Box office: Padmaavat rakes in Rs 114 crore in its opening weekend

While the release of Padmaavat was marked by protests in several states, the audience has given its verdict, by way of the opening weekend collections -- the Sanjay Leela Bhansali film has caught the cinegoers' fancy

Ranveer Singh as Alauddin Khilji in Padmaavat

While the release of 'Padmaavat' was marked by protests in several states, the audience has given its verdict, by way of the opening weekend collections — the Sanjay Leela Bhansali film has caught the cinegoers' fancy. The magnum opus minted Rs 114 crore over the first weekend. The curiosity around the Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor starrer ensured the paid previews held on Wednesday earned a solid Rs 5 crore. Upon its release on Thursday, the film collected Rs 19 crore, marking Kapoor and Singh's career best opening. The collections showed a steady rise over the weekend with Rs 32 crore on Friday, Rs 27 crore on Saturday and Rs 31 crore on Sunday.

Trade expert Amod Mehra says, "It is unfortunate that the film hasn't released in a few states, or else the numbers would have been even better. The controversy surrounding the film has helped its collections." With no biggie slated to release in the coming week, distributor Akshaye Rathi is certain that the film will cross the 200-crore mark. "The film has a clear run until February 9, so it is likely to go past the 200-crore mark." Singh, whose ferocious act of Alauddin Khilji has become a talking point, says, "As an artiste, I feel fulfilled. It's a relief to be validated in this way. It's overwhelming to witness the kind of reaction that the film and my performance have received."

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