Veere Di Wedding is off to a great start at the box office. The film, which released on 2177 screens in India, is expected to have a Rs 35 crore plus weekend. It has already garnered Rs 22.95 crore in first two days since its release and that’s a big feat to achieve for an all-women lead cast in Bollywood. But can this success be only attributed to the high production value and the individual pull of two of its leads, Kareena Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor? Veere Di Wedding had a fantastic publicity drive with all four of the leads getting equal opportunity to promote their film. It took the weight away from only Kareena and Sonam, whose sister Rhea Kapoor is the producer of the film. In a way, it was her home production, but she decided to take the backseat and let everybody speak. Watch: Movie reviews of Veere Di Wedding And Bhavesh Joshi Superhero For everybody involved in the project, this attitude added a sense of belonging. Also, the focus was to promote it as a fun-filled female buddy film, the likes of which has not been seen in Bollywood with A-listers. There wasn’t much gap between the film’s trailer, which came out on April 25, and its release date. The promoters were certain that the film’s trailer will be a controversial one as the typical Bollywood viewers hadn’t seen such ‘posh’ characters abusing and frequently talking about sex in a mainstream film. They were right. It got people talking on social media, and it released just when the conversation around it hit the optimum. Plus, the makers refrained from calling it just a ‘chick-flick’. Rhea Kapoor, in a statement to IANS, said, “Calling the film a chick flick would put it in a bracket. At a juncture where we are trying to break away from labels, it’s high time we had a film that doesn’t judge women and at the same time is aspirational.” Use of the term ‘aspirational’ probably did the trick. It attracted the urban female viewers who saw the film and appreciated it. Veere Di Wedding made noise among the viewers it wanted to target. With Bhavesh Joshi Superhero lacking in promotions and not picking up during the weekend, Veere Di Wedding was the only choice this week. It’s likely to get an open window till June 15 when Salman Khan’s Race 3 will hit the screens. At this point, it seems safe to assume that Veere Di Wedding has broken the glass ceiling, at least in terms of box office numbers. Follow @htshowbiz for more ott:10<doc-sep>New Delhi: With ₹ 36.52 crore, director Shashanka Ghosh’s female buddy film Veere Di Wedding has notched up the fifth highest opening weekend for a Hindi film so far this year—a surprise hit for a film that is being described as “feminist" in Bollywood’s male-dominated scenario. The Kareena Kapoor Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Swara Bhasker and Shikha Talsania-starrer has both beaten and added to the impressive opening weekend legacy of recent female star-driven Hindi films, including Alia Bhatt’s Raazi (₹32.94 crore), Rani Mukerji’s Hichki (₹15.35 crore) and Vidya Balan’s Tumhari Sulu (₹12.87 crore). “The Indian box office is male dominated but if you have a female-headlined cast with a strong message that is a reflection of current times, there is a good chance the film will work well," said Atul Mohan, editor of trade magazine Complete Cinema, adding that the first week is likely to close at between ₹ 50-55 crore for the film that released at 2,177 cinemas across India. Mohan said Indian viewers are now more than happy to see women do things done traditionally by men—Veere’s profane humour and unconventional views on marriage, relationships and sex have had no effect on its success. There is a clear trend. Be it Veere, with its colourful clothes, exotic locations and feel-good vibe, or Raazi, with its patriotic, suspense-laden feel, or women-centric hits like Tanu Weds Manu Returns, they are all well-packaged commercial ventures for which there clearly is an audience in India. Unlike male-starrers, say industry experts, a female-centric film needs not only big stars but also the right quotient of fun and novelty. There has hardly ever been a Hindi film like Veere—about women bonding in a scandalous, entertaining way. While the film has sparked a debate on what constitutes feminism in contemporary India, film critic Bharathi Pradhan said the movie was definitely Bollywood’s way of pitching in on the ongoing debate around feminism and women’s issues in the country. “It’s not like the situations in the film are very different or unfamiliar but the packaging is such that it doesn’t feel judgemental (towards women)," she said. “I would give Ekta Kapoor (co-producer) a lot of credit for this. Being progressive doesn’t mean you have to use explicit language or talk about sex all the time, it just means it’s okay if you do choose to do it," adds Pradhan. “A lot of people are making a hue and cry about not wanting to take their grandmother to the film. If you do know what the film is about, just don’t take your grandmother," said Pradhan. Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter.<doc-sep>Bollywood actors Sonam Kapoor Ahuja and Kareena Kapoor Khan continue to rule the box office as their latest outing, Veere Di Wedding, collected Rs 36.52 crore in first three days of its release. With the collections, the film that also stars Swara Bhasker and Shikha Talsania, has made it to the top five weekend grossers of 2018. Trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted the figures: “#VeereDiWedding pulls a BIG SURPRISE... Packs a FANTASTIC TOTAL in its opening weekend... North circuits in particular are ROCKING... Storms into Top 5 opening weekends of 2018... Fri 10.70 cr, Sat 12.25 cr, Sun 13.57 cr. Total: ₹ 36.52 cr. India biz,” he wrote. #VeereDiWedding pulls a BIG SURPRISE... Packs a FANTASTIC TOTAL in its opening weekend... North circuits in particular are ROCKING... Storms into Top 5 opening weekends of 2018... Fri 10.70 cr, Sat 12.25 cr, Sun 13.57 cr. Total: ₹ 36.52 cr. India biz. — taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) June 4, 2018 While Deepika Padukone’s Padmaavat continues to be on the top for the highest weekend grosser with Rs 114 crore, Tiger Shroff’s Baaghi 2 is a close second with Rs 73.10 crore. Ajay Devgn’s Raid is the third on the list with Rs 41.01 crore while Akshay Kumar-starrer PadMan is on the fourth slot with Rs 40.05 crore. Veere Di Wedding replaces Meghna Gulzar’s Raazi that was on the fifth slot with Rs 30.83 crore weekend collection. Meanwhile, Alia Bhatt’s Raazi was declared a blockbuster with Rs 114 crore. Taran tweeted, “#Raazi biz at a glance.. .Week 1: ₹ 56.59 cr Week 2: ₹ 35.04 cr Week 3: ₹ 18.21 cr Weekend 4: ₹ 5.05 cr Total: ₹ 114.89 cr India biz. BLOCKBUSTER.” #Raazi biz at a glance... Week 1: ₹ 56.59 cr Week 2: ₹ 35.04 cr Week 3: ₹ 18.21 cr Weekend 4: ₹ 5.05 cr Total: ₹ 114.89 cr India biz. BLOCKBUSTER. — taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) June 4, 2018 Directed by Shashanka Ghosh, Veere Di Wedding is the story of four friends. Follow @htshowbiz for more ott:10<doc-sep>Rhea Kapoor hopes Veere Di Wedding breaks the glass ceiling. Rhea Kapoor hopes Veere Di Wedding breaks the glass ceiling. Veere Di Wedding producer Rhea Kapoor is happy with the positive response to the film, and hopes it changes the way female-centric films are perceived. “Calling the film a chick flick would put it in a bracket. At a juncture where we are trying to break away from labels, it’s high time we had a film that doesn’t judge women and at the same time is aspirational,” Rhea said in a statement to IANS. “I am overwhelmed with response from the audience and at the box office and I hope this film breaks the glass ceiling,” she added. Veere Di Wedding opened in India on Friday, and raked in Rs. 10.70 crore on the first day of its release. Apart from India, it released in over 27 countries including Singapore, Australia, the US, South Africa, Canada and Japan. On foreign shores, it registered business of $1 million on the opening day. Veere Di Wedding is co-produced by Rhea, Ekta Kapoor and Nikhil Dwivedi. The movie has drawn a lot of interest especially as it is Kareena Kapoor Khan’s first film since she became a mother, and Sonam Kapoor Ahuja’s first movie to release since her wedding. For Swara Bhasker, it is a different zone that she is stepping into and Shikha Talsania is making her debut with the project, directed by Shashanka Ghosh. They are cast in a coming-of-age story revolving around the lives of four friends who deal with the trials and tribulations regarding family acceptance, marriage and societal perceptions in the modern-day world. The girls openly talk about their sex lives and hurl abuses. Also read | Veere Di Wedding actor Swara Bhasker slips into Sakshi’s shoes yet again, this time for trolls The film is internationally distributed by Zee Studios International. Vibha Chopra, Head – Zee Studios International (Film Marketing, Distribution and Acquisition), said: “Female-centric films are finding more takers and the demand for forward-thinking content is only increasing. Veere Di Wedding is expected to be a game-changer for the genre. “On the first day itself, this film has ranked eight amongst the top 10 in the UK in the overall UK box office, it has ranked number four in Australia and number three in New Zealand for the day. The film is also the second highest opener of the year in UK and North America.” Also read | Veere Di Wedding actor Kareena Kapoor Khan: Extremely bored of questions about Taimur Ali Khan Chopra says “international markets have now opened up to conventional and unconventional Indian content and for this particular film the release strategy along with the marketing is something that worked in our favour”. Ekta also feels the film is a “celebration of life and is a presentation of the times we live in”. “The roaring box office success is proof that audiences are making choices that resonate with them. This is just the start for clutter breaking, entertaining films.”<doc-sep>
Veere Di Wedding has minted Rs 50 crores on the box office within six days of its release on Friday. The film had made Rs 36.52 crore in its opening weekend itself. Film trade analyst Taran Adarsh has tweeted the film’s business figures. #VeereDiWedding crosses HALF-CENTURY... Biz likely to be affected today [Thu] due to #Kaala and #JurassicWorld... Fri 10.70 cr, Sat 12.25 cr, Sun 13.57 cr, Mon 6.04 cr, Tue 5.47 cr, Wed 4.87 cr. Total: ₹ 52.90 cr. India biz. — taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) June 7, 2018 Directed by Shashanka Ghosh, the film revolves around the lives of four friends, portrayed by Kareena Kapoor Khan, Sonam Kapoor Ahuja, Swara Bhaskar, and Shikha Talsania. Filled with swear words, slapstick moments and some hilarious one-liners, Veere Di Wedding has proven to be a joy ride, if reviews are to be believed. Apart from the leading ladies, the film also stars Sumeet Vyas, Vishwas Kini, Neena Gupta, and Vivek Mushran in pivotal roles. Veere Di Wedding isn’t the only film doing good business at the box office. John Abraham’s Parmanu The Story Of Pokhran has also crossed the Rs 50 crore mark. The film was made at a budget of Rs 36 crore, including the publicity, has earned Rs 50.55 crore so far. Content scores and BO numbers do the talking... #Parmanu hits the 50 cr mark... [Week 2] Fri 2.05 cr, Sat 3.56 cr, Sun 4.53 cr, Mon 1.79 cr, Tue 1.64 cr, Wed 1.57 cr. Total: ₹ 50.55 cr. India biz. — taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) June 7, 2018 Alia Bhatt’s Raazi continues to be strong at the ticket window. It has gathered more than Rs 117 crore till date. Although biz dries up by the time most films reach Week 4, #Raazi proves an exception... Continues to attract STEADY footfalls... [Week 4] Fri 1.05 cr, Sat 1.70 cr, Sun 2.30 cr, Mon 85 lakhs, Tue 80 lakhs, Wed 80 lakhs. Total: ₹ 117.34 cr. India biz. — taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) June 7, 2018 (With inputs from agencies) Follow @htshowbiz for more ott:10