Despite a strong pre-release buzz and big expectations surrounding Prithviraj Sukumaran ’s Vilayath Buddha, the action film is going through a difficult phase at the box office.

As reported by the Sacnilk website, day 6 turned out to be the weakest so far, with collections dropping drastically to only Rs 18 lakhs. The thriller has now reached a total of Rs 4.33 crore.

Box office underperformance intensifies mid-weekReportedly Monday and Tuesday brought in Rs 35 lakhs each. But Wednesday’s fall to Rs 18 lakhs has raised concerns about the film’s long-term theatrical prospects. The Malayalam occupancy on November 26 was limited to 9.98%, which shows declining audience turnout across morning, afternoon, evening, and night shows. The night shows slightly crossed the 10% mark.

Runtime trimmed following viewer reactionsIn response to mixed audience feedback, the makers moved quickly to trim the movie’s duration. Actor Shammy Thilakan , who has been receiving high praise for his role as Bhaskaran Mash, confirmed the decision while replying to a viewer on Facebook.

Shammy Thilakan stated that the edit was made based on public demand. Reports say that the original runtime of 2 hours 56 minutes has now been reduced to 2 hours 45 minutes.

Strong performances meet pacing criticismWhile performances have been singled out as one of the film’s biggest positives, especially from Prithviraj and Shammy Thilakan, the pacing of the story appears to be the major point of criticism. Amid the mixed reviews, Shammy Thilakan's performance is getting much adulation from the viewers.

DISCLAIMER: The box office numbers in this article are compiled from our proprietary sources and diverse public data. We strive for accuracy and all figures are approximate unless explicitly mentioned. We offer a fair representation of the project's box office performance . We are open to feedback and suggestions on toientertainment@timesinternet.in