Rashmika Mandanna is one of the most sought after actresses in the industry currently and has had a stupendous year so far. With lead roles in movies like Chhaava, Sikandar, Kubera and Thamma it is safe to say that the actress has been busy in the art of filmmaking. She has once again made her return to the silver screen with Rahul Ravindran’s Telugu feature The Girlfriend, which has so far performed decently at the Box Office.
Released in theatres on November 7th, the movie has received favorable reviews from critics who have praised Mandanna’s performance and the societal themes that the movie tackles. On IMDb, the movie has been summarised as: “A young woman explores love, compatibility and self-discovery during college, experiencing relationship complexities and personal growth.” Movie goers too have given it positive feedback and it currently holds a rating of 8.6/10 on IMDb.
How did The Girlfriend perform at the Box Office?
The Girlfriend opened with Rs 1.3 crore at the Box Office on November 7 as per industry tracker Sacnilk. It maintained steady collections on Day 2 and Day 3 with earnings amounting to Rs 2.4 crore, an 84.62% jump, and Rs 2.7 crore, a 12.50% jump. Though Day 4 saw a slight dip, it was to be expected with the 4th day falling on a Monday. On Day 6 of its theatrical run, The Girlfriend earned Rs 1.25 crore according to rough estimates by Sacnilk.
With Day 6, The Girlfriend’s India net collection has amounted to Rs 10.10 crore with an India gross collection of Rs 10.45 crore. It has also managed to earn Rs 5.26 crore overseas, bringing the total Worldwide collection to Rs 15.7 crore. With the weekend just around the corner, the numbers are bound to go up and the Rashmika Mandanna-starrer which many are calling a “career-best” performance for the actress, is eyeing a potential 20 crore milestone soon. Despite rave reviews, the film seems to have underperformed though trends may change in the near future.
Theatre occupancy on Day 6
The Telugu film was dubbed into two additional languages: Hindi and Tamil, receiving a wide release across major Indian cities. The target audience however, was still Telugu movie-goers and that is apparent with the high number of shows in Hyderabad. Hyderabad, along with Bengaluru, Vizag-Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada had the highest number of shows. 359 shows alone were reserved for the capital of Telangana with Bengaluru getting 266 shows, Vizag-Visakhapatnam getting 100 shows and Vijayawada getting 85.
Overall Telugu occupancy was 18.85% on Day 6 of The Girlfriend’s theatrical run with afternoon shows bringing in the most crowd at 20.23%. Hyderabad shows had an overall occupancy of 22.75% while Bengaluru had an occupancy of 14.50%, Vizag-Visakhapatnam had 18.25% and Vijayawada came in with 13.75% occupancy. For a feature as well-received as The Girlfriend, the bleak numbers are surprising to see but things might pick up pace as the weekend approaches. This is what the ambitious, deeply emotional and introspective film can hope for.