Mumbai — The film on real-life boxer and Olympic medallist and world champion Mary Kom, featuring Priyanka Chopra in the lead, has garnered collections of over Rs 8 crore on its opening day according to a source in Viacom18 Motion Pictures, a co-producer of the film. The movie, which released on 5 September and follows the life and struggles of the Indian pugilist, has been co-produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Viacom18 Motion Pictures and distributed worldwide by Eros International.
The movie has been made at an estimated budget of Rs 15 to 18 crore including production, prints and advertising. It has now earned the distinction of breaking even in record time, despite having an A-lister on the cast. It is being estimated that the movie collections will hit the Rs 24 to 28 crore mark by Monday.
The film, directed by first time director Omung Kumar, released across 1,800 screens in the country, preceded by a world premiere at the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival. The release had a multiplex to single-screen ratio of 60:40. It has been declared tax free in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Assam. The producers should, hence, recover Rs 12 to 14 crore in the first weekend. Additionally, sources reveal that the movie should make another Rs 3 to 4 crore in music rights under a multiple movie Viacom18 and Zee Music Company deal. This will make the producers’ return on investment on the movie around Rs 16 to 20 crore, putting them in a break-even position. Over and above this, the film had as many as 20 brands tying up with it for association in some form or the other. This translated into visibility worth Rs 20 crore for Mary Kom.
The co-producers released the movie after identifying niches that a biopic on a contemporary female boxer would attract footfalls in. For international distribution, the movie will be released in the overseas markets in a phased manner. The traditional markets for Bollywood movies like US, UK and the UAE will be the territories in the first phase of the international release. Mary Kom is being distributed worldwide by Eros International as part of a four-film deal between the two studios.
Mary Kom is on its way to being a part of the slew of medium budget movies which have reaped rich dividends for its makers after box office collections, satellite rights and music rights. Last year saw Aditya Roy Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor’s Aashiqui 2 bring in 170 per cent returns on investment for the producers while this year, Alia Bhatt and Arjun Kapoor’s 2 States leads the profitability table with profitability of 92%. Despite its slow start, Queen also turned profitable at the box office during its lifetime at the movie screens.
“Mary Kom has delivered a strong opening day and set a new first day benchmark for heroine-centric films. The word of mouth is positive and Priyanka’s standout performance has touched a chord with audiences across sections,” Ajit Andhare, chief operating officer, Viacom18 Motion Pictures, said in a statement.
It’s a story of a strong willed Manipur-based girl, who faced all odds to pursue her passion and continued to follow her love for boxing even after becoming a wife and mother of two.
The film, as well as Chopra’s performance as Mary Kom, has won her praise from all quarters, while newcomer Darshan Kumar has received applause for essaying the lead character’s husband, who turns out to be a huge support system in letting his wife live her dream.
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