Actor Shah Rukh Khan’s (SRK’s) comeback film Pathaan, which released on Wednesday across 8,000 screens worldwide, has set the cash registers ringing for theatres in India and around the globe.
First-day domestic collections, excluding taxes (that is, net collections), have come in at Rs 55 crore, the highest for a Hindi movie, Yash Raj Films (YRF), which produced and distributed the flick, said on Thursday.
Together with its Telugu and Tamil dubs, the movie has raked in Rs 57 crore in first-day collections in India, said YRF, with worldwide gross collections crossing Rs 100 crore on Day One.
“For Pathaan to shatter records on a non-holiday, just proves that the theatrical business is here to stay, provided we make films that entice people to come to the cinemas to witness a never-seen-before-experience that entertains them thoroughly,” said Akshaye Widhani, chief executive officer, YRF.
So far, the record for the highest first-day net earnings for a Hindi movie in India was held by the Hindi version of KGF: Chapter 2 at Rs 53.95 crore. The film had released in April last year after a strong marketing campaign by its makers.
YRF’s 2019 release War, starring Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff, collected Rs 53.35 crore on its first day and Aamir Khan-starrer Thugs of Hindostan, also a YRF release, had earned Rs 52.25 crore in 2018, according to trade experts.
India’s top three films in terms of first-day net collections, however, are from the South, pointing to the connect this industry has with the masses. The list takes into consideration all languages the films have been released and includes names such as S S Rajamouli’s RRR at Rs 158.6 crore, KGF: Chapter 2 at Rs 134.5 crore, and Rajamouli’s Baahubali: The Conclusion at Rs 121 crore. While the second part of Baahubali was released in 2017, RRR, like KGF 2, was released last year.
While South Indian cinema is looking to consolidate its position in 2023 after a stellar run last year, Pathaan, says Devang Sampat, chief executive officer of multiplex chain Cinepolis India, has a few things working in its favour.
“One is the star power of SRK and his ability to reinvent himself at the age of 57. The second is the stylised production, VFX work, and action sequences in the film. And the third aspect is that Pathaan has been mounted on a large scale, aimed at proving a big screen experience to viewers,” he says.
While worldwide gross collections of Pathaan have touched Rs 100 crore on Day One, from an Indian perspective that number will be likely achieved by the end of Day Two, which is Republic Day, a national holiday, say trade experts.
Scenes of fans cheering loudly inside and outside theatres across the country, notwithstanding some states witnessing protests, have only added to the excitement.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if the film crosses Rs 100 crore in net box office collections in India by the end of Day Two,” says Karan Taurani, senior vice-president-research at Mumbai-based brokerage Elara Capital.
Estimates suggest that the film could breach the Rs 200-crore mark by the end of its first weekend in theatres. It could also come within striking distance of the Rs 300-crore mark by the end of its first week in cinemas.
Clearly, for the Hindi film industry, Pathaan has come as a huge respite, at least for now.
