It was predicted in this column last week that Ramleela would take an opening in the range of 50%-60% and bring in around 15 crore on the first day. This is exactly how it happened as Ramleela brought above our predictions i.e. 15.85 crores on Friday and then further gained strength over the weekend with good footfalls coming in across the country. As a result, over 52.60 crore were earned in the opening weekend itself, hence bringing the film in the safe zone and a sure-shot hit in the making. All that remains to be seen now is the distance that it would cover in days to follow.

As things stand today, the collections should be good on weekdays as well since audience feedback has ranged from decent to good while critical acclaim has been quite positive across most quarters. Moreover, the industry too has shown support towards this film which means all that Ramleela needs to do is build on the positive stage and setting that it has received.

There are also some interesting statistics at play here. The film is not just Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s biggest opener till date (and his first success after Saawariya and Guzaarish) but also the highest lifetime earner in three days flat after surpassing Devdas (33 crore) and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (20 crore). Of course these films were released many years ago and inflation comes into account as well. Still, in absolute numbers, Bhansali has seen big money flowing in after years.