Ek Villain
'Ek Villain' PosterFacebook/Riteish Deshmukh

Sidharth Malhotra, Shraddha Kapoor and Riteish Deshmukh starrer "Ek Villain" has taken a flying start in India on Friday.

The much awaited action thriller has received thunderous response like the films of three Khans of Bollywood. In some circuits, the film has shattered Salman Khan's "Jai Ho" morning day occupancy record, while at some the theaters owners have put houseful board.

The film registered around 70 to 80 percent occupancy on an average across the country in the morning shows. The occupancy is expected to increase in the afternoon and evening shows.

"Ek Villain" directed by Mohit Suri has created pre-release hype on social networking sites with its music and trailer, which led to the bumper start.

Also, the reviews of the film were out before its release, which helped the occupancy to increase at the collection centers. It garnered mostly positive reviews from critics as well as industry insiders. [Read the reviews here]

The film managed to open well in Mumbai, Delhi, Rajasthan, Gujarat, East Punjab and other circuits. Even in Kolkata, where mostly Shah Rukh Khan's film receives overwhelming response, the film managed to take the box office by storm, according to Boxofficeindia.

The morning show reports are so strong that one can expect the film to have one of the biggest opening day collections. Also, "Ek Villain" is a solo Hindi release this week, which serves as an advantage to the film.

The film produces by Ekta Kapoor and Shobha Kapoor also features Kamaal R Khan and Prachi Desai in important roles.

Check out below what critics, trade analysts and film distributors have said about the opening day occupancy of the film: