Deepika Padukone in stills from Pathaan, Padmaavat and Fighter
The Republic Day weekend has been a big date for major Hindi film releases over the years. The holiday has been reserved for some of the biggest releases of the year. As Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone's 'Fighter' takes up the spot this year, we look back at the collections of the previous decade:
The top 2 and Deepika Padukone connection:
Shah Rukh Khan's comeback vehicle 'Pathaan' was the biggest film of 2023 and was released a day before Republic Day. Despite a non-holiday opening, the film shattered all box office records with a collection of Rs 57 crore at the domestic box office. The film made a lifetime collection of Rs 543.05 cr. While 'Pathaan' was unstoppable for weeks, on the same day the film 'Gandhi vs Godse -Ek Yudh' was released. The film got drowned by 'Pathaan' and was able to register a lifetime collection of just Rs 2.40 crore. At number 2 in the last decade is Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone's 'Padmaavat' which collected Rs 24 crore on its opening day despite the massive controversy around the film. Both 'Pathaan' and 'Padmaavat' starred Deepika Padukone in the lead and were released on Jan 25 in different years. âFighter' is Deepika's third film to release on Jan 25. So it is to be seen if Fighter makes it to the top 3 Republic Day weekend releases of the past decade.
The Clashes:
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Another interesting thing to observe is that barring the years 2013, 2014, and 2018 all Republic Day weekend releases saw a box office clash. It is to be noted that there were no Hindi film releases during Republic Day weekend in 2021 and 2022 owing to the pandemic.
Coming back to the box office clashes, in the year 2020, Varun Dhawan and Shraddha Kapoor's 'Street Dancer 3D' clashed with Kangana Ranaut's âPanga'. While both films had a different genre, 'Street Dancer 3D' did much better than 'Panga' in the theatre. While Varun Dhawan's film collected Rs 9.5 cr on opening day, Kangana's film opened at Rs 2.7 cr.
In 2019 as well, Kangana's much-talked-about historical film âManikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi' faced a box office clash with Nawazuddin Siddiqui's âThackeray' a biographical political drama. While Kangana's film made Rs 7.75 cr on opening day, 'Thackeray' collected Rs 2.75 cr on the same day.
Another big clash came in the year 2017 when âRaees' and âKaabil' came together. While Shah Rukh Khan's âRaees' earned Rs 20.42 crore on day 1, 'Kaabil' also did a decent collection of Rs 10.43 cr. Both films have a lifetime collection of over Rs 100 cr.
In 2016, Akshay Kumar's patriotic film 'Airlift' saw a clash with the adult comedy âKya Kool Hai Hum 3'. While âAirlift' earned Rs 12.35 cr, âKya Kool Hai Hum 3' was not far behind at Rs 8.15 cr.
In 2015 as well, Akshay Kumar faced a clash during the Republic Day weekend with Sonam Kapoor's âDolly Ki Doli'. 'Baby' earned Rs 9.3 cr while 'Dolly's doli' managed to earn Rs 2.55 cr.
The years 2013 and 2014 saw the release of âRace 2' and âJai Ho' respectively. While the Saif Ali Khan-starrer thriller earned a remarkable Rs 15.12 cr, Salman's film earned Rs 17.75 cr on day 1 in 2014.
