The three-day box office collections of Riteish-starrer “Ek Villain” gave Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji Films a mega hit this year with Rs.50.70 crore in just three days after its release on Friday.
The film opened on Friday Rs. 16.72 crore, Saturday Rs. 16.54 crore and on Sunday collected Rs. 17.44 crore. One key factor was that it was released on 2,539 screens nationwide, and there was no competition for the film’s success.
Tanuj Garg, CEO Balaji Motion Pictures, said in a statement: “Not only is this opening the biggest for the studio, but for the industry too in light of the screen count. We scored big despite no advantage of a bank holiday weekend.”
He said it was possible due to its “compelling content, strong word of mouth and exemplary marketing”. Apart from Riteish, Sidharth Malhotra and Shraddha Kapoor featured in the film and the negative role of Riteish was suggested by his wife and actress Genelia.
Distributor Anil Thadani said: “The film has found universal acceptance. It is one of those rare films that worked as well in a remote single screen as it did in an up-market multiplex. It is a blockbuster and game-changer in the real sense of the words. Hats off to Balaji and Mohit Suri!”.
Here is the list of top first weekend grossers of 2014:
Movie Name Release Opening Weekend BO
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Jai Ho 24-Jan 2014 60.68 crore
Ek Villain 27-June 2014 50.70 crore
Gunday 14 Feb 2014 43.93 crore
Holiday 6 June 2014 41.32 crore
Humshakals 20 June 2014 40.13 crore
2 States 18 Apr 2014 38.06 crore.
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