Prabhas-Shradha Kapoor-starrer Saaho met the expectations oftrade experts on Friday as the film made an opening collection of Rs 24 crore.Directed by Sujeeth, Saaho is an action thriller and also stars Neil NitinMukesh, Chunky Panday, Jackie Shroff and Mandira Bedi.

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted the figures. “#Saaho hasa superb Day 1... Prabhas’ superstardom post #Baahubali2 + hype surrounding thebiggie + excellent advance bookings ensured fantastic numbers... Day 2 and 3biz crucial to pack a solid weekend total... Fri ₹ 24.40 crNett BOC. India biz. #Hindi version.”

“Top 5 *Day 1* biz... 2019 releases...1. #Bharat ₹ 42.30 cr [Wed] 2. #MissionMangal ₹ 29.16 cr [Thu] 3. #Saaho [#Hindi]₹ 24.40 cr [Fri] 4. #Kalank ₹ 21.60 cr [Wed] 5. #Kesari ₹ 21.06 cr [Thu]Nett BOC. India biz. #Hindi films only.” A Boxofficeindia report claimed thatdespite less number of shows in North India because of late arrival of printsin theatres, Saaho collected an estimated Rs 24 crore on day one. With thatnumber, Saaho is now the third highest Hindi opener in 2019.

Salman Khan’s Bharat remains on top of a list of highestopeners with Rs 42.3 crore, followed by Akshay Kumar’s Mission Mangal thatearned Rs 29.16 crore on day one of the release. Saaho has toppled Akshay’sKesari (Rs 21) to gain the third slot on the list.

Saaho is also the second highest opener ever, afterBaahubali The Conclusion, for a South Indian film’s opening collection in Hindimarkets.

Experts had predicted an opening of Rs 60 crore (alllanguages) for the film and Rs 15-20 crore for the Hindi version. “The buzz isvery good. Prabhas and Shraddha are among the top actors and the response tothe trailer is outstanding. It is a non-festive but a very wide release inHindi. A non-holiday opening of Rs 15-20 crore would be fantastic, consideringhow some Bollywood actors struggle to deliver an opening of even Rs 10 crore,”trade analyst Girish Johar told . Much like Prabhas’s previous blockbusterBaahubali, Saaho released in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam. However,experts do not expect the film to match Baahubali collections. “It would not befair to compare Saaho with Baahubali. It was a traditional Indian, desimythological film. Saaho is contemporary, sleek, stylish and upmarket film.Prabhas is a star and is coming after delivering two of the biggestblockbusters but it is not right to compare them.”