It's the clash of the titans between Thackeray and Manikarnika and both films have opened to a good start on Friday at the Indian box office. And the business of the two big films escalated on their second day witnessing a huge jump in their respective collections thanks to the Republic Day holiday.
On Friday, Thackeray, a biopic on Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray, had witnessed 10-15 per cent occupancy and collected Rs 6 crore on day 1. On Saturday, the Nawazuddin Siddiqui starrer received good footfalls registering an overall occupancy of 35-40 per cent which boosted its day 2 collection especially from the Maharashtra circuit. It has managed to collect Rs 10 crore on the second day of its release.
"#Thackeray biz jumps on Day 2... Gets the benefit of #RepublicDay holiday... While #Maharashtra continues to lead, the remaining circuits show an upward trend on Day 2... #Marathi version is excellent... Fri 6 cr, Sat 10 cr. Total: ₹ 16 cr. India biz. #Hindi #Marathi," Taran Adarsh tweeted.
Manikarnika too has managed to cash in on the Republic Day holiday and registered an unexpected 75-80 per cent occupancy across the country on day 2 which is almost double than Friday. On Friday, Kangana Ranaut's historical biopic on warrior queen Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi collected Rs 8.75 crore and on Saturday, the movie minted Rs 18.10 crore.
"#Manikarnika sees remarkable growth on Day 2... Strong word of mouth has come into play, while #RepublicDay holiday has given the much-required boost... Day 3 will be in double digits again... Fri 8.75 cr, Sat 18.10 cr. Total: ₹ 26.85 cr. India biz. #Hindi #Tamil #Telugu," Taran Adarsh tweeted.
Both Thackeray and Manikarnika are showing enough potential to rake in moolah at the box office and end the first month of the year on a positive note. While both movies have received mixed reviews from the film critics, audience, on the other hand, have given thumbs up. The positive word of mouth is expected to further boost both films' collection and the producers of Thackeray and Manikarnika will laugh all the way to the bank ending their respective opening weekend with good numbers.
