Dangal, the sports biopic starring Aamir Khan in the lead, which released two days ahead of Christmas in India, has surpassed the Rs1 billion (Dh54.02 million) mark on its opening weekend at the box office. According to its makers, the film also registered the “biggest single day collections ever in India” on Sunday.
“Dangal has made a total of Rs1.06 billion, and Rs423.5 million was made on Christmas Day,” read a statement issued on behalf of Disney India, which has co-produced the Nitesh Tiwari directorial.
“The total weekend number stands at Rs1.06 billion, including Rs10.7 million from its Tamil and Telugu versions. The film’s gross box office collection stands at Rs1.48 billion,” the statement read.
The film tells the story of Mahavir Singh Phogat, a former national wrestling champion who, much to the disapproval of his wife and his whole village, trained his daughters Geeta and Babita to wrestle.
According to film critics Taran Adarsh and Komal Nahta, the film is “setting new benchmarks” and the figure has been the “highest Sunday for any film”.
Earlier, Adarsh had also pointed out how Dangal has brought respite for the film industry at a time when the Indian government’s demonetisation move has affected the footfalls at movie theatres by a considerable margin.
Besides Dangal, most of Khan’s films in the past have been part of the Rs1 billion club. These include PK, Dhoom 3 and 3 Idiots.
