Top 5 opening week grossers of 2018: Padmaavat, Raid, PadMan and more

This year's third month is coming to an end, and this has been an eventful year so far when it comes to Bollywood films. There have been multiple releases, big and small, already. After the turbulent release of Padmaavat, things have been on the calmer side regarding controversies and overall box office performance of Bollywood as a whole has been good. Some films like Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety have earned way more than even their makers would have expected, while some like Pari have fallen short of expectations. Here are the top 5 opening week grossers.

Padmaavat: No film in recent memory was hit by controversies and political hullaballoo like this film. The makers had to bow before many ridiculous demands by right-wing groups like covering Deepika Padukone's midriff and even had to change the name of the film from Padmavati to Padmaavat. Based on 16th century Awadhi epic poem Padmavat, the film was about the legendary Rajput queen Rani Padmini whose portrayal apparently miffed many on the right side of political spectrum. But the film overcame every hurdle, and got the distinction of being a film with the biggest opening week. It earned Rs 166.5 crore.

Raid: Ajay Devgn starrer Raid is about raids by the Income Tax department in 1980s. Devgn plays an honest IRS (Indian Revenue Service) officer who follows up on anonymous tips about black money hoarders. The film also stars Ileana D'Cruz and Saurabh Shukla. Raid earned Rs 63.05 crore.

PadMan: Akshay Kumar plays a fictionalised version of real-life 'PadMan', Coimbatore's Arunachalam Muruganantham. Aiming to break the taboo surrounding menstrual health and sanitary napkins, PadMan was directed by R. Balki. It earned Rs 62.87 crore.

Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety: Director Luv Ranjan successfully recycled his formula from Pyar Ka Punchnama and created history. While Pyar Ka Punchnama was a sleeper hit, Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety was declared hit by trade analysts after its first day. This film is probably the lowest-budget film in the list. It earned Rs 45.94 crore in its first week.

Pari: Most Hindi horror films are guilty pleasures. Pari, however, boasted of A-lister Anushka Sharma. The makers released it on Holi, which is slightly strange. The film opened weakly and never really recovered. It earned Rs 22.75 crore.