Manikarnika box office day 1: Kangana Ranaut film dull with ₹8.75 cr earning, needs a lift on Republic Day

Manikarnika box office collection on day 1 was ₹8.75 crore, described as dull by the trade. The Kangana Ranaut starrer would need to double its earnings on Republic Day.

Despite a promotional blitz, Kangana Ranaut’s Manikarnika got off a slow start at the box office with Friday bringing an estimated ₹8.75 crore. Trade aggregator Box Office India reported that the film’s collections primarily came from multiplexes with the film failing to get footfalls on single screens. Manikarnika, also starring Ankita Lokhande, Danny Dengzopa, Atul Kulkarni and Jisshu Sengupta, was released on over 3000 screens.

Manikarnika box office collection on opening day was a dull ₹8.75 crore for the Kangana Ranaut film.

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted, “Manikarnika picked up towards evening, after an ordinary/dull start in morning... #RepublicDay holiday [today] should witness a big turnaround... Sure, there’s appreciation, but it has to convert into footfalls... Fri ₹ 8.75 cr. India biz. #Hindi #Tamil #Telugu.”

The other release of the week, Thackeray, has earned ₹6 crore, with its Marathi version bringing in the moolah. The Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Amrita Rao film earned around 2.75-3 crore in Hindi, with its business primarily limited to Mumbai. “Thackeray has scored in #Maharashtra specifically... #Marathi version has collected very well... #RepublicDay holiday [today] should help escalate its biz... Fri ₹ 6 cr. India biz. #Hindi #Marathi,” Adarsh reported.

With Saturday being the Republic Day, Manikarnika’s collections are expected to see an increase. However, given the film’s budget (an estimated ₹90 crore), the film needs to double its first day collection on Saturday and see a further increase on Sunday. The film has received mixed reviews and a lot will depend on the word of mouth from now on.

Kangana has directed Manikarnika as well as starring in it as Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi. The film was to be directed by Krish who left it midway. Kangana took over the film’s direction even as actor Sonu Sood walked out of the film. There was a protest against the film by Karni Sena to which Kangana had responded by saying that she will destroy “each one of them” if harassed.

In terms of a film fronted by an actress, Manikarnika is the fifth highest opener with Sonam Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor’s Veere Di Wedding on the top slot with over ₹10.4 crore earning on day one. Other films on the list are Kangana’s Tanu Weds Manu Returns ( ₹8,61 crore), Priyanka Chopra’s Mary Kom ( ₹8.32 crore) and Sunny Leone’s Ragini MMS 2 ( ₹7.93 crore).