Shah Rukh Khan's Pathaan has been smashing box office records from the day it released, on January 25, 2023.
The film had collected Rs 166.75 crore at the box office between Wednesday and Friday (January 25-27, 2023), something that has never happened before for any Hindi release or even a Hollywood release in India ever.
The film had also crossed Rs 300 crore in worldwide earnings - Rs 112 crore coming in from overseas collections - by the end of Day 3 in theatres.
Brahmastra, which had collected Rs 122 crore in its first three days (including numbers from the south versions of Brahmastra) was the biggest Hindi film by this measure before Pathaan. If one considers only the Hindi version, then the next best is Sanju, at Rs 120.06 crore. That's Rs 45 crore less than Pathaan.
Also read: Shah Rukh Khan's 'Pathaan' sets Bollywood record with Rs 100 crore at box office on Day 1
Yes, there have been big releases in the recent past as well. Yash's KGF: Chapter 2 was a big one, even in the Hindi version. Before that Avengers: End Game was huge. A few years back, Baahubali: The Conclusion was huge.
The star factor has played a massive role in bringing audiences to watch Pathaan in theatres (of course, KGF: Chapter 2 did have Yash pulling in the audience; and Baahubali director S.S. Rajamouli and Avengers directors Anthony Russo and Joe Russo have their own fan following too).
If one looks at the dubbed versions of south films, then there too Pathaan has surpassed a few hits. While KGF - Chapter 2 (Hindi) had collected Rs 143.64 crore, Baahubali - The Conclusion (Hindi) made Rs 128 crore over the same duration. These films entered the 400 Crore Club and 500 Crore Club, respectively, so one can only imagine where Pathaan will end up, given the kind of early lead it has taken and the collections for Saturday and Sunday yet to be taken into account.
Also read: Pathaan film review: Shah Rukh Khan’s crackerjack action hero debut at 57
The biggest weekend before this was scored by Avengers: End Game (Rs 157.20 crore), and even the Marvel flick has been edged out by Pathaan. As for the next best from Hollywood, Avatar: The Way of Water, it scored a massive weekend of Rs 127 crore just six weeks back.
But Pathaan hasn't just smashed existing records in the first three days, it has also set new ones which seem unassailable for some time to come at least.
Pathaan, a Yash Raj Films' spy universe offering, made Rs 57 crore just for the Hindi version on Day 1, which is the biggest ever that any film has ever scored in a single language in India.
Then, the second day saw Rs 70.25 crore coming in for Pathaan. Even the third-day earnings (Rs 39.50 crore) were better than the first day collections of most Bollywood releases, barring War (also directed by Siddharth Anand; Rs 53.35 crore), Thugs of Hindostan (Rs 52.25 crore), Happy New Year (Rs 44.97 crores), Bharat (Rs 42.30 crore) and Prem Ratan Dhan Payo (Rs 40.35 crore).
Trade watchers say Pathaan could end up crossing the Rs 250 crore mark by the time the extended opening weekend is over. Post that the 300 Crore Club would be reached during the weekdays itself while the 400 Crore Club entry won't take time beyond the second weekend. From there, the journey towards the 500 Crore Club would begin which would be keenly observed.
Note: All collections as per production and distribution sources
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