Priyanka Chopra-starrer 'Mary Kom' has had a great start at the box office. For starters, the film has collected Rs 31 crore in the first four days of its release, beating Rani Mukherji's 'Mardaani', which collected Rs 22 crore in the first four days of its release. The latter film's total collection in the third week is around Rs 34 crore.
Trade analyst Amod Mehra says in some theatres, exhibitors hiked up ticket prices and thus, didn't really pass on the film's tax benefits to the audiences. "'Mary Kom' could've done even better if the audiences could actually avail of the tax benefits. That said, 'Queen' took two weeks to cross this mark and 'Mary Kom' has already collected this sum in its first four days. Mary Kom's first four-day collection is almost equal to that of 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag'."
The success of women-centric films at the box office is seems to be adding to the exhibitors' confidence. Exhibitor Rajesh Thadani says, "'Mary Kom' created a lot of buzz before its release and I anyway expected the film to collect around Rs 40 crore."
Reacting to reports about exhibitors cheating the audiences, Vishal Anand of Fun Cinemas says, "We haven't done anything of this sort; in fact, the tax benefits have helped boost the film's collections in Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh." He adds, "Biopics of known sportspersons such as Milkha Singh and Mary Kom have an edge over other films, as the audience can connect with such films."
