The much-awaited film 'Raja Shivaji', which had been in the news for the past few days, was released in theatres across the country on May 1. Released on the occasion of Maharashtra Day, the film has created history at the box office with a massive opening collection.
Actor-director Riteish Deshmukh's starrer received a strong response from audiences on its opening day and registered impressive earnings. According to Sacnilk figures, Raja Shivaji movie's opening day collection was Rs 11.35 crore.
Around Rs 8 crore net collection came from the Marathi version alone. The collection is being considered a historic opening for a Marathi film. The movie recorded an occupancy rate of 68% across 1,941 shows on the first day.
Also Read | Raja Shivaji Movie Review: An Epic of Courage and Valour Every Indian Must Know.
Even before its release, the film had created a major record by earning Rs 5.14 crore gross through advance bookings. Of this, nearly Rs 3.60 crore net came from the Marathi version, indicating a strong opening in advance.
Raja Shivaji also surpassed the opening-day records of blockbuster Marathi films such as Sairat and Timepass 2, both of which had collected around Rs 3.60 crore on their first day. The Hindi version of the film also performed well, contributing approximately Rs 3.35 crore, helping the overall collection cross the Rs 10 crore mark comfortably.
The historical drama, directed by Riteish Deshmukh, generated strong buzz ahead of its release due to the audience response and advance bookings. According to reports, as many as 2,01,990 tickets were sold before release. The film was released across 5,698 screens nationwide and is expected to witness further growth over the weekend.
The film features several well-known names from Bollywood and Marathi cinema, including Sanjay Dutt, Abhishek Bachchan, Vidya Balan, Mahesh Manjrekar, Sachin Khedekar, Bhagyashree, Fardeen Khan, Jitendra Joshi, Boman Irani, Amol Gupte and Genelia Deshmukh. A special cameo appearance by Salman Khan has also become a major talking point among audiences.