In less than 24 hours from now, the wait would be over. ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’, the biggest film of the year so far, would be seeing the widest release across the country, and in the process would most definitely take the biggest start in theatres. In fact its direct competition would be with ‘Bahubali’ as in Hindi, there hasn’t been anything that has even come close to a record opening. In fact ‘ABCD 2’ had the highest opening day with Rs. 14 crore (Rs. 140 million) and that would be more than just doubled by the Kabir Khan directed film.
Salman Khan’s record for the highest opening day is Rs. 33 crore (Rs. 330 million), which was for ‘Ek Tha Tiger’. On the other hand, the opening of his last release, Kick, was Rs. 26.5 crore (Rs. 265 million). Now for ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’, at least Rs. 30 crore (Rs. 300 million) are pretty much on the cards. Moreover, a Rs. 100 crore (Rs. 1 billion) weekend is pretty much for the taking. As for more moolah coming in, it would all boil down to the content, though buzz is that this Eros production is a true emotional entertainer in the making that would go far beyond instant-coffee affairs that Salman Khan films pretty much turn out to be.
So far, Salman Khan has recorded seven straight successes in a row (‘Dabangg’, ‘Ready’, ‘Bodyguard’, ‘Ek Tha Tiger’, ‘Dabangg 2’, ‘Jai Ho’, ‘Kick’) and now with ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’, he is set to add on his eighth.
Kabir Khan has a clean record so far with last couple of his films being good money spinners (‘Ek Tha Tiger’ – Rs. 199 crore – Rs. 1.99 billion, New York – Rs. 45 crore – Rs. 450 milion). With ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’, he should be comfortably topping his highest score. As for Eros, they are on a winning spree after ‘Tanu Weds Manu Returns’, ‘Badlapur’ and ‘NH10’. They should make it four in a row now with ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’.
All in all, a very hearty weekend ahead for the industry.
Joginder Tuteja tweets @tutejajoginder
