Manikarnika Vs Thackeray: Kangana's Film Emerges as Clear Box Office Winner Against Nawaz's Movie

Kangana Ranaut's Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi or Nawazuddin Siddiqui's Thackeray – who won the holiday box office battle? As Kangana's magnum-opus went head-to-head with Nawaz's political biographical drama, this was the question on everybody's mind– from fans to film trade analysts alike. Now that the Republic Day collections are in, we can tell you that Manikarnika has emerged as the clear winner at the box office as it collected over Rs 18 crore on Day 2. That gives Kangana -- the Indian box office crown and makes her the ultimate 'Queen' of Bollywood.

Co-directed by Kangana, Manikarnika got a decent opening at the box office this past Friday, but looks like the strong positive word of mouth around the film has helped it generate great box-office results.

Tweeting the latest box office figures of Manikarnika, film trade analyst Taran Adarsh wrote, "#Manikarnika sees remarkable growth on Day 2... Strong word of mouth has come into play, while #RepublicDay holiday has given the much-required boost... Day 3 will be in double digits again... Fri 8.75 cr, Sat 18.10 cr. Total: ₹ 26.85 cr. India biz. #Hindi #Tamil #Telugu." (sic)

Manikarnika captures the life story of Rani Laxmibai and her fight against the British. The film also features Ankita Lokhande, Danny Denzongappa and Suresh Oberoi in key roles.

On the other hand, Nawazuddin's Thackeray, based on the life of Shiv Sena supremo, late Bal Thackeray, is doing great business in Marathi-speaking natives, especially with the Marathi version. However, the business of its Hindi version is not the sort that is required, according to Box Office India. The film (Hindi version) has collected Rs 4.5 crore.

Thackeray has been released in about 2,000 screens and hit theatres in 16 countries simultaneously, whereas, Manikarnika locked in 2,900 screens. It has been released in 50 countries, and in three languages - Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.

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