After getting embroiled in quite a few controversies, Kangana Ranaut's much-awaited film Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi finally hit the theatres on Friday, January 25. The film garnered decent reviews and had an average opening on day 1. However, the period war drama picked up its business over the weekend courtesy strong word of mouth. Yes, the audiences seem to be liking Kangana's latest offering and hence Manikarnika has turned out to be her biggest opener to date. Despite having a female star in the lead, Manikarnika has done really well at the box office so far which is commendable. Manikarnika Beats Shootout At Wadala to Become Kangana Ranaut's Fourth Highest Weekend Grosser; Earns Rs 26.85 Crore by Day 2.

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh took to microblogging site Twitter a while back and revealed the figures for the opening weekend. He wrote, "#Manikarnika has an excellent weekend... Crosses ₹ 40 cr mark after a sluggish start [Day 1]... Kangana’s biggest opener... Delhi, NCR, UP, Punjab and Rajasthan have performed best... Fri 8.75 cr, Sat 18.10 cr, Sun 15.70 cr. Total: ₹ 42.55 cr. India biz. #Hindi #Tamil #Telugu."

Further, a report in Boxofficeindia.com states, "Manikarnika - The Queen Of Jhansi (Hindi) has done well in its first weekend with collections around the 40 crore nett mark but despite getting the weekend collections that appreciation is not there in some parts like Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Nizam while the weekdays will tell about the other places." Manikarnika Beats Tanu Weds Manu Returns; Becomes Kangana Ranaut’s Second Highest Opener with Rs 8.75 Crore on Day 1.

Interestingly, Kangana's film Tanu Weds Manu Returns had collected around Rs 37 crore in its opening weekend back in 2015 and that was the highest weekend collection for any female-driven film. And now with Manikarnika faring well, looks like the Ms Ranaut is heading towards another hit at the box office.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 28, 2019 11:58 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).