‘Raja Shivaji’, directed by and starring Riteish Deshmukh in the lead role of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, is on track for a record opening at the box office. Early box office reports suggest that strong advance booking trends could push the Marathi film to a record debut.As reported by Sacnilk, the Marathi version of the film has already grossed Rs 3 crore in first-day advance sales. This includes blocked seats. The report notes that at the current pace, the final progress figures could rise to higher levels, especially across the Maharashtra belt.The film is also being released in Hindi, and early booking trends suggest that it could earn an estimated nett of Rs 2 crore. If the film has to register a double-digit opening, a lot will depend on the Hindi and Telugu formats, to help push it beyond the Rs 10-crore mark.Despite the multilingual release strategy, the film’s core business is expected to come from Maharashtra. With the film releasing on the Maharashtra Day holiday on May 1, trade reports suggest that the film could witness a higher footfall and is likely to boost footfall, contributing to a strong opening day performance.For “Raja Shivaji” to achieve a double-digit net opening, the Hindi version must exceed expectations.
In terms of gross collections, trade analysts believe that the film could comfortably touch the Rs 8-10 crore range on the first day.Regardless of its success, the film is almost certain to record the biggest opening for a Marathi film. The current record is held by ‘Sairat’ and ‘Timepass 2’, both of which opened with around Rs 3.60 crore nett. And based on advance booking trends, ‘Raja Shivaji’ is expected to surpass these numbers.The film features an ensemble cast that includes Sanjay Dutt, Abhishek Bachchan, Vidya Balan, Mahesh Manjrekar, Sachin Khedekar, Bhagyashree, Fardeen Khan, Jitendra Joshi, Boman Irani, Amol Gupte and Genelia Deshmukh.
