Kolkata: Vivek Agnihotri’s much-hyped political thriller ‘The Bengal Files’ opened to a lacklustre response at the box office, collecting just Rs 1.75 crore (India net) on Day 1, according to early estimates by industry tracker Sacnilk.

The numbers are a far cry from Agnihotri’s earlier hit ‘The Kashmir Files’, which opened at Rs 3.55 crore and went on to become a blockbuster. Even more strikingly, The Bengal Files failed to outpace Himesh Reshammiya’s Badass ‘Ravikumar’ (Rs 2.75 crore) or Sonu Sood’s ‘Fateh’ (Rs 2.45 crore) on their opening days.

Occupancy levels told the same story: the film managed an overall 21.24% across India, starting sluggishly in the morning (15.08%) and showing modest improvement by night (29.20%). Major markets like Delhi-NCR (21.75%) and Mumbai (20.75%) too witnessed lukewarm footfalls.

Starring Anupam Kher, Mithun Chakraborty, Pallavi Joshi, and Darshan Kumar, the film closes Agnihotri’s ambitious ‘Files Trilogy’. Despite the pedigree, the film struggled against stiff competition—Hollywood’s ‘The Conjuring: Last Rites’ (Rs 18 crore), Tiger Shroff’s ‘Baaghi 4’ (Rs 12 crore), and Malayalam sensation ‘Lokah: Chapter 1 – Chandra’, which has already amassed Rs 62.45 crore.

While ‘The Bengal Files’ has performed better than smaller releases like ‘Tanvi the Great’ (Rs 40 lakh) and ‘Loveyapa’ (Rs 1.15 crore), its disappointing start raises serious concerns. With controversies clouding its release—Agnihotri has alleged theatre owners were pressured not to screen the film—the movie’s fate now hinges entirely on word of mouth in the coming days.