Neerja and Airlift
Neerja and Airliftfacebook

Sonam Kapoor's "Neerja" had the second best first week box office collection in India after "Airlift" this year. The film made an income of approximately Rs 35.32 crore in its first week box office run.

Sonam's film "Neerja," based on the real-life story of flight attendant Neerja Bhanot, has shattered the first week records of Sunny Deol's "Ghayal Once Again" in India. "Ghayal Once Again" minted Rs 33.25 crore in its first week, whereas the Sonam-starrer "Neerja" earned Rs 35.32 crore.

"#Neerja emerges a WINNER. The ROCK-STEADY biz on weekdays clearly indicates that Weekend 2 will be SOLID as well," trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted, adding: "#Neerja Fri 4.70 cr, Sat 7.60 cr, Sun 9.71 cr, Mon 3.70 cr, Tue 3.41 cr, Wed 3.14 cr, Thu 3.06 cr. Total: ₹ 35.32 cr. India biz. REMARKABLE!"

The first week box office collection of Ram Madhvani's directorial film "Neerja" is also among the top female centric grossers. "Neerja" recorded the fourth highest first week income among the female centric films. Priyanka Chopra's "Mary Kom" has the highest first week income among the female centric films, followed by Deepika Padukone's "Piku," and Kareena Kapoor Khan's "Heroine."

The Sonam-starrer will dominate the box office in its second week, as the film is still running high on positive reviews. Also, the tax-free status in two states will encourage moviegoers to watch the film again.

After Maharashtra, Gujarat government has now granted a tax-free status to the film. "We were here to make an appeal to the CM about making the movie tax-free. We are confident the CM will consider our appeal," Sonam's father Anil Kapoor told media persons after the meeting, according to Press Trust of India.

Meanwhile, Akshay's film "Airlift" box office run has almost come to an end in India. "Airlift" is the highest Republic Day grosser in India, but the film failed to beat Akshay's biggest earner "Rowdy Rathore" record at the domestic box office.

"Airlift" has earned net Rs 126.69 crore until now and is unlikely to add any more money to its lifetime box office collection.