‘Raja Shivaji’, directed by and starring Riteish Deshmukh in the leading role of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, is heading towards a record-breaking opening at the box office. Early box office reports indicate that the strong advance booking trends could just propel the Marathi film to a record debut.As reported by Sacnilk, the film’s Marathi version has already grossed Rs 3 crore in pre-sales for Day 1. This includes blocked seats. The report notes that at the current pace, the final advance figures could climb even higher, particularly across the Maharashtra belt.The film is also releasing in Hindi, and early booking trends indicate that it could earn an estimated Rs 2 crore net. If the film has to record a double-digit opening, a lot would depend on the Hindi and Telugu formats, to help push it past the Rs 10 crore mark.Despite its multi-lingual release strategy, the film’s core business is expected to come from Maharashtra. With the film’s release on the Maharashtra Day holiday on May 1, trade reports indicate that the film could see higher footfalls and is likely to boost footfalls, thus contributing to a strong opening day performance.For ‘Raja Shivaji’ to achieve a double-digit net opening, the Hindi version would need to exceed expectations. In terms of gross collections, trade analysts believe the film could comfortably land in the Rs 8–10 crore range on Day 1.Regardless of hitting the mark, the film is almost certain to register the biggest opening for a Marathi film. The current record is held by ‘Sairat’ and ‘Timepass 2’, both of which opened at around Rs 3.60 crore net. Based on advance booking trends, ‘Raja Shivaji’ is expected to surpass these numbers.The film boasts an ensemble cast featuring Sanjay Dutt, Abhishek Bachchan, Vidya Balan, Mahesh Manjrekar, Sachin Khedekar, Bhagyashree, Fardeen Khan, Jitendra Joshi, Boman Irani, Amol Gupte and Genelia Deshmukh.
