Kangana Ranaut starrer Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi had a superb opening weekend, grossing Rs 42.55 crore in three days. However, on Monday, the film saw a decline, earning only Rs 5.10 crore.
Film trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted the box office figures of Manikarnika. He wrote, “#Manikarnika is decent on crucial Mon. Decline on Day 4 [vis-à-vis Day 1]: 41.71%… North circuits continue to lead… Week 1 should be close to ₹ 60 cr [as per trends]… Fri 8.75 cr, Sat 18.10 cr, Sun 15.70 cr, Mon 5.10 cr. Total: ₹ 47.65 cr. India biz. #Hindi #Tamil #Telugu”
Manikarnika released alongside Nawazuddin Siddiqui starrer Bal Thackeray biopic, Thackeray.
The movie also stars Atul Kulkarni, Jisshu Sengupta, Suresh Oberoi, Danny Denzongpa and Ankita Lokhande among others.
Speaking about the response to Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi, Shariq Patel, CEO, Zee Studios, said, “We are humbled by the overwhelming response from audiences to the film, especially the younger generation. Rani Lakshmibai has always been in our collective psyche for the longest time. It’s the first time most Indians are visually seeing a manifestation of her valour and courage on the big screen. Love has been pouring in from all quarters. Following extremely positive word of mouth, the film has shown outstanding growth in collections through the weekend. We expect the film to continue to grow this week”.
Manikarnika has evoked mixed response among critics. The Indian Express film critic Shubhra Gupta gave it 2.5 stars and noted, “There is not a single complex thought in this nearly three-hour movie, which runs out of steam in the third act because it needs to repeat its battle scenes ad nauseam to fill up the time till the end. It’s all kept deliberately kindergarten-level simple (in some places, even simplistic), linear, first this happened, then this happened, and then.”
She added, “We the viewers have to do no work to get with the movie’s plan: we just have to sit back, go with the flow, flabby and clunky in bits, and admire Ranaut blazing on the screen.”
Manikarnika is benefitting from strong word-of-mouth and lukewarm reviews have not affected its collections. It should sail through the week quite easily.
