Yes, Shah Rukh Khan's Pathaan has shattered box office records on its opening. But how does Pathaan's first three days at the box office fare against mega-blockbusters from the south like Bahubali, RRR, and KGF?
We try to read the India box office numbers of Pathaan in context of previous blockbusters and see if the movie can finally get SRK a place in the country's top-10 highest grossers (yes, the superstar does not have even a single movie up there in the celebrated list yet).
A Record Opening
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Marking a record opening, Pathaan collected over Rs 150 crore in its first three days, early reports of Box Office India suggested.
Pathaan has broken several records, both in India and worldwide. The movie saw the biggest-ever opening day for a Hindi-language release, and that too on a non-holiday weekday.
The Shah Rukh Khan-starrer also achieved the feat of becoming the first Bollywood movie to gross over Rs 100 crore globally on the first day of release. The film created history by delivering the biggest international debut for a Bollywood movie.
Pathaan beats all the Bollywood movies when it comes to the collection of opening three days. It only falls behind the mega blockbusters from south – Bahubali 2, KGF 2, RRR, and 2.O.
Does a Record Start Mean a Historical End?
Not necessarily. We have seen several Bollywood movies over the past few years which delivered a record-breaking opening but lulled responses in the following days.
For instance, Aamir Khan's Thugs Of Hindostan saw a record opening of over Rs 52 crore. Its release benefitted from Diwali holidays of 2018 and the weekend that followed. But after the opening weekend, the movie lost its momentum drastically. Its lifetime domestic earning was capped at a little over Rs 151 crore. That means, its opening day constituted of over 66 per cent of its gross lifetime earnings at the Indian box office.
Salman Khan's Bharat and Prem Ratan Dhan Payo also met a similar fate at the box office.
However, these movies had not received the kind of enthusiastic fan reviews and positive critic reviews that Pathaan has. The Shah Rukh-Deepika starrer is therefore being projected to continue a good run at the box office.
Can Pathaan Overtake Bahubali 2, KGF 2 & RRR?
Pathaan could not surpass the opening box office numbers of some of the mega blockbusters that originated in south India. But it is well in the race to reach the all-time collection levels of those movies.
Let's look at the list of highest grossing movies in India, which the team behind the King Khan-starrer will be hoping to top.
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SRK's Biggest Success Ever?
Pathaan is clearly Shah Rukh's biggest opener in his career of over 30 years.
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In just three days, Pathaan has already become Shah Rukh's third most successful box office movie, surpassing Rs 148 crore earning of Dilwale (2015). It only remains behind Chennai Express's Rs 227 crore and Happy New Year's Rs 203 crore.
With the kind of response Pathaan is getting, it will most probably achieve the feat by the end of its opening weekend.
Fasten your seatbelts, because it seems that Pathaan is here to make more box office history!
Multimedia Producer: Naman Shah
Research Assistants: Irmeen Ansari, Chaheti Khandelwal
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