May 06, 2026 5:41pm IST
Box Office: ‘Raja Shivaji’ Set for Strong Second Weekend Amid Low-Key Box Office Competition
Riteish Deshmukh's historical epic “Raja Shivaji” is set to continue the box office dominance through the upcoming weekend as well. With no major tentpole release this Friday, the Marathi-Hindi bilingual on the life of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is expected to remain the top choice for moviegoers during the May 8-10 weekend frame, with “Bhooth Bangla” and “Michael” sustaining their strong run.
Four Hindi films are releasing in theatres this weekend — Kapil Sharma and Neetu Kapoor's “Daadi Ki Shaadi,” mythological drama “Krishnavataram Part 1: The Heart” and two independent films, Nawazuddin Siddiqui-starrer “Main Actor Nahin Hoon” and comedy-mystery-satire “Dug Dug”, which is backed by industry heavyweights Anurag Kashyap, Nikkhil Advani, Vikramaditya Motwane and Vasan Bala as executive producers. From Hollywood, “Mortal Kombat II” will hit screens. Sanjay Dutt's “Aakhri Sawal” was also scheduled for this Friday but is now likely to get postponed due to censor-related issues.
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While all these projects are diverse in genres and cater to different targeted audiences, none of them are projected to generate much box office impact, with “Krishnavataram” possibly emerging as the strongest opener among them. This effectively leaves “Raja Shivaji” with minimal competition, allowing it to continue its successful run without a substantial reduction in screen count.
The Riteish Deshmukh-directed film is continuing to perform exceptionally well at the box office, especially in Maharashtra. The big-budget spectacle has collected ₹44.40 crore net in India and around ₹53 crore gross worldwide in five days. The film has already emerged as the fourth highest-grossing Marathi film of all time and is now challenging the lifetime record of “Ved” (₹61.20 cr), with the records of “Baipan Bhari Deva” (₹76.28 cr) and "Sairat" (₹88.13 cr) also being targeted, positioning itself as one of the biggest blockbusters in Marathi cinema history.
Alongside “Raja Shivaji”, Akshay Kumar and Priyadarshan's horror-comedy “Bhooth Bangla” will also continue its consistent run. The horror-comedy has maintained a steady hold even during the weekdays in its third week. The film has earned ₹146.50 crore to date, with its lifetime now expected to go beyond ₹160 crore net. The Michael Jackson biopic “Michael” hasn’t loosened its hold on the Indian box office, having collected over ₹41 crore net in 12 days.
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