Box Office: Dunki and Salaar promise a satisfying close to 2023

Dunki has crossed Rs 50 crore in box office collections in two days. (Dunki poster via X)

It all started with Pathaan earlier this year. A flurry of blockbusters followed, coupled with record chasers and record breakers. While the month of January saw Shah Rukh Khan set new milestones for several Bollywood movies to follow, the year is now closing with his Dunki as well as Prabhas’ Salaar (Hindi) arriving together at the box office and doing well.

No, the two films haven’t taken a blockbuster start. Or shall we say that compared to Pathaan, Gadar 2 and Animal, their opening-day take is lower. However, leave these out-and-out action films aside, and you would see that Dunki and Salaar (Hindi) are among the10 biggest openers of 2023. It’s just that since far bigger films have been seen making waves at the box office this year, when Dunki opens at Rs 29.20 crore and Salaar (Hindi) starts at Rs 15 crore*, then it comes across as relatively less impressive.

Top 10 opening days of 2023 for the Hindi film releases

Jawan - Rs 75 crore (including Rs 9.50 crore from south versions)

Animal - Rs 65 crore (including Rs 10 crore from south versions)

Pathaan - Rs 57 crore (including Rs 2 crore from south versions)

Gadar 2 - Rs 40.10 crore

Tiger 3 - Rs 44.50 crore (including Rs 1.50 crore from south versions)

Adipurush (Hindi) - Rs 36 crore

Dunki - Rs 29.20 crore

Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan - Rs 15.81 crore

Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar - Rs 15.73 crore

Salaar (Hindi) - Rs 15 crore*

As can be seen, Dunki has taken the seventh biggest start of 2023 whereas Salaar (Hindi) finds itself at the No. 10 slot. In fact, once the final official collections come in, then the Prashant Neel-directed massy action drama could well find itself in the eighth spot, by going past Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan and Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar.

What happens from this point on would be truly exciting since both films are finding decent to good appreciation amongst the target audiences. Dunki has already scored its second day as well, due to its Thursday release and netted Rs 50.20 crore* already after bringing in Rs 21 crore more. On the other hand, Salaar (Hindi) is still fighting it out to gain a better share of the single screens and it would be interesting to see if the exhibitors bow down to audience demand.

This is a long weekend, with Christmas falling on Monday, and then holiday season will ensure that the weekdays are stable too with Big Bang from next weekend onwards followed by New Year holiday on Monday. 2023 should come to a very satisfactory end from here on, and in next week’s report we would know where the two major releases eventually stand.

*Estimates. Final numbers awaited

Note: All collections as per production and distribution sources