Raja Shivaji Dominates May 1 Releases with Rs. 33 Crore Net; Comparing how Patriot, Prada 2, and Ek Din Fared in a Diverse Weekend

The opening weekend numbers for movies released on May 1 show Raja Shivaji leading the domestic market with a 33.90 crore net collection. While the Marathi biopic found strong footing in India, Patriot focused its success overseas, grossing 38.50 crore internationally despite a downward trend in domestic shows. Along with The Devil Wears Prada 2, which held steady in premium multiplexes, the weekend data highlights a concentrated audience interest in big-ticket regional and international content over smaller releases like Ek Din and Jetlee.

Raja Shivaji has undeniably stolen the show domestically, recording the highest opening weekend among the new releases. With an India net of 33.90 crore, it benefited from massive show counts and strong regional loyalty. Looking at the BookMyShow data, the film sold nearly 1 million tickets in its opening weekend, with a total of 998,290 bookings. The national multiplex chains (PVR, INOX, and Cinepolis) played a significant role, contributing 222,406 tickets across the three days. Interestingly, Sunday saw a strong recovery in these chains with 82,028 tickets sold, surpassing the opening Friday numbers of 81,866, indicating healthy word-of-mouth in urban centers.

In contrast, the Malayalam release Patriot tells a story of two different markets. In India, the film started with a promising 10 crore on Friday but struggled to sustain that momentum, dropping to 5.50 crore by Sunday. This 10.6 percent dip from Saturday suggests that the initial buzz was driven by fan excitement rather than general audience growth. However, its overseas performance is where the film truly shines. It grossed 38.50 crore internationally in just three days, which is significantly higher than its total India gross of 25.11 crore. In North America specifically, it delivered a total weekend gross of 334 thousand dollars, making it the third-biggest opening for a Malayalam film in that region.

The Hollywood entrant, The Devil Wears Prada 2, maintained a very steady profile throughout the weekend. After an opening day net of 3.80 crore (including pre-sales bringing the first day total to 5.50 crore), it saw a 5.3 percent growth on Saturday with 4.00 crore. While Sunday saw a minor 3.7 percent dip to 3.85 crore, the film's national chain presence remained robust. It sold over 150,000 tickets across PVR, INOX, and Cinepolis over the three days, proving that urban multiplex audiences were consistently interested. On BookMyShow alone, it trended with over 36,180 tickets booked in a single 24-hour period on Sunday.

Ek Din followed a volatile path during its opening weekend, struggling to find a consistent audience despite a late-weekend surge. The film opened on Friday with a net collection of 1.15 crore across 1,961 shows, supported by 9,559 ticket sales in national chains like PVR, INOX, and Cinepolis. Saturday saw a 13 percent drop as collections dipped to 1.00 crore, while ticket sales in these premium chains fell significantly to 6,339. However, the film managed a notable recovery on Sunday, netting 1.70 crore across 1,490 shows with a recorded occupancy of 14.4 percent. While the Sunday performance provided a much-needed bounce-back, the national chain ticket sales only rose slightly to 7,240, indicating that the bulk of the Sunday growth came from single screens or non-national multiplexes. With a total India net collection of 3.85 crore and a modest overseas gross of 0.25 crore, the film's worldwide gross stands at 3.65 crore, suggesting it may struggle to maintain its screen count in the coming week.

Jetlee faced a challenging opening weekend, beginning its run with a net collection of 1.10 crore on Friday. Despite operating across 893 shows, the film struggled to build momentum in the premium national chains, selling only 4,151 tickets on the first day. This downward trend intensified on Saturday, where collections dropped by 27.3 percent to reach 0.80 crore. By Sunday, the film saw another significant decline of 31.3 percent, netting just 0.55 crore. Interestingly, while digital platforms recorded a surge of over 58,000 tickets for Sunday, the actual theatrical turnout in national chains was at its lowest, with only 1,599 tickets sold across PVR, INOX, and Cinepolis. This disconnect between digital bookings and ground-level footfalls resulted in a domestic weekend total of 2.45 crore net. When combined with an overseas gross of 0.85 crore, Jetlee ends its first three days with a worldwide gross collection of 3.69 crore, a figure that places it at the bottom of the weekend major releases.

National Chain Ticket Sales :

• Raja Shivaji: 222,406 Total Tickets | Friday: 81,866 | Saturday: 58,512 | Sunday: 82,028
• The Devil Wears Prada 2: 154,878 Total Tickets | Friday: 49,328 | Saturday: 53,127 | Sunday: 52,423
• Patriot: 126,107 Total Tickets | Friday: 54,814 | Saturday: 38,980 | Sunday: 32,313
• Ek Din: 23,138 Total Tickets | Friday: 9,559 | Saturday: 6,339 | Sunday: 7,240
• Jetlee: 7,907 Total Tickets | Friday: 4,151 | Saturday: 2,157 | Sunday: 1,599

Raja Shivaji has undeniably stolen the show domestically...

Overall, Raja Shivaji is setting new benchmarks for Marathi cinema, while Patriot highlights the growing power of the Malayalam diaspora in global box office tallies. The Devil Wears Prada 2 remains a reliable option for urban viewers, but for Ek Din and Jetlee, the road ahead looks difficult as show counts are likely to be redistributed to the better-performing regional titles in the coming week.