The National Cinema Day led to jubilation in the exhibition sector as almost all the films ran with house full or near sold-out shows. Once ticket prices came to normal on Saturday, September 21, the collections of all the films dropped. But one film proved to be an exception – Navra Maza Navsacha 2. The film is having an unbelievable run in Maharashtra and is sure to become one of the biggest Marathi blockbusters of all time.
As per trade sources, Navra Maza Navsacha 2 earned Rs. 2 crores approx. on the day of release. The word of mouth is positive and there’s a huge demand for the film as the first part, Navra Maza Navsacha (2004), has a cult following. As a result, the second day collections saw a jump and it earned Rs. 2.40 crores approx. The increase in collections might not seem much but it’s significant as a chunk of moviegoers saw the film at Rs. 99 on the first day while the rates were high on Saturday. Yet, the audience turned up to see it which shows that the word has spread.
In fact, Stree 2, which is having a historic run, is facing tough competition for the first time since its release more than a month ago, thanks to Navra Maza Navsacha 2. There’s such an insane demand for the film that the theatres are now adding extra shows and allotting 2 and even 2 ½ screens to it.
Meanwhile, the shows of the new releases –Yudhra and Kahan Shuru Kahan Khatam – have been drastically reduced as their collections fell down on Saturday after a decent first day. Mumbai’s popular Gaiety-Galaxy cinemas, also known as G7 multiplex, was playing 2 shows of Navra Maza Navsacha 2 in 105-seater Gossip and 3 shows of Kahan Shuru Kahan Khatam until Saturday. From Sunday, they are compelled to play 4 shows of the Marathi film while Kahan Shuru Kahan Khatam now only has 1 show at 12 noon.
In the Marathi-dominated area of Dadar-Matunga-Lalbaug, theatres have discontinued Yudhra. The single screens of Dadar have majorly given all shows to Navra Maza Navsacha 2 with Stree 2 and Tumbbad getting one show each in Inox Nakshatra and MovieTime Star City respectively.
In multiplexes like Inox Raghuleela Kandivali, PVR Oberoi Mall Goregaon, PVR Orion Panvel, PVR Growel Kandivali and Mukta A2 SunCity Cinema, Yudhra now has just 1 show. Navra Maza Navsacha 2, meanwhile, has 6 shows in Inox Raghuleela Kandivali and PVR Oberoi Mall Goregaon. It has a whopping 16 shows in Cinepolis Thane, 14 shows in MovieTime Hub Goregaon, 13 shows in PVR Orion Panvel and 12 shows in Maxus Borivali.
Theatres like Regal Cinema rarely play a Marathi film. It’s showing Navra Maza Navsacha 2 all day. In a rare instance, MovieTime Suburbia Bandra and PVR Le Reve Bandra, too, have accommodated the comedy sequel, looking at the demand.
The scenario is similar in other centres of Maharashtra as well. It now remains to be seen how big the Sunday would be for Navra Maza Navsacha 2. But it’ll be something to watch out for, looking at the showcasing. The trending also proves that the weekday collections will be encouraging.
Last year, Baipan Bhari Deva (2023), the second biggest blockbuster of Marathi cinema, collected Rs. 12.50 crores in the first week. Navra Maza Navsacha 2 has the potential to do higher in the first week, although reaching the first week’s collections of Riteish Deshmukh’s Ved (2022) – Rs. 20.67 crores – will be tougher.
Both Baipan Bhari Deva and Ved had the benefit of open weeks and their second week collections were more than the first week earnings. Navra Maza Navsacha 2, however, will face a challenge as Dharmaveer 2 will be arriving on September 27. The first part was a decent hit. Devara, starring Jr NTR, Jahnvi Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan, will also take away some screens. This will be followed by Joker: Folie a Deux on October 2 and Jigra and Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video on October 11. Thus, it’ll be an interesting scenario as theatres will accommodate new releases while also giving sufficient shows to Navra Maza Navsacha 2, should the demand persist.
