Hollywood film "Star Wars: The Force Awakens", released in India on 25 December, has earned Rs.4.58 crore.

The J.J. Abrams-directed movie collected Rs3.58 crore on its opening day and minted Rs1 crore from paid previews, according to IANS. 

Eros International's "Bajirao Mastani" and Red Chillies Entertainment's "Dilwale" may see their extended weekend box office collections affected because of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens".

Both Hindi films have to contend with the new formidable competitior for viewers' money and choice at a time when movie buffs are sure to throng cinema halls to enjoy the three-day weekend beginning with Christmas, though "Dilwale" seems to have remained unaffected.

"Star Wars: The Force Awakens", featuring Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver and Daisy Ridley was released in about 1,230 screens across India in English and (dubbed in) Hindi, Tamil and Telugu, according to trade analyst Taran Adarsh.

The release could affect regional-language movies like "Kaaka Muttai" as well.

"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" was released on Friday, 25 December, a week after the two hyped Hindi films hit the screens on 18 December.

Eros International Media is the global distributor of Ranveer Singh-Deepika Padukone-Priyanka Chopra-starrer "Bajirao Mastani", while Shah Rukh Khan's production house Red Chillies Entertainment (RCE) is foraying into film distribution with "Dilwale", featuring him, Kajol, Varun Dhawan and Kriti Sanon.

Eros' stock has been fluctuating wildly since 18 December, with the share swinging from its closing price of Rs 260 on 18 December, to dropping sharply to Rs 248.80 on 21 December before recovering modestly the next day to Rs 256 and closing at Rs 253 on 24 December.

In a regulatory filing on 21 December, Eros International Media said "Bajirao Mastani" had collected Rs 90.80 crore worldwide at the box office in its opening weekend, including Rs 30 crore ($4.5 milliion) abroad. The movie was released across 3,750 screens worldwide, the company added.  

The film seems to be on its way to meet brokerage Maybank's estimate of Rs 200-300 crore on worldwide basis.

RCE is not a listed entity.

The six-day box office collection of "Dilwale" was Rs 93.39 crore, while Sanjay Leela Bhansali "Bajirao Mastani" has collected Rs 86.15 crore in seven days, Adarsh tweeted.

While predicting "abudant" business for the two Hindi films during the four-day period starting 24 December, Adarsh hinted that "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" could hit the fortunes of the two Hindi films.

Clearly, a lot is at stake for the company and its shareholders, as is evident from the firm's regulatory filing with the BSE on "Bajirao Mastani" box office collections.

Eros International Media has announced the release of "Aligarh" and "Do Lafzon Ki Kahani" on 26 February and 4 March, respectively, tweeted Adarsh.

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