Kiran Rao’s second outing as a director, Laapataa Ladies, tells the story of an accidental bride swap in the fictional state of Nirmal Pradesh (her directorial debut was Dhobi Ghat). The film has garnered a domestic net collection of Rs. 3.9 crore. Although the initial box-office performance was slow, with earnings of Rs. 75 lakh on the release day, the movie has gained momentum since then. According to Sacnilk Entertainment, the film achieved a collection of Rs. 1.45 crore on its first Saturday, and the highest audience turnout occurred on Sunday, resulting in a notable increase of 17.24% from the preceding day, with ticket sales amounting to Rs. 1.7 crore.
Film exhibitor Akshye Rathi said, “Since the pandemic, the audiences have been exposed to content from different parts of the world. Their palette has changed. They have become a lot more accepting of content from all kinds of markets, languages, nuances and schools of filmmaking. And because of that, I think films like Laapataa Ladies — which is predominantly considered a festival film or artsy cinema, is actually having a great impact at the box office as well.”
Another major film to hit theatres last weekend was Dune: Part Two, the second instalment of Denis Villeneuve’s epic space opera, starring Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson and more. With a smashing opening of $178.5 million at the global box-office, the film has performed well in India as well. Sacnilk reported that the film brought in Rs. 2.75 crore on the first day, followed by Rs. 3.8 crore and Rs. 4 crore on Saturday and Sunday respectively. The film (both the original English version and the Hindi dub) has earned Rs. 11.25 crore in India so far. Touted as a film that was “made for the big screen” and “a cinematic event”, the Dune sequel has become the first major international hit of 2024, and is on track to continue its solid performance in the upcoming week.
According to Rathi, it isn’t fair to compare the numbers of a film like Laapataa Ladies to big blockbuster films. For the industry to thrive, all kinds of films need to do respectable numbers. “I hope that we, as an industry, can give that variety consistently to our patrons,” added Rathi.
You can read our reviews of Laapataa Ladies and Dune: Part Two here.