‘Raja Shivaji’ has delivered a historic opening at the domestic box office as it made its debut in cinemas on Maharashtra Day. The film starring and directed by Riteish Deshmukh, made a splash with a huge Rs 11 crore haul on Day 1.Raja Shivaji Marathi box officeAs per a report on Sacnilk, the film earned an impressive Rs 8 crore net on Friday, from its Marathi version alone. This lands the film at the top of the list of the highest debut collections for a Marathi film.The historical action drama managed to cross this milestone from just 1,941 shows, registering a strong average occupancy of 68%. This record-breaking start comes after the film registered an extraordinary advance booking, which had already set the film up for a good start.Ahead of its release, Raja Shivaji closed advance sales at Rs 5.14 crore gross, of which an estimated Rs 4.25 crore gross (Rs 3.60 crore net) was collected from the original Marathi version alone. With this, the film comfortably surpassed the long-standing Day 1 records of ‘Sairat’ and ‘Timepass 2’, both of which had earned an estimated Rs 3.60 crore net on their opening days.The film’s exceptional start is largely driven by its Marathi version, which has recorded strong occupancy across multiplexes and single screens alike in Maharashtra. While the film’s Marathi version earned an estimated Rs 8 crore, the addition of Rs 3.35 crore from the film’s Hindi screenings, helped push its total haul past the Rs 10 crore mark and earn a total collection of Rs 11.35 crore. As per early box office trends, it was reported that the film would depend on the Hindi format, to help push it past the Rs 10 crore mark.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. It also stars Salman Khan in a cameo role.
