Shah Rukh Khan’s new film Pathaan has smashed Indian box office records following its release last week, bringing hope to Bollywood after a spate of weak showings. Pathaan recorded the highest-ever box office collections for a Hindi film for its opening and second day in India, and raked in Rs. 250 crore in its first five days, trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted Sunday. Its international ticket sales soared past Rs. 100 crore in just three days, according to Yash Raj Films, which produced the movie.
It comes after glitzy Hindi-language Bollywood films struggled at the box office following the reopening of Indian cinemas about a year ago after a pandemic hiatus.
“The unprecedented celebratory success of Pathaan, I think, speaks volumes about where we are headed as the Hindi movie industry,” movie theatre chain owner Akshaye Rathi told AFP on Monday.
“Here we are back to the old school way of celebrating cinema in theatres as a community viewing experience.”
The release of Pathaan, 57-year-old Khan’s first movie in four years, had been highly anticipated.
Khan, popularly known as ‘King Khan,’ has a huge fan following around the world. The film also features Deepika Padukone and John Abraham.
Videos shared on social media showed fans in Indian cinemas dancing and cheering during the film.
Last year, films from southern India, such as the Telugu-language RRR, dominated box office takings.
RRR has also been feted internationally, winning a Golden Globe for best original song and scoring an Oscar nomination in the same category.
