Dilwale Review/Box Office Thread 2 - Keep Calm,Watch Dilwale - Page 30

Shah Rukh Khan's Dilwale has picked up at the box office noon onwards on Friday, recording occupancy as high as 80 - 85% in circuits like Mysore and West Bengal. The business even at the rain-affected Chennai is extraordinary - most shows of the film are sold out for the day.

As far as Day 1 is concerned, except the state of Maharashtra, there simply hasn't been any contest. Dilwale is leading by a distance, both at multiplexes and single-screens all over the country.

The reports coming in for Dilwale are good, response from critics has been mixed (Check out Dilwale Critics Review page).

The film is now looking at a 20 crore plus total, which is excellent considering the fact that it lost about 40% of its shows at multiplexes due to the release of Bajirao Mastani. Both films have lost a huge chunk of business on Day 1 itself and Dilwale with a solo release would have challenged the highest non-holiday opening of Dhoom 3. Bajirao Mastani would have probably collected around 10% more than Bhansali's last film Ram Leela - which collected Rs 15.73 crore on Day 1. The collections of Bajirao Mastani are set to be lower.

It remains to be seen if both films can recover the losses incurred on Day 1. The trend over the weekend will decide if Dilwale can go on to be a huge grosser and if Bajirao Mastani can recover its costs.

The only major beneficiary of the clash today has been Indicine. We have recorded our highest single day, with nearly 9 lakhs visitors today - 4-5 times more traffic from what we usually get in a day. With 3 hours to go before the day ends, we are set to hit the 10 lakh visitor mark for the first time.

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