Sanjay Leela Bhansali's "Padmaavat", despite protests over its screening in some states, is set to march past the Rs 100-crore mark in its opening weekend in India, say trade experts.
The Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor and Ranveer Singh starrer opened to mixed reviews on January 25 -- a day before the Republic Day holiday -- but paid previews on January 24 had given its earnings a jump-start.
According to Viacom18 Motion Pictures, the film minted Rs 5 crore from paid previews on January 24, followed by Rs 19 crore on January 25, Rs 32 crore on January 26 and Rs 27 crore on January 27, taking the total to Rs 83 crore.
The movie also became the "highest grossing Hindi film ever in North America (US and Canada) on a Saturday" as it grossed $1.8 million in a single day, beating "PK" and "Dangal", the makers said.
Ranveer was all "smiles", while Deepika described the Box Office figures as "absolutely unbelievable" and Shahid celebrated the response by tweeting "balle balle".
Trade analysts are confident that the movie will cross the Rs 100-crore mark with Sunday's collections, giving the magnum opus a promising opening weekend figure.
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Trade analyst Atul Mohan tweeted on Sunday: "'Padmaavat' had a big Saturday with Rs 27 crore, which brings its total to Rs 83 crore. Will march past Rs 100 crore today."
Mohan is confident the movie's first-week collections will total Rs 180 crore to Rs 210 crore.
Another trade expert Taran Adarsh said "Padmaavat" has continued to "sparkle" at the Box Office.
"Business on Saturday (after a big holiday on Friday) was exceptional. Will comfortably cross Rs 100-crore mark today," he said.
Ranveer, who essays the role of Alauddin Khilji in the film, tweeted a photograph in which he looks visibly happy with all the praise coming his way.
"All smiles," he captioned it.
"Padmaavat", based on 16th century poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi's poem "Padmavat", was caught in a row after protests from Shri Rajput Karni Sena which contended that it distorts historical facts and dents the pride of the Rajput community.
As a result of the ensuing violence, the movie did not release in Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh.
--IANS
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