Box Office Collection: 'Phata Poster Nikla Hero', 'The Lunchbox' Open to Decent Start

The box office this week witnessed two big releases, Rajkumar Santoshi's "Phata Poster Nikla Hero" and Ritesh Batra's "The Lunchbox". Both the films, belonging to different genres, had decent openings in the Indian market.

"Phata Poster Nikla Hero" is an action comedy directed by Santoshi featuring Shahid Kapoor and Ileana D'cruz in lead roles. The total production cost of the film is ₹40 crore.

The film, which received mixed reviews from critics, has managed to make a decent business of around ₹6 crore on the first day of its release, as per early estimates. [Read the critics review here]

According to trade analyst Taran Adarsh, "PPNH" had registered an average occupancy of about 45 - 50 percent in theatres across India. [PHOTOS: "Phata Poster Nikla Hero" Special Screening] 

And the Shahid starrer was received well by the audience as compared to his last two films "Teri Meri Kahaani" and "Mausam". Director Santoshi feels that "PPNH" will bring huge success for the actor.

"His previous films may not have worked, but he is a wonderful actor. He is very hard working. He has done a good job in the film. I think this will be Shahid's huge break. He will be successful with the film," Santoshi told IANS.

Meanwhile, even in the international market "PPNH" opened in theatres and gained a positive response. In UAE-GCC circuit, the film has become Shahid's biggest start compared to his last two films. The Thursday's preview of the film raked in ₹72.58 lakh (AED 425,000) from UAE.

The second film "The Lunchbox" starring National Award Winning actor Irrfan Khan opened well in certain circuits. Although, released in limited number of screens of 400, the epistolary romantic flick still managed to take their first day business to more than 1 crore.

The film, starring newcomer Nimrat Kaur and Nawazuddin Siddiqui, raked in ₹1.25 crore on Friday.

"#TheLunchbox Fri ₹1.25 cr. Good number for a very controlled release with less than 400 screens/limited shows," tweeted Adarsh.

The collection of the film is expected to grow further during the weekend due to positive word of mouth.