
Stills from Dilwale and Bajirao Mastani
Trade analyst Komal Nahta announced the news on Twitter:
Opening of #Dilwale ranges from good to very good to excellent. Opening of #BajiraoMastani is ordinary to fair, but good at places.
— Komal Nahta (@KomalNahta) December 18, 2015
#Dilwale 1st day in UAE best ever for Hindi film, approx $900,000 (estimate). Ahead of Star Wars by 60%, & of #BajiraoMastani by around 400%
— Komal Nahta (@KomalNahta) December 18, 2015
Another Box Office India finding qualifies that Bajirao Mastani's earnings are still below those of this year's biggest Bollywood blockbusters Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Prem Ratan Dhan Payo.
Bajirao Mastani, which stars Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra, has won praise from the critics. In his review for NDTV, Saibal Chatterjee writes, "There isn't a dull moment in this colourful and dramatic film that embraces excess with unabashed abandon." Mr Chatterjee says about Dilwale, starring Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Varun Dhawan and Kriti Sanon, "The lead pair can together still generate a fair bit of pop and sizzle when the dice rolls in their favour in a rather uneven game that is an erratic cocktail of romance, action and comedy. The lead pair is all heart. The film they are trapped in is, unfortunately, utterly soulless."