John Abraham’s latest action-drama The Diplomat releases in cinemas nationwide today, but sadly for the star, the movie is off to a rather slow start, according to the advance box office reports.
According to reports, the director Shivam Nair film, has raked in an estimated Rs 2 – 2.5 crore in pre-release ticket sales. The film which is releasing on the extended Holi weekend, has reportedly failed to generate much buzz for the film, thus, according to advance reports, puts the film among Abraham’s lowest openers.
The Diplomat, which sees Abraham portraying a diplomat on a high-stakes rescue mission, is inspired by real events. It features actress Sadia Khateeb as Uzma, the Indian woman his character attempts to bring back from Pakistan. Abraham has described the film as an “emotional, edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller” rather than just another patriotic drama.
Advance booking for The Diplomat began on Wednesday in select theatres, but the film faces stiff competition from Vicky Kaushal’s Chhaava, which continues to dominate the box office even after nearly a month in theatres. Despite this, industry insiders expect the film’s buzz to improve in the days leading up to its release.
Originally set to premiere on March 7, The Diplomat was postponed by a week and is now scheduled to hit theatres on March 14, aligning with the Holi weekend.
Meanwhile, ahead of the film’s release, Abraham met with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Thursday. The two discussed diplomacy, football, the Northeast, and the upcoming film. Jaishankar later shared photos of the meeting, showing Abraham presenting him with a jersey bearing the number 9 and the minister’s name.
Abraham expressed his admiration for Jaishankar, posting on X (formerly Twitter), “Was a pleasure and honour to meet a man who I so intently follow. We discussed diplomacy, the North East and football among many other things. Truly an honour, Sir!”
