Salman rakes it in again, this time with <I>Bajrangi Bhaijaan</I>

Record first week collection for a Bollywood film this year

Bollywood actor Salman Khan saw his film Bajrangi Bhaijaan, the maiden venture of his production house Salman Khan Films, race ahead in first-week collections.

It touched Rs 185 crore — the first for a Bollywood film this year. In the process, Bajrangi Bhaijaan, co-produced by Rockline Ventures and distributed worldwide by Eros International, has beaten trade estimates for the first week.

After an opening of Rs 27 crore a day before Eid (one of Khan’s strongest release windows), trade pundits had predicted a Rs 100-crore (net after tax) weekend, and a Rs 165 crore to Rs 175 crore in the first week.

WHIPPING UP BOX OFFICE

• Bajrangi Bhaijaan released: July 17
• Number of screens: 4,200 in India & 750-800 abroad
• Opening-day collection (in India):Rs  27.3 crore
• Opening-weekend collection (in India): Rs  102.6 crore
• Opening-weekend collection (abroad): Rs 51 crore
• Opening-week collection (India): Rs  184.6 crore
• Global box office collection till date: Rs  270 crore
• Box office RoI*: 145%
• Total RoI* for producer: 77.27%.

“The film, the way it had opened and the word of mouth, had all the makings of a blockbuster. The fact that multiplexes saw better traction for the film over the weekend and the weekdays has also helped rake in the moolah, since on an average, the rates have gone up by Rs 20 to Rs 30 for all shows. Saturday saw a steep jump being Eid, and then, there was no looking back,” says Shaaminder Malik, independent distributor and trade analyst for north India.

The success of the film’s domestic run has been repeated in the international circuit as well, with Bajrangi Bhaijaan  raking in $13 million (or Rs 85 crore approximately) in the first seven days, after an opening weekend of close to $8 million (or Rs 51 crore). This takes the film’s revenue from its theatrical release alone to Rs 270 crore. In other words, in a year when big-budget movies like Bombay Velvet , Baby  and Roy  struggled to break-even, Bajrangi Bhaijaan has waltzed into profitability in the first week itself.

While Akshay Kumar’s Baby  did manage to achieve profits eventually, it had to wait a good three weeks at the box office to do so. Baby  was released on January 23. Both Roy  and Bombay Velvet  (starring Ranbir Kapoor), have failed to even break-even at the theatrical level. Roy released on February 13 and Bombay Velvet on May 15, respectively. As in the normal practice, around 50 per cent of the net (after tax) box office collection is the exhibitor’s share, and the rest comes to the producers. In this case, the producers’ share for the first week collection is Rs 135 crore, on an overall investment of Rs 110 crore, indicating the producers’ return on investment at 22.7 per cent.



The film’s satellite rights will earn Salman Khan Films around Rs 50 crore under a five-year deal between the actor and Uday Shankar’s Star India Network, and the music rights (sold to T-series) have fetched around Rs 10 crore.

Total revenue for the producers in that case comes to Rs 195 crore, in the first week itself.

Released in 4,200 screens in India and around 750-800 screens abroad (it hit theatres on July 17), Bajrangi Bhaijaan  brings back the director-actor duo of Kabir Khan and Salman Khan (of 2012’s Ek Tha Tiger  success) as well as the lead pair of Kareena Kapoor Khan and Salman Khan (Kyon Ki, Mr. and Mrs. Khanna and Bodyguard) . Apart from the lead pair, the film also stars child actor Harshali Malhotra and Nawazuddin Siddiqui, both of whom have been widely applauded for their roles.