"Thackeray" vs "Manikarnika": Which Movie To Dominate Late January Box Office?

Thackeray and Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi are going to have their premieres this Friday.

Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi, featuring Kangana Ranaut as the female lead and director, is based on the real life of Rani Laxmibai and her war against the rule of the British East India Company during the 1857 Indian Rebellion.

Meanwhile, Manikarnika's direct opponent, Thackeray, stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the title role. The movie is a bilingual biographical movie revolving around the life of Bal Thackeray, the political party Shiv Sena's founder.

Owning fascinating stories, both films are highly expected to reach enormous success in their box-office performance. Therefore, when Kangana's Manikarnika confronts Nawazuddin's Thackeray at the box-office today, how the movie experts will predict this clash? Let's see the movie trade analyst' viewpoints on this issue to get a specific look.

According to the favourite trade analyst Girish Johar, Manikarnika will have an advantage over Nawazuddin's movie. "Thackeray may have more takers in Mumbai and other regions of Maharashtra, but overall, it is Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi that will dominate. In South India too, Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi is going to be the more preferred film. Here, Thackeray has a limited release,” stated Johar.

Perhaps the main reason for this imbalance is the difference in cinema coverage of the two movies. Kangana's flick is launching on above 3000 screens, whereas the number of Thackeray's screens only stands at over 1300.

In addition to fighting directly with each other, both movies have to face stiff competition from the current blockbuster, Uri: The Surgical Strike. Vicky Kaushal's film launched on January 11 is reaching extraordinary box-office success.

Both Thackeray and Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi hit the cinemas on January 25.