Who will beat ‘Chennai Express’?

They say records are made to be broken. And all eyes are now set on big names like Amitabh Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor, Hrithik Roshan and Aamir Khan to surpass the new success parameter set by Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Chennai Express which has earned a whopping Rs.1.567 billion (Dh89 million) in its first week.

Directed by Rohit Shetty, Chennai Express, an approximately Rs750 million joint production venture of UTV Motion Pictures and Red Chillies Entertainment, released on the auspicious occasion of Eid, raced its way to success and has become the film to score Rs1 billion in the fastest time.

In fact, SRK, 47, who is relishing the success, believes that records don’t matter as they will be “equalled or bettered” in the next few months.

If Satyagraha is coming out on August 30 in India (August 29 in the UAE), the last quarter of the year will see the release of Ranbir’s Besharam, Hrithik’s Krrish 3 and Aamir’s Dhoom 3 — all much-awaited and much-talked about projects.

Although the budgets of the four films have not been revealed, an insider said the estimated expenditure on Prakash Jha’s political thriller would be Rs400 million, while the budget of Abhinav Kashyap’s funny drama could be more than Rs500 million. Rakesh Roshan’s special effects spectacle must have cost around Rs900 million.

The insider, however, refused to talk about the budget of Vijay Krishna Acharya’s film, saying it is still in the making.

Many expected Akshay Kumar, known for spending up to Rs1 billion on films, to break SRK’s record with his gangster drama Once Upon A Time in Mumbai Dobaara, which released close on the heels of Chennai Express. But it neither dismantled SRK’s film from the box office nor matched its success.

Amitabh leads the cast of Satyagraha, which has Ajay Devgn, Arjun Rampal, Manoj Bajpayee, Kareena Kapoor and Amrita Rao. The movie has a lot of pre-release buzz, thanks to the storyline, apparently inspired by social activist Anna Hazare.

Besharam is scheduled for release on October 2, while Krrish 3, set to come out November 4, is expected to cash in on the Diwali festival frenzy.

Dhoom 3 will cap the year when it hits theatres at Christmas, a period that has always proven lucky for the Ghajini star.

Distributors, who are not allowed to watch the content before release, are playing blind and banking on these films to earn profit.

Anant Verma, director and business head of DT Cinemas, has high expectations for Krrish 3 and Dhoom 3 — both new instalments of two of Bollywood’s most successful franchises.

“I am expecting Dhoom 3 and Krrish 3 to do very well as they can be watched by all kinds of people and age groups,” Verma said.

Other distributors are also hoping these films will make the festive season profitable.

“Hrithik’s Krrish 3 should do well. Satyagraha is also coming up with big stars; so I am expecting it to be a hit too,” said Puneet Sahay of Spice Cinemas.

These films boast some of the biggest names in Bollywood which helps lure audiences to the theatres.

Also, promotions play a vital part in augmenting footfalls in the cinema halls.

“A combination of script and star power helps to pull audiences to halls. As well as the promo-attractiveness during the campaign, which plays a huge part in the opening of the film. These make a significant contribution to a must-see versus a maybe-see,” said Rafiq Gangjee, vice-president of Yash Raj Films, which is producing Dhoom 3.

In terms of response, there is already a lot of buzz surrounding Dhoom 3 mainly because it has Aamir and also because he is playing a villain in the action thriller.

On the other hand, the highlight of Krrish 3 is Hrithik donning the superhero costume again and its trailer has reportedly broken records.

Besharam, which will see Ranbir teaming up with his actor-parents Neetu and Rishi Kapoor for the first time on the big screen, is also making waves on the digital platform.

The official trailer of Besharam shared by Reliance Entertainment on YouTube has received 8,652 likes and 6,914 dislikes so far, while another promo shared by T-Series on the same site has received 1,289 likes and 740 dislikes. This shows a positive trend and if the film works, it will be a double bonanza for Ranbir, who is basking in the success of Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani.

Munish Sharma of Satyam Cinemas agrees that banners, actors and promotions help in the opening week collections, but feels ultimately, content rules. And this was true in the case of Chennai Express.

“Banners, actors and how they are promoting the film help initial box office collections, but to sustain it, content is very important. Word of mouth is also important for any film post-release. If friends or relatives say good things about a film, people tend to watch it,” he said.

“There have been films in the past that had newcomers, but managed to do well. For instance, Vicky Donor had a fresh cast, but so was the subject,” he added.