Nearly a decade after Sairat rewrote Marathi cinema history by becoming the industry’s first Rs 100 crore grosser worldwide, a new film has taken over the top spot. Riteish Deshmukh’s historical epic Raja Shivaji has now emerged as the highest-grossing Marathi film ever at the global box office.The film has enjoyed a remarkable theatrical run since release, opening strongly and collecting more than Rs 30 crore net in its first weekend alone. Its momentum continued over the next few weeks, with the film earning Rs 57.70 crore net by the end of week one and Rs 84 crore net by the close of its second week.Even during its third week in cinemas, Raja Shivaji continued to perform steadily. As per the latest box office figures, the film collected Rs 1.70 crore on its third Friday, followed by Rs 2.90 crore on Saturday and Rs 3.80 crore on Sunday. With these collections, the film’s India gross total has climbed to Rs 109.90 crore, while its India net stands at Rs 93 crore. Overseas, the film has added another Rs 4.90 crore, taking its worldwide gross collection to an impressive Rs 114.80 crore.The milestone officially pushes Raja Shivaji past Sairat’s lifetime worldwide gross of Rs 110 crore. Celebrating the achievement on Instagram, Jio Studios shared a post that read, “The glorious saga of Hindavi Swarajya has awakened pride in every heart!”Apart from Riteish and Genelia in the lead, the film features a large ensemble cast including Sanjay Dutt, Abhishek Bachchan, Mahesh Manjrekar, Sachin Khedekar, Bhagyashree, Fardeen Khan, Jitendra Joshi and Amole Gupte.The film also introduced Riteish and Genelia’s sons, Riaan and Rahyl, who made their acting debuts by portraying different stages in the life of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Although the film opened to mixed critical reviews, strong audience word-of-mouth played a major role in sustaining its impressive box office performance. In an earlier interaction with PTI, Riteish had spoken about the emotional connect Maharashtrians have with Shivaji Maharaj, saying that stories of the Maratha warrior king are an integral part of childhood and continue to resonate across generations.
