'Raaz 3' collects Rs 35 cr over the weekend at box office

The third edition of the "Raaz" series, "Raaz 3", had a good start at the box office. The film, which opened with paid previews on Thursday, is estimated to have collected about Rs 35 crore over the weekend. It is the seventh film this year to earn Rs 10 crore on the first day.

"Raaz 3" is a horror film starring Bipasha Basu, Esha Gupta and Emraan Hashmi. Directed by Vikram Bhatt, the story revolves around Shanaya (Basu), an actress at the peak of her career and who has a passionate affair with a director named Aditya (Hashmi). All this ends when a younger actress, Sanjana (Gupta), makes her debut and also snatches Aditya from Shanaya's life. Shanaya turns to black magic and makes it her goal in life to destroy Sanjana.
                                                                                                                                                     
The film has also emerged as the biggest opener for Hashmi after "Jannat 2", which earned Rs 8.25 crore on the first day. "Raaz 3" had a good run at the box office thanks to "Joker", the Akshay Kumar-starrer which released last week. "Joker" failed to attract audience to the theatres and collected only Rs 20 crore in the first week. The film is now out from most screens.

Meanwhile, "Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi", starring Boman Irani and Farah Khan, collected around Rs 2.5 crore in the second week, taking its total business to about Rs 12 crore.

The Salman Khan blockbuster "Ek Tha Tiger" continues the golden run. It collected about Rs 10 crore in its third week. The film has grossed a whopping Rs 183 crore in three weeks.

The coming Friday will see the release of the much-awaited Ranbir Kapoor-starrer "Barfi". Three other releases are also scheduled for this Friday, including the low-budget drama "Qayamat Hi Qayamat", the Manish Vatsalya-directed "Jeena Hai Toh Thok Daal", and the Rakshit Dahiya-directed horror flick, "The Lost Tape". It is certain, however, that Barfi will steal the limelight.

Note: All numbers are net domestic box-office collections. Net is gross box-office collections minus taxes applicable.

Source of figures: BoxofficeIndia.com