Sonakshi Sinha, Ranveer Singh
Sonakshi Sinha and Ranveer Singh in LooteraLootera/Facebook

Ranveer Singh-Sonakshi Sinha starrer "Lootera", which started on a dull note, has picked up well over the weekend thanks to positive reviews.

After a slow start, "Lootera" witnessed a 25 percent to 30 percent rise in collections on Saturday and the film's business increased by 30 percent the following day.

There were high expectations even before the release of "Lootera", but the film opened to average occupancy in theatres on the first day (5 July). Its first day collection totalled at ₹5.15 crore, which was much lower than what was expected. However, the period romantic drama performed well, particularly in multiplexes, as it received good feedback from critics as well as moviegoers.

 "Lootera" raked in approximately ₹19 crore nett in its opening weekend, according to film critic and trade analyst Taran Adarsh.

The business of "Lootera" has been strong in places such as Mumbai, Mysore, West Bengal and Punjab. The film reportedly had a good start in international markets as well. According to reports, the first weekend collections of "Lootera" at the overseas box office has grossed around $700,000 (approximately ₹4 crore).

The Ranveer-Sonakshi starrer is expected to go strong in the first week. It remains to be seen if the film would be able to sustain its business after Friday (12 July), when a few Hindi films are releasing. Of the new releases, the pick of the lot would be Farhan Akhtar's "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag", in which the actor-cum-director features as Milkha Singh.

The pre-release response for the film is encouraging and it has garnered a lot of expectations. "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag" is likely to pose stiff competition for "Lootera".

Meanwhile, Sanjay Dutt's "Policegiri" which was released on the same day as "Lootera" is scoring well in single screens of mass-dominated circuits, thanks to its commercial quotient. The film, which is a remake of Tamil blockbuster "Saami", has been panned by critics for its tried and tested content.