Manikarnika, Thackeray
Manikarnika, ThackerayInstagram

Kangana Ranaut's Manikarnika undeniably emerged as the clear winner by beating its contemporary Thackeray biopic starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui at the Indian box office in its opening weekend. While Manikarnika crossed Rs 40 crore mark, Thackeray crossed Rs 20 crore mark. And yet again, Manikarnika showed its strong hold at the box office passing the crucial Monday test at the box office.

The movie, which chronicles the life of Rani Lakshmi Bai and the historical battle of Jhansi, showed its potential especially in the Northern belt and performed best in states like Delhi, NCR, UP, Punjab and Rajasthan. Despite being a working day, Manikarnika managed to pull the audience in theatres registering around an overall 20-25 per cent occupancy across the country. The movie has managed to collect Rs 5.10 crore on day 4 inching closer to the Rs 50 crore mark.

"#Manikarnika is decent on crucial Mon. Decline on Day 4 [vis-à-vis Day 1]: 41.71%... North circuits continue to lead... Week 1 should be close to ₹ 60 cr [as per trends]... Fri 8.75 cr, Sat 18.10 cr, Sun 15.70 cr, Mon 5.10 cr. Total: ₹ 47.65 cr. India biz. #Hindi #Tamil #Telugu," Taran Adarsh tweeted.

Thackeray, on the other hand, has been performing well in the Marathi circuit thanks to Shiv Sena supermo Bal Thackeray's influential image while its Hindi version is struggling to get audience across the country in theatres. According to early estimates, the Nawazuddin starrer managed to earn Rs 2.90 crore on day 4. 

While Thackeray was loaded with Nawazuddin's powerful depiction of Bal Thackeray and the story which touched upon various aspects of the politician's life, Manikarnika had Kangana playing the role of the warrior queen Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi. Both films had received mixed reviews from the critics but the strong word of mouth from the audience has come into play at the ticket window.

It remains to be seen if the two big films will be able to sustain the momentum in the days to come.

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