Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan made a grand comeback to the big screen with his spy action film 'Pathaan'. The film that was released on Wednesday, amidst much hype and anticipation, was off to a record-breaking start at the ticket windows.
While early estimates suggested that the Hindi version of the movie earned Rs 50-51 crore, the updated figures coming in on Thursday suggest that the total collections from all sectors around the country may soar higher. According to a report on boxofficeindia, the film which also stars Deepika Padukone and John Abraham, raised a whopping Rs 55-56 crore nett.
The final numbers that came in from Delhi/UP shot past the Rs 11 crore nett mark. The film also reported huge collections from East India with West Bengal raking in an incredible Rs 4.50 crore nett, a first for any film, let alone a non-holiday release.
Nizam/Andhra is looking at a possible Rs 7 crore nett total. Its dubbed versions also reportedly brought in an additional Rs 2 crores on the opening day.
Reports state that the film is underperformance in Gujarat/Saurashtra. This comes after several political groups protested against the release of the film in the state and threatened violence. The protests in MP also reportedly lowered business in the states. Shows in theatres were reportedly cancelled after political party members halted screenings of morning shows. However, after the police stepped in, shows were allowed to resume post 3 pm.
According to production house Yash Raj Films (YRF), the movie's nett day one collection stood at Rs 55 crore, the "highest grossing first day for a Hindi film".
'Pathaan' was also released in Tamil and Telugu on Wednesday.
The Siddharth Anand directorial, which faced boycott calls over the song "Besharam Rang", marks Shah Rukh's return to movies after a gap of over four years. His previous film was 2018's "Zero".
YRF said 'Pathaan' had set multiple new records, including the 'widest Hindi release of all time in India' and 'highest grossing first day for a non-holiday release'.
The first day gross collection of the stylish spy thriller is also the 'highest ever' in Shah Rukh's career as well as for co-stars John Abraham and Deepika Padukone, director Anand and YRF, the studio stated in a press release.
With its record day one haul, "Pathaan" has exceeded the expectations of the industry experts who were banking on the action spectacle to pull out Bollywood from the trenches of the pandemic and a string of box-office duds.
'Pathaan' is the fourth film in producer Aditya Chopra's ambitious spy universe, following Salman Khan's 'Ek Tha Tiger' (2012) and 'Tiger Zinda Hai' (2017), and 'War', featuring Hrithik Roshan (2019).
The movie follows the titular spy Pathaan (Shah Rukh) who comes out of exile to stop terrorist group Outfit X, led by Jim (John), from launching a debilitating attack on India.
'Pathaan' also has a guest appearance by Salman as fellow spy Tiger.
