MUMBAI: Shah Rukh Khan starrer My Name Is Khan, which is directed by Karan Johar and distributed by Fox has had a smashing opening at the box office.
Just when the industry believed that 3 Idiots had set records which would be stay for a long time, box office Badshah Shah Rukh Khan’s MNIK looks set to break it just six weeks later. Despite having a limited release in Maharashtra, Gujarat and parts of Madhya Pradesh on Friday, MNIK’s worldwide box office collections are estimated at Rs 250 million (Rs. 25 crore) for Friday. This is the highest ever collections for a non-holiday Friday in Bollywood history. Industry analysts estimate that it could have easily earned an additional Rs 50-60 million (Rs 5-6 crore) if it had been released normally across India. With the film playing everywhere across the country from Saturday onwards and given the strong buzz, this number is only expected to grow.
WORLDWIDE RECORDS
On the first day outside India, almost every record for Bollywood films was broken globally. Internationally, it is the biggest International opening day by almost 30% of its closest competitor, 3 Idiots.
UK BOX OFFICE RECORDS
In the UK, MNIK previewed on Thursday with an incredible £123k from 89 sites, fourth in the market place behind Avatar, The Wolfman Previews and Invictus.
In this market, MNIK has broken the record for the biggest GBO preview figure for any Bollywood release. The biggest single day preview figure in the UK was previously KANK with £98k. The biggest total previews figure was 3 Idiots, which had 2 days of previews (Wed/Thu) during the Xmas holiday period with £121k. MNIK single day previews are bigger than both days of 3 Idiots put together.
ANZ RECORDS
In Australia, Thursday previews of MNIK grossed a very good $34k. The movie is ranked #11 in the market. This is 107% of 3 Idiots Thursday BO.
In New Zealand, opening day took $ 9,727. Bollywood films traditionally open on a Friday. The exception is 3 Idiots, against which MNIK has over-performed by 204%.
MIDDLE EAST RECORDS
The film is already 50% higher than any other previous film in Bollywood history with an opening day estimated at $300k.
There’s a huge demand for additional prints in the existing chains across the Middle East and the print count is expected to increase to around 60 by next week. Given the strong buzz, the film also will be released in Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Oman and Lebanon in the coming week.
“We are delighted with the performance and audience reactions across demographics. More so, because this is only phase one of the film release. In addition to the release across 45 countries, MNIK will be rolled out in a phased manner across 25 non-traditional markets from April onwards,” said Fox Star Studios India CEO Vijay Singh.
