Sriram Raghavan's Merry Christmas, starring Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi in lead roles, collected Rs 2.30 crore at the box office on its opening day (12 January). Trade analyst Taran Adarsh said that the evening shows pushed the numbers. He added that word-of-mouth can also help the movie perform better.
"#MerryChristmas opens similar to #SriramRaghavan’s last release #AndhaDhun [₹ 2.70 cr]… Dependent on word of mouth to take it forward, #MerryChristmas witnessed substantial growth towards evening shows on Day 1… Fri ₹ 2.30 cr. #India biz. Note: #Hindi version. An upward trend on Sat and Sun is definitely on the cards… In fact, Sat morning shows have opened better than Fri," Adarsh posted on X.
Merry Christmas opened to positive reviews. The Quint's Pratikshya Mishra wrote, "To be honest, Merry Christmas feels like a narration – someone has you sitting in their living room while they explain their latest story to you. “Here’s why I wrote this in,” they’d often say. The good thing is that the entire time you’re willing to sit there, nodding, understanding. I would watch the film again just for that feeling."