May 04, 2026 1:13pm IST
Box Office Weekend Winners: ‘Raja Shivaji’ Roars, ‘Ek Din’ Crashes, ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ Falls Short
All the old players took a backseat as new ones hit the screens last weekend. Despite films like “Bhooth Bangla” and “Michael” continuing steady runs, Riteish Deshmukh, Mohanlal and Dhanush's new films dominated theatrical footfalls.
Leading the pack was Riteish and Jio Studios' historical epic “Raja Shivaji”. The film turned out to be the weekend winner, accumulating ₹33.12 crore net in three days. It opened well above expectations on Friday and maintained strong momentum throughout Saturday (₹10.17 cr) and Sunday (₹11.95 cr). Although the film has performed quite poorly in the Hindi version (₹10.82 crore net), the Marathi numbers (₹22.30 crore net) are sensational, reflecting strong resonance with its core regional audience. Trade analysts expect the film to remain stable during the weekdays, with potential for a substantial lifetime total.
Meanwhile, Mahesh Narayan's most-anticipated action thriller “Patriot” continues Malayalam cinema's remarkable box office streak this year — following on the success of “Aadu 3” (₹51.12 cr), “Vaazha II: Biopic of a Billion Bros” (₹128 cr) and “Bharathanatyam 2 Mohiniyattam” (₹24.38 cr). Starring Mammootty, Mohanlal, Fahadh Faasil and Nayanthara, the film opened with ₹10 crore on Friday and has collected ₹21.65 crore net over the weekend. The film has received mixed reviews and it's likely to witness a significant drop over the weekdays. The drop will determine its lifetime box office projection.
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Dhanush's Tamil action thriller “Kara” landed in third place with ₹18.35 crore net in three days and ₹23.35 crore over the 4-days weekend. Released alongside it was Dhruva Sarja, Sanjay Dutt and Shilpa Shetty starrer big-budget Kannada actioner “KD: The Devil” which collected ₹13.72 crore net in four days.
Among holdover releases, Akshay Kumar and Priyadarshan's “Bhooth Bangla” maintained the strong momentum despite new releases. The horror comedy added ₹14.25 crore net in its third weekend, taking its total to ₹136.60 crore net. The film has emerged as another box office success story for Bollywood which recently saw its all-time biggest success with "Dhurandhar: The Revenge," which is still going strong even in its seventh weekend, adding another ₹3.45 crore for a total ₹1094.65 crore net at Indian box office.
On the Hollywood front, “The Devil Wears Prada 2” opened in line with expectations. The film opened with ₹1.70 crore net in paid previews, followed by ₹3.8 crore on Friday, ₹4 crore on Saturday and ₹3.8 crore on Sunday for a total weekend haul of ₹13.30 crore net. However, despite favourable reviews, it fell short of surpassing the opening weekend of “Michael”, which had collected ₹15.80 crore on the first weekend, including paid previews. Globally, “The Devil Wears Prada 2” has opened to $233.60 million weekend, with $77 million from North America and $156.60 million from the international markets.
Audiences seem to be loving the Michael Jackson biopic as “Michael” accumulated ₹11.07 crore in its second weekend — roughly ₹2 crore less than what “The Devil Wears Prada 2” earned over the first weekend — proving its acceptance among Indian audiences despite the mixed reviews. The film has so far collected ₹36.36 crore net in India, emerging as another Hollywood hit after “Project Hail Mary”.
Meanwhile, Junaid Khan and Sai Pallavi starrer romantic drama “Ek Din” has turned out to be a box office colossal. The Aamir Khan production collected only ₹2.88 crore net in three days, failing to gain much traction in theatres.
(Domestic figures taken from Sacnilk and Recobee)
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