He has done it in the past and he's at it again. Salman Khan is changing the mathematics at the box office with his new release, 'Sultan'. The wrestling drama co-starring Anushka Sharma, which hit screens on the eve of Eid, ended its first weekend figures at Rs 180.36 crore.
So far, this is his best opener and tenth film since 'Dabangg' (2010) to hit the Rs 100-crore jackpot, not to mention, the biggest hit of 2016.
In the overseas market, the Ali Abbas Zafar film has also done phenomenal business with a major chunk of revenue coming in from the Gulf countries. A mid-week release worked to Sultan's advantage, helping it maintain an average daily business of nearly Rs 36 crore although it could not break the opening day collection record of Rs 44.97 crore held by Shah Rukh Khan's 'Happy New Year' (2014).
Trade experts expected the film to make Rs 150-160 crore by Sunday, but the audience response has taken them by surprise. "To say Sultan has proved to be a box office juggernaut will be an understatement. The film should comfortably reach the Rs 200-crore mark by the end of its sixth day (Monday), thereby, becoming the fastest money-spinner in the history of Bollywood. It has done exceptionally well overseas too. One has to see if it can touch Rs 350 crore and become the biggest blockbuster of all time," says trade guru Amod Mehra.
Trade pundit Taran Adarsh says Salman has raised the bar for Hindi film business and surpassed the lifetime business of several BO biggies in just five days. "Even if you took Sultan's three-day collections into account (Rs 105.34 crore), you will see it has beaten the collections of his last two releases - 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan' (Rs 102.60 crore) and 'Prem Ratan Dhan Payo' (Rs 101.47 crore) - over the same time period. 'Sultan' is, clearly, smashing records, and seems set to cross Rs 200 crore. However, now one has to wait and watch if it can cruise past Bajrangi's lifetime numbers and emerge as Salman's biggest hit," he adds.
Salman's top grossers
'Bajrangi Bhaijaan' (2015) - Rs 320.48 cr
'Kick' (2014) - Rs 233.8 cr
'Prem Ratan Dhan Payo' (2015) - Rs 207.40 cr
'Ek Tha Tiger' (2012) - Rs 198 cr
'Dabangg 2' (2012) - Rs 158.4 cr
'Bodyguard' (2011) - Rs 142 cr
'Dabangg' (2010) - Rs 138.88 cr
'Ready' (2011) - Rs 120 cr
Bollywood's all time biggest
'pk' (2014) - Rs 340.6 cr
'Bajrangi Bhaijaan' (2015) - Rs 320.48 cr
'Dhoom 3' (2013) - Rs 286.03 cr
'Krrish 3' (2013) - Rs 244.3 cr
'Kick' (2014) - Rs 233.8 cr
'Chennai Express' (2013) - Rs 227.21 cr
(All figures collected from production and distribution sources)
