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This Eid-ul-Azha we saw a gargantuan clash at the box office and it’s surely something that has gotten both Na Maloom Afraad 2 and Punjab Nahi Jaungi boasting about their collections. However, which film earned the public’s adoration? We’re here with a consolidated lowdown.

Although both films have garnered massive success at the box office in Pakistan, the overseas collections have upped PNJ’s ante massively with more than approximately PKR 5 Crore collection at the UK and North American box offices; NMA 2 has struggled to do the same kind of business internationally, especially after the UAE ban debacle. Is this karma biting it in the bum (pun intended) for taking up an unfair number of screens throughout Pakistani multiplexes? Maybe or maybe not.

Read: Na Maloom Afraad 2 may not get clearance for UAE and here’s why

With an amalgamated amount of PKR 15 Crores, Punjab Nahi Jaungi has taken the lead over the Fahad Mustafa starrer by a hefty amount, with the latter earning close to an approximate 8 Crores at the box office. However, it should be noted here that for an almost local market, NMA 2 hasn’t really done bad business, and could probably owe its success to the number of screens that have been allocated.

Amid all that has been said and done, the numbers show a stark reality of which film has an international appeal and which doesn’t. After all, Nabeel Qureshi’s Karachiwala-inspired narratives may be a little difficult to attain a global appeal in comparison to the massive audience that Punjabi humour encapsulates.

While both films still have a long battle to fight at the box office, one has to feel proud that they have managed to end the cinema drought and have people reeling to the cinemas to watch local content.

*All the mentioned figures have been provided by Bollywood Hungama, ARY Films, and Urdu 1 Pictures.  

Shahjehan Saleem

The author is Contributing Editor at Something Haute as well as a professor in the Media Sciences department at SZABIST, Karachi. Socio-cultural theories and geography fill up the rest of his time.