Aamir Khan film PK is making waves at the Chinese box office by earning a record $13.5 million (Dh49.5 million) with film critics pointing out that China can learn from Bollywood about producing “bright and thought-provoking” comedy films.
The Rajkumar Hirani-directed movie has scored 8.3 points on one of China’s biggest film reviewing websites Douban since its release in China on May 22, a commentary in state run Global Times said on Tuesday.
“Back in 2009, Khan’s 3 Idiots became a massive success across China and caused a stir among Chinese audiences for its ironic look at India’s rigid and dreary education system.
“Now PK has created history by ranking the 70th biggest box office earner in the world last year, apparently taking the shine off the somewhat chaotic comedy market of China,” the newspaper said, adding filmmakers “should learn” from PK about telling “a bright and thought-provoking comedy in an artistic way without necessarily being too cynical.”
For an Indian movie to win accolades in China is very rare but the Chinese version of PK has surpassed the records of non-English foreign movies in China by posting 80 million RMB (Dh47.4 million) in about two weeks, said Prasad Shetty, partner in Chinese firm Strategic Alliance, which promotes Indian films in China.
The earning is four times more than any other Indian film, including Khan’s previous movie Dhoom 3, which made about 19 million RMB, Shetty said.
Its China box office collection has already crossed the US-Canada box office revenue of $10.6 million. The movie is likely to cross 100 million RMB as it still has 18 more days in Chinese theatres, he said.
Unlike any other Indian movie, PK was screened in about 5,000 screens all over China.
