Box Office: Shah Rukh Khan and Prabhas set for personal milestones, Dunki to cross Chennai Express, Salaar [Hindi] to cross Saaho [Hindi]

Dunki has made Rs 210 crore at the Indian box office, and Salaar [Hindi] has crossed Rs 137 crore since their Christmas 2023 release. (Photos via X)

Christmas releases Dunki and Salaar [Hindi] may not have done blockbuster business at the box office, especially considering the kind of credentials that Shah Rukh Khan and Prabhas bring. However, individually these are turning out to be among the biggest grossers for the two superstars. While Dunki is set to surpass the entire lifetime total of Chennai Express in three weeks flat, Salaar [Hindi] is in line to go past the lifetime total of Saaho [Hindi].

As a result, these films would find an entry into the Top-3 grossers ever for the two actors. While Dunki will be third highest money spinner ever for Shah Rukh Khan after Jawan and Pathaan, Salaar will be the second biggest for Prabhas in Hindi after Baahubali: The Conclusion.

Incidentally, Shah Rukh Khan will hold the record of delivering each of his three biggies in the same calendar year, an unparalleled feat. On the other hand, Prabhas too had big hopes with Adipurush which released in the same year but that disappointment has been balanced off to an extent by Saaho.

There is one more major record in play here. When Shah Rukh Khan scored a 500 Crore Club earner with Pathaan [Rs 543.05 crore], it was the first ever Bollywood biggie to achieve this feat as the previous best was Dangal [Rs 387.38 crore]. Then he went on to score a 600 Crore Club earner with Jawan [Rs 644 crore]. On the other hand, it was Prabhas who had opened the 500 Crore Club with Baahubali: The Conclusion and that too in its Hindi version, a record that was chased down by Shah Rukh Khan himself and that too in a year which ended up see the duo clash.

That said, both the films would likely have done much better business if not for the clash. The battle of screens and shows during pre-release not just ended up delaying the advance booking for both the films but also ended up resulting in a heated war, especially on social media between fans. There was a certain divide that came in which reflected in the opening day and then first weekend collections of both the films.

Suffice to say that if not for the clash, both films could have collected at least Rs 50 crore more. One may argue that the two films could well take care of the shortfall in four open weeks that they got after their Christmas arrival since the next big film Fighter is arriving only on the Republic Day weekend. However, given that these days 50 percent or more business typically comes in the first three days of release, both Dunki and Salaar [Hindi] did feel the pinch.

Nonetheless, the good part is that even though both the films are not monumental successes, they are profit makers for sure. Currently, Dunki stands at Rs 210 crore and while the Rs 227 crore total of Chennai Express will be chased down soon, eventually it should find itself around the Rs 240 crore mark. On the other hand, Salaar [Hindi] has Rs 137 crore in its kitty and Rs 150 crore of Saaho [Hindi] too would be overtaken - Salaar will likely eventually find itself in the whereabouts of Rs 160 crore.

With all the brouhaha around the two biggies settling down, it's time to look at the New Year shine with Hrithik Roshan set to bring on an action-packed ride with Siddharth Anand's Fighter.

Note: All collections as per production and distribution sources