MUMBAI: Despite garnering unfavorable reviews from critics globally, The Pink Panther 2 has grossed Rs 10.71 million at the Indian box office in its opening weekend.

Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) Films India released The Pink Panther 2 on 27 February in India with 35 prints and five digital prints across India in English only across all metros and mini-metros.

Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) Films India managing director Kercy Daruwala says, “The Pink Panther 2 is a great franchise film and the character of Inspector Clouseau is quite popular and legendary. We at SPE were confident about our product and anticipating a favorable response and good opening collection, which we have proudly managed to achieve. Though we released the film with only 40 prints in the first phase and that too around examination time, I guess it was the curiosity factor and great fan following of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, which further helped us garner an impressive opening collection of Rs 10 million plus across India. And we hope the film continues to do good business in the coming weeks as the audiences are appreciating the film.”

The Pink Panther 2, stars Steve Martin, John Cleese, Jean Reno, Lily Tomlin and Emily Mortimer. The investigative team is played by Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Andy Garcia, Alfred Molina and Yuki Matsuzaki. The story is set in Paris and Rome and directed by Harald Zwart.