As was mentioned in this column before the weekend, it was pretty much on the cards that 'Dil Dhadakne Do' would manage a 10 crore opening day for itself. However, it was also expected that the multi-starrer would have at least slightly bigger opening than this and possibly even challenge the 13 crore start that 'Gabbar Is Back' had managed. However, it didn't quite turn out to be the case and Friday numbers had to settle down at 10.5 crore mark.

This being an expensive film, the need of the hour was immediate escalation in days to follow. While there was good momentum on Saturday and Sunday, it wasn't monumental enough to bring the film into a situation from where it can be said with utmost certainty that it would enjoy a really good run for itself. With around 38-39 crore* in its kitty, the film's collections are in the same range as 'Tanu Weds Manu Returns' opening weekend. However, the Aanand L. Rai directed film had seen massive appreciation at a much lesser number of screens while Zoya Akhtar has a lesser target audience on a bigger screen count.

All eyes are now on how the weekdays would perform because the film needs to be ultra-stable. Since the word of mouth as well as critical acclaim ranges from below average to average to good to very good (which means very mixed), it would be interesting to see if the film manages to have audience rooting for it just on the basis of performances (Ranveer Singh, Anil Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra).

Meanwhile, 'Tanu Weds Manu Returns' was not impacted by any competition around it and continued to bring in audience for itself. With around 11 crore* more coming in the third weekend, the film now has collections to the tune of 127 crore* which is fantabulous by all means. A Blockbuster already, it is now time to sit back and enjoy its good run as it would have long legs in weeks to follow as well.

* Final numbers awaited

Note: All collections as per production and distributor sources

Joginder Tuteja tweets @tutejajoginder