Shah Rukh Khan undoubtedly has the biggest fan base for an actor in India. Khan is an icon and one of the biggest movie stars in the world. But his previous film “Zero” was a critical and financial failure. ‘Yash Raj Films’ – one of the oldest and biggest movie studios in India has been suffering with 4 flop films in a row. In-fact, the entire Hindi film industry (Bollywood) has gotten a lot of heat from the audience since last two years for their below par contents. And at such low point, with so much at stake, Mr. Khan under ‘Yash Raj’ banner comes up with “Pathaan,” which not only turns out to be the savior of ‘Yash Raj Films’ and a revival for Bollywood as a whole; but also marks one of the greatest comeback stories for a movie star.
“Pathaan” is part of the much beloved spy universe. And Shah Rukh Khan was coming with a movie after 4 years. So there was a huge anticipation building up before its release. “Pathaan” is released in 100 countries, which is highest for any Indian film. It was set to release on January 25, with 5200 screens in India, 2500 screens overseas, for a total screen count of 7700. But with a positive word of mouth coming out from the first show, and with ever increasing demand, led the distributors to add 300 more shows in India, which makes the worldwide screen count to 8000. The demand for this film was apparent from its first day advanced booking sales at the national chains. It was the highest ever for a Bollywood movie and only the second highest for an Indian film. For context, the highly anticipated “Brahmastra: Part 1 Shiva” ranks 10 on this advanced booking chart.
| Film | Day 1 Advanced Booking at National Chains |
| Baahubali: The Conclusion | 6.50 L tickets sold |
| Pathaan | 5.56 L tickets sold |
| K.G.F. Chapter 2 | 5.15 L tickets sold |
| War | 4.05 L tickets sold |
| Thugs of Hindostan | 3.46 l tickets sold |
“Pathaan” opens with a bang. It collected a whopping 55 Crores, which is the highest ever collection for any Hindi film on day 1. The record set by the Hindi version of K.G.F. chapter 2 has finally been broken.
| Film | Nett Box Office (Hindi) on Day 1 |
| Pathaan | 55 Crores |
| K.G.F. Chapter 2 (Hindi) | 53.95 Crores |
| War | 51.60 Crores |
| Thugs of Hindostan | 50.75 Crores |
“Pathaan” was the number 1 film in the United States and Canada on January 25, collecting $1.5 Million from just 600 theaters, beating out “Avatar: The Way of Water,” which was playing on 3000 theaters that day. Total overseas collection was $4.5 Million. It also collected 2 Crores from Telugu and Tamil dubbed versions. The first day worldwide total of “Pathaan” is a ginormous 106 Crores, given the fact that it was released on a non- holiday. “Pathaan” has now the 5th highest worldwide opening for an Indian film.
| Film | First Day Worldwide Collection |
| RRR | 223 Crores |
| Baahubali: The Conclusion | 213 Crores |
| K.G.F. Chapter 2 | 165 Crores |
| Saaho | 125 Crores |
| Pathaan | 106 Crores |
Day 2 was January 26, a holiday (Republic Day) in India. Box office numbers were expected to rise. And it saw a monumental jump. The Hindi version shot up to 68 Crores on Day 2. It was the first time for a Bollywood film to collect more than 60 Crores in a single day. Tamil and Telugu dubbed versions collected 2.5 Crores. At the end of 2nd day, Total Hindi collection was 123 Crores, and total worldwide collection was a whopping 219.60 Crores.
As “Pathaan” was released on Wednesday, so its 3rd day was on a Friday (working day). So, box office collection was not expected to perform like the first two days. But Hindi version of “Pathaan” still managed to earn 38 Crores, whereas Tamil and Telugu versions collected 1.25 Crores. From USA, the film collected $1.87 Million. After the first 3 days, all India Nett collection in Hindi was 161 Crores, and Worldwide total reached 313 Crores (210 Crores from India in all versions, and 112 Crores from overseas).
Day 4 was Saturday, and a big jump was expected. “Pathaan” scored another half century (51.50 Crores) in Hindi version and became the fastest Hindi film to hit the double century mark (212.50 Crores). Tamil and Telugu versions added another 1.75 Crores. At the end of fourth day, “Pathaan” collected 265 Crores from India, and 164 Crores from Overseas gross collection for a worldwide total of 429 Crores.
| Hindi Film | Days to collect 200 Crores Nett |
| Pathaan | 4 |
| K.G.F. Chapter 2 (Hindi) | 5 |
| Baahubali: The Conclusion (Hindi) | 6 |
Day 5 is on Sunday, the last day of the opening weekend. “Pathaan” smashes 58.5 Crores in Hindi and becomes the fastest Hindi film to hit 250 Crores. Its Hindi Nett Box office total is now 271 Crores. The film collected another 2.25 Crores from Tamil and Telugu dubbed versions. After the first extended weekend was over, “Pathaan” collected 207 Crores in overseas gross collection, and 335 Crores in India Gross collection; taking the worldwide total to a mammoth 542 Crores.
| Hindi Film | Days to collect 250 Crores Nett |
| Pathaan | 5 |
| K.G.F. Chapter 2 (Hindi) | 7 |
| Baahubali: The Conclusion (Hindi) | 8 |
Now let us observe the day wise collection and the final total of “Pathaan” on its opening weekend.
| Day | Hindi Nett BOC (in Crores) | Telugu + Tamil Nett Boc (in Crores) | North America Gross BOC (in Million Dollars) |
| 1 | 55 | 2 | 1.48 |
| 2 | 68 | 2.5 | 1.11 |
| 3 | 38 | 1.25 | 1.85 |
| 4 | 51.5 | 1.75 | 2.86 |
| 5 | 58.5 | 2.25 | 1.22 |
| Total | 271 | 9.75 | 8.54 |
This kind of box office rampage is unheard of in Bollywood. With 271 Crores in Hindi Nett Box Office in just one weekend, “Pathaan” is probably going to be the first Bollywood film to enter the 400 Crores club. If it continues to perform well, it can very well touch the heights (434 Crores) set by K.G.F. chapter 2 (Hindi). With 542 Crores of worldwide box office in just one weekend, it will not be surprising if “Pathaan” ends its theatrical run with more than 1000 Crores.
See more: Will The Critical Failure And Disastrous Box Office Of ‘Babylon’ Hurt Its Oscar Chances?