Raja Shivaji Box Office: Riteish Deshmukh's Historical Epic Downs Sairat To Become Highest-Grossing Marathi Film

Mumbai, May 22 - The decade-long record of director Nagraj Manjule's social romantic tragedy Sairat has finally been broken as Riteish Deshmukh's historical epic Raja Shivaji has become the highest-grossing Marathi film of all time, taking just 22 days to achieve the historic feat.

Produced by Jio Studios and Mumbai Film Company, Raja Shivaji minted around 109.35 crores worldwide in three weeks (21 days), and it has surpassed the total gross of Sairat (110 crores) at the time of writing this piece to become the number 1 Marathi grosser ever.

Raja Shivaji, however, received support from its Hindi dubbed version, unlike Sairat, which was purely a Marathi-language release. Directed by and starring Riteish Deshmukh, the blockbuster has grossed approximately 29 crores from the Hindi version and over 76 crores gross from the original Marathi version in 21 days, while the overseas contribution stands at an estimated 4.20 crores so far.

Released on May 1 on the occasion of Maharashtra Day, Raja Shivaji opened to record-breaking numbers with approximately 13.85 crores worldwide on its first day. The film remained exceptionally strong throughout the opening weekend, collecting around 41.65 crores worldwide in its first three days, setting a new benchmark for Marathi cinema.

The historical action drama, based on the life of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, showed a solid hold during the weekdays of its initial week. However, mixed word of mouth impacted the film's long-term theatrical run, with collections beginning to slow down after the second weekend. The 150 crores worldwide milestone, which looked possible after the huge opening weekend, now appears out of reach.

Despite the slowdown, Raja Shivaji is still expected to finish its theatrical run close to the 125 crores mark, which would be a solid result for a regional-language title. The film has performed excellently in Maharashtra, where the subject and emotional connect with audiences helped it emerge as one of the biggest Marathi blockbusters ever produced.