UPDATED

MUMBAI: It took eight months for a movie to break 3 Idiots’ record of the opening day box office collections. Dabangg surely lives up to its name and has had a "fearless" run at the box office on its opening day with net collections of approximately Rs 145 million (Rs 14.50 crore), thus beating 3 Idiots’ opening day collections of Rs 130 million (Rs 13 crore).

Going by the euphoria surrounding Salman Khan, who is being touted as Bollywood’s Rajnikant after Dabangg, the opening weekend collections of the movie should be in the range of Rs 430 – 450 million (Rs 43- 45 crore) and will beat 3 Idiots’ Rs 380 million (Rs 38 crore) opening weekend record.

As was earlier reported by this website, Dabangg took a stupendous opening at single screens as well as multiplexes across the country. The single screens have contributed to a large extend in taking Dabangg’s box office to greater heights.

As per information available with Businessofcinema.com, Dabangg has been received extremely well at circuits like Rajasthan and CI. While 3 Idiots collected Rs 68 lakhs from Rajasthan on Day 1, Dabangg has done a whopping business of Rs 81 lakhs. On the other hand, in CI, Dabangg saw net collections of approximately Rs 62 lakhs on day 1 as compared to 3 Idiots’ Rs 48 lakhs.

Dabangg’s Day 2 and Day 3 at the box office are eagerly anticipated as this will set another top opening weekend box office record overtaking 3 Idiots. 3 Idiots’ net collections on Saturday and Sunday stood at Rs 116.50 million (Rs 11.65 crore) and Rs 132.50 million (Rs 13.25 crore) respectively.

Top 5 Opening Day Net Collections

1) Dabangg: Rs 145 million (Rs 14.50 crore)

2) 3 Idiots: Rs 130 million (Rs 13 crore)

3) Raajneeti / Kites: Rs 105 million (Rs 10.50 crore)

4) Housefull: Rs 95 million (Rs 9.50 crore)

5) Ghajini: Rs 90 million (Rs 9 crore)