The mix of masala entertainment and a social message in Rohit Shetty's Simmba seems to have worked. The film opened to an impressive collection of about Rs20.5 crore nett on its first day at the theatres, according to BoxOfficeIndia.com.
The website's report suggested that collections in the Mumbai region alone amounted to Rs8 crore, an impressive number.
With this opening, the film has pipped Ranveer Singh's blockbuster opening for Padmaavat (2018) earlier this year. The Sanjay Leela Bhansali film had managed Rs18 crore nett on its official first day in theatres, 25 January 2018.
This is definitely a boost for Sara Ali Khan as well. Her previous film, Kedarnath, had managed Rs7.25 crore nett on its opening day on 7 December 2018.
Simmba has good word-of-mouth publicity as well as an impressive roster of reviews going in its favour. It is also the biggest non-holiday opening for a Rohit Shetty film so far.
On the other hand, Aanand L Rai's Zero saw its collections drop by close to 95% on day eight. The film barely managed to collect Rs1 crore on Friday. This brings the Shah Rukh Khan-led film to a total collection of Rs85 crore after eight days. The film looks unlikely to even hit the Rs100 crore mark, making it a dismal year for all three Khans at the box office.