With Zero set to release next week, last few days for 2.0 to mint money at box office

With 2018 drawing to a close, Bollywood is looking to end the year on a blockbuster note. This week is crucial for Bollywood flicks as Padman tries hard to prove its mettle in China and Rajinikanth and Akshay Kumar-starrer 2.0 tries to make the most of a competition-less Friday.

Unfortunately for Padman, the film has had a slow start in China. While Akshay's previous release Toilet - Ek Prem Katha had made $2.35 million on its opening day, Pad Man made close to half of it as it earned $1.52 million on day one in the Chinese mainland.

2.0 on the other side has collected Rs 6 crore in its second weekend to take its total collection from Hindi theatrical release to Rs 181 crore approximately. Next week Zero is scheduled to release and the Rajinikanth movie will not have a free run at the box office. The million dollar question however is will this Rs 200 crore film surpass the business of Chennai Express and emerge as Shah Rukh Khan's highest grosser? While analysts cannot guarantee if Zero will touch the Rs 400 crore- mark like the Rohit Shetty directed movie, they are confident of the film reaching the Rs 100 crore club within the first three days of its release.

"The success of the trailer launch has given us sky- high hopes and we are expecting the film to do phenomenal business. The audience is waiting for SRK to bounce back with this movie. The film should make at least Rs 30 crore on its opening day. The content of the film has made fans curious enough to walk into the theatres," said film trade analyst Atul Mohan.

The holiday mood with Christmas and New Year just around the corner will add to the film’s advantage felt experts. "Shahrukh's other Christmas release Don 2 had also done very well and we are expecting this to follow suit. The film should be able to make at least Rs 100 crore in three days," added Mohan.

Analysts are not ruling out Zero collecting Rs 150 crore in 5 days if the content turns out to be as strong as what the trailer promised.