The average total earnings for Kumar’s four 2015 releases was $721,024. Those four films opened in an average of 140 theaters - ranging from 99 for Baby to 181 for Brothers - so their opening weekend theatrical footprint was slightly larger than the average opening weekend theater count of 122 for his three 2016 releases (though still smaller than Jolly LLB 2‘s 197 theaters). Kumar released four films in 2015: Baby, Gabbar is Back, Brothers, and Singh Is Bliing. The only difference is that Jolly LLB 2 opened in sixty more theaters than Housefull 3, Kumar’s biggest release of last year, so one would’ve expected larger returns with Jolly LLB 2‘s wider release. ( Box Office Mojo lists the film as opening in 173 total theaters, making for an average of $4,299 per theater.) This total is consistent with the opening weekend returns of Kumar’s three 2016 releases - Airlift, Housefull 3, and Rustom - which ranged from $674,890 for Housefull 3 on the low-end and $815,933 for Airlift on the high-end.

His latest film - Jolly LLB 2 - earned $743,719 from 197 theaters ($3,775 average) in the United States and Canada during its opening weekend of February 10-12, 2017. There’s something fascinating going on with Akshay Kumar’s box office returns in North America, and I’m not sure how to make sense of it.

Jolly LLB 2 2017 dishoom 2016 poster