Riteish Deshmukh‘s Raja Shivaji has made an emphatic start at the box office, converting enormous pre-release anticipation into a powerful first two days in cinemas. After arriving on Maharashtra Day with exceptional visibility and audience curiosity, the historical drama has quickly established itself as one of the standout Marathi releases of 2026.
Released on May 1, the film came mounted as an ambitious big-screen tribute to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Backed by Jio Studios and Mumbai Film Company, Raja Shivaji opened across Marathi and Hindi, with Maharashtra emerging as the clear centre of its early strength as families and community audiences turned up in large numbers.
Raja Shivaji Delivers A Strong Day 2
The makers shared that Raja Shivaji collected ₹11.50 crore net on Saturday after a ₹12.40 crore net opening day, taking its two-day India net total to ₹23.90 crore. For a film that debuted on a major state holiday, that second-day number is significant because it points to sustained audience turnout beyond the initial celebratory rush.
That performance gives the film a sturdy early base at the box office and suggests that its appeal is extending beyond opening-day excitement. The blend of historical reverence, scale and mainstream packaging appears to have clicked strongly with its core audience, especially in the Marathi belt where the film has found its biggest response so far.
A Grand Canvas Powered By A Starry Ensemble
The scale of Raja Shivaji is matched by the team assembled behind and in front of the camera. The 2026 historical action drama is co-written and directed by Riteish Deshmukh, while Genelia Deshmukh and Jyoti Deshpande have produced the film under the Mumbai Film Company and Jio Studios banners.
The film features a large ensemble that includes Sanjay Dutt, Abhishek Bachchan, Vidya Balan, Mahesh Manjrekar, Sachin Khedekar, Bhagyashree, Fardeen Khan, Boman Irani, Jitendra Joshi, Amole Gupte and Genelia Deshmukh alongside Riteish Deshmukh. With music by Ajay-Atul and cinematography by Santosh Sivan, the film has been designed as a sweeping historical spectacle rather than a narrowly mounted period piece.
Based on the life of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, founder of the Maratha Empire, Raja Shivaji brings his journey and legacy to the screen through a large-format dramatic treatment. With ₹23.90 crore net already accumulated in just two days, the film has firmly claimed its place among the year’s biggest Marathi box office stories and underlined the commercial power of culturally rooted cinema on a grand scale.
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