MUMBAI: The fast-paced action thriller, ‘Race 2’ directed by Abbas-Mustan which stars Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone, John Abraham, Anil Kapoor and others, has managed to rake in above half a century in its first three days at the box office.

Considering that the film released on a long weekend (26th January being a national holiday on account of Republic Day), it has managed to silence its detractors by raking in a cool three day total of approximately Rs 506 million (50.6 crore) net in its first weekend.

The opening day saw ‘Race 2’ garner an incredible Rs 150 million (15 crore net), while Saturday contributed to the biggest business of the film so far with a whopping Rs 205 million (20.5 crore) net. This was due to the fact that Saturday was a public holiday, due to Republic Day being celebrated in India.

Sunday again saw a good business of Rs 151 million (15.1 crore) net, bringing the three day total up to a very impressive Rs 506 million (50.6 crore) net.

The highest business seen by ‘Race 2’ was in the big trade circles like Mumbai, Delhi and Punjab. Further, with southern superstar Kamal Hassan’s ‘Vishwaroopam’ being banned from theatres in Tamil Nadu and some parts of Karnataka, ‘Race 2’ saw a head start in these regions as well; with cine-goers having no other option but to spend their money on this Bollywood big flick.

The following week will be a true test of starch for ‘Race 2’, and it remains to be seen whether the film manages to hold onto its lead during the weekdays. Also, it now remains to be seen how quickly ‘Race 2’ will sprint to the finish line, and will end up making the impressive Rs 100 crore number.