performance has been widely praised, several reviewers and viewers pointed to issues in the second half, citing a lack of effective jump scares and tonal inconsistency.
Kajol said: “Maa came to me as a concept note, and I loved it because I am quite a mythology buff. Our country has such wonderful and fabulous stories and one of my favourites is Maa Kali and Raktabeej’s story.”
With no major Bollywood releases next week, Maa could see continued traction, especially if positive audience feedback picks up. Its performance through the week will determine if it can sustain beyond its mytho-horror niche appeal.
