New Delhi: Romantic drama Malang made ₹24 crore over the weekend, easily beating the competing release of the week, director Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Shikara, that has managed around ₹4.75 crore with a limited release.
“Malang witnesses substantial growth on day two, despite Delhi having limited screenings. Should score on day three (Sunday) as well. Eyes Rs. 24 crore weekend," trade analyst Taran Adarsh had tweeted earlier, referring to the state election polling in the national capital on Saturday.
At a collection of ₹6.5 crore, Malang was lead actor Aditya Roy Kapur’s highest opening day earner, surpassing films like Aashiqui 2 (Rs. 5.11 crore), Daawat-e-Ishq (Rs. 3.72 crore), Fitoor (Rs. 3.17 crore) and Ok Jaanu (3.54 crore).
“Shikara witnesses growth, but the three-day total is low. Should’ve doubled its day one number on day three. Needs to stay strong on weekdays - in day one range or thereabouts - to score a respectable week one total," Adarsh tweeted.
Trade website Box Office India pointed out that despite the win over Shikara, Mohit Suri-directed Malang has still notched up low numbers considering its genre. The film should have earned in double digits on Sunday but hovered in the ₹9-9.25 crore range. The film that is primarily targeting small towns and mass belts is doing decently in Gujarat, Saurashtra and Maharashtra but Uttar Pradesh and central India could have scored much better. Limited face value in terms of the main leads is the biggest obstacle for the film at the moment.
With collection of less than ₹2 crore on Saturday, Chopra’s Shikara does not seem to be doing too well for itself either. The film that has received limited showcasing only in high-end multiplexes has already drawn much flak for sanitizing the mass exodus of Kashmiri Pandits in 1990 with Chopra even calling the film a means of ‘healing’ and ‘a fight between two friends.’
The big blockbuster of the season is Ajay Devgn’s Tanhaji-The Unsung Warrior that had crossed the ₹253 crore mark at last count, with its fifth week collections likely to be among the top five weeks of all time. Mumbai and Pune still contribute the biggest chunk of box office earnings of the film centered on the Maratha empire.
“Tanhaji is unstoppable, yet again. More than doubles its numbers on (fifth) Saturday. Ajay Devgn’s 100th film is enjoying an enviable run, inching closer to the ₹275 crore mark," Adarsh tweeted.
