"Raja Shivaji" has officially beaten "Sairat" in India net collections — but not in worldwide gross yet — to become the highest earner in Marathi. It is almost nearing its goal; it is expected to reach there soon, considering its strong and steady hold in the box office.
On its third Sunday, the film earned Rs 3.40 crore, which is the highest it earned since the second Sunday's 6.80 crore.
The amount has taken its combined domestic net earnings to Rs 84.80 crore net, as per figures registered by tracker Sacnilk, which is more than the long-standing milestone of Rs 80.98 crore net earned by "Sairat". In terms of domestic gross, it has already reached the 100 crore milestone.
As of now, "Sairat" still holds the absolute top spot for the highest-grossing Marathi film globally at Rs 110 crore gross.
When considering Marathi-language cinema alone, "Raja Shivaji" reached the 80 crore mark in just 16 days, while Sairat took approximately five weeks (around 35 days) to reach the same milestone back in 2016. Because the latter was a sleeper hit with a tiny initial footprint, its box office trajectory relied on legendary, long-term theatrical stamina rather than a massive opening.
When it comes to Return on Investment (ROI), though, "Sairat" is exponentially more profitable than "Raja Shivaji.
While "Raja Shivaji" is a massive financial success, it is a heavy-budget regional event film. "Sairat", on the other hand, is one of the most profitable ventures in the entire history of Indian cinema due to its microscopic production cost.
Built on a meagre budget of just Rs 4 crore, "Sairat" yielded an astronomical 1,924% return on investment solely from theatrical runs, completely excluding satellite and music rights.
"Raja Shivaji" has, on the other hand, an estimated budget of Rs 75 crore (not official), so its barrier to high profitability is much steeper. If the budget is indeed the aforementioned number, then the 84.80 crore net total has helped recover it.