first-timer Rensil D'Silva, the film enunciates, with admirable clarity, contemporary conundrums." A review by Anil Sinanan for Time Out denoted, "However, this has to be applauded for exploring a topical and sensitive subject in the widest commercial context. Interesting, entertaining and solidly executed." The score assigned by her to the film was 3 on 5. Nikhat Kazmi of The Times of India rated the film 3.5 on 5, adding on 'Kudos to Karan Johar for shifting gears completely and entering into serious territory.' Ram Tarat of Future Movies UK, pointed "A chilling yet appropriately tempered and charismatic antidote to your archetypal seasonal fare, Kurbaan is a gripping white knuckle ride that turns at all the right places for the ultimate thrill ride." He added on a score of 4 (out of 5) Baradwaj Rangan, his review for the film pointed: "It is yet another story about yet another terrorist. The hardware is there, but where’s the heart? Kurbaan wears its hot-button topicality proudly, like a gleaming medal that’s been well and truly earned. And the members of the cast do most of the earning, each one entrusted with disbursing a bit of the sugar-coated bitter medicine." Box office The film was released in 1250 screens across India. The first day box office collections were est. ₹40 million. Despite pre-release hype and controversy, it opened to average numbers. Also, the first day occupancy was 40%, below the expected average of 70%. The film's business in territories like Delhi, Lucknow, Bangalore and Hyderabad managed 50 to 60 per cent occupancy. However, the A (Restricted to Adult) certificate from the Censor Board limited the audiences. The film went on to earn est. ₹136 million in India in the first weekend of its release. The worldwide first weekend collection were around est. ₹242 million. However, the first week's collections improved meagre to est. ₹197 million in India whereas worldwide figure being est. ₹348 million. The all time worldwide gross was recorded as est. ₹429 million. The film underperformed and hence, was declared as a flop by Box Office India. In a year-end box office performance review by DNA, the film was rounded in the category of big-budget movies. Siddharth Roy Kapur (distribution rights) admitted that 2009 was a tough year for the Indian film industry. Producer Mohan Kumar added: "Movies which did good business at the box office this year were fun films [...]