Kangana Ranaut's Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi is doing really fine business the box office. It took off to a decent start, earning around Rs 8 crore on the opening. The figures may not look awesome on paper, but do note that the general audiences do not rush themselves to watch a female protagonist-led movie like they do with a Salman Khan or an Aamir Khan film. Manikarnika's opening day collections also fell short of Vidya Balan's The Dirty Picture first day collections of Rs 9 crore. Manikarnika Box Office Collection Day 3: Kangana Ranaut Starrer Has a Fantastic Opening Weekend, Earns Rs 42.55 Crore.

However, Manikarnika saw a huge jump in business on Saturday and Sunday, taking full advantage of the Republic Day weekend. Cruising smoothly on the nationalist fervour wave, the film collected Rs 42.55 crore in three days, which is fabulous. In the process, Manikarnika also got the highest opening weekend for a female-protagonist film. These are the below films that Kangana's magnum opus has beaten to get that honour for itself, one of them having Kangana herself. Manikarnika Beats Tanu Weds Manu Returns; Becomes Kangana Ranaut’s Second Highest Opener with Rs 8.75 Crore on Day 1.

Tanu Weds Manu Returns (Kangana Ranaut)*

Opening Weekend Earnings: Rs 37.58 Crore

*R Madhavan is the male lead. However, the movie has been promoted heavily on Kangana Ranaut's star power.

Veere Di Wedding (Kareena Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor, Swara Bhasker)

Opening Weekend Earnings: Rs 36.52 Crore

Raazi (Alia Bhatt)

Opening Weekend Earnings: Rs 32.72 Crore

Dear Zindagi (Alia Bhatt)*

Opening Weekend Earnings: Rs 32.03 Crore

*Shah Rukh Khan had an extended cameo in the film, and was very prominent in the promotions.

The Dirty Picture

Opening Weekend Earnings: Rs 30.21 Crore

That said, Manikarnika is yet to earn the hit status, as the movie has been made on a budget of Rs 125 crore. It is crucial for the movie to perform well during the weekend, which is made easy by the fact that Manikarnika is enjoying good word-of-mouth publicity. Even director Krish's recent outburst against Kangana is helping the film create a good buzz.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 28, 2019 05:22 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).