Salman Khan has become the ultimate hot property for film-makers, with all his movies attracting a huge crowd at both single screens and multiplexes, irrespective of whether these have a storyline or not.
His latest film, Dabangg2, plays on the same charisma. While many movie aficionados say this is no match to his previous film, Ek Tha Tiger, or the original Dabangg, people are still going to watch it, just to see Salman Khan in action.
Released on Friday, the film collected a net Rs 19.5 crore on its opening day, the highest for any non-holiday release. Only two other films, Ek Tha Tiger (Rs 30.35 crore) and Agneepath (Rs 22.85 crore) collected more at the box office on debut day this year but both were released on national holidays – Independence Day and Republic Day, respectively.
| Dabangg | Dabangg2 | |
| Release date | Sep 10, 2010 (Eid) | 21-Dec-12 (non-holiday) |
| Total screens | 1,579 | 3,500 (approx) |
| Friday collection | Rs 14.59 cr | Rs 19.05 cr |
| Saturday | Rs 16.49 cr | Rs 17 cr |
| Sunday | Rs 18.18 cr | Rs 22 cr (estimated) |
On the second day, Dabangg2 saw a drop in collection to Rs 17 crore. Today’s is estimated to be Rs 22 crore, taking the three-day collection to Rs 58-59 crore.
Suniel Wadhwa, independent distributor and box office analyst, said: “This (Dabangg2) was a real test and the Salman Khan brand has passed the litmus test with the box office, as undisputed king. It seems Salman will compete with himself to break his own records for all future films.”
Multiplex companies are hoping the film will further pick up. “It opened very well but being a working day, afternoon shows’ occupancy was hit. It has a big holiday week ahead, so we know it will gradually pick up,” said Girish Wankhede, national marketing head of Cinemax India.
However, many trade analysts say the film has nothing new to offer and it will not be as successful as its prequel.
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“The film is below expectations...it has Salman in all the frames but an actor like Prakash Raj is wasted. The songs are also not as good as the first film. Action scenes are the saviour for the movie,” said Delhi-based trade analyst Shaaminder Malik.
Malik, who also distributes films in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab, said many small cinema exhibitors had paid huge MG (minimum deposit) for the film and it will be difficult for them to recover the money. “The opening day average in Delhi was around 40 per cent, while in UP, Uttarakhand, and Punjab, it was slightly better. Sunday was similar to Friday, while Saturday saw a 10-30 per cent drop,” he explained.
Film critic Vinod Mirani sums it up, “The problem with Dabangg2 starts with the inevitable comparison viewers will make with Dabangg and expect this one to be a notch above. On that count, Dabangg2 is nowhere near the original. The two main factors of Dabangg have been taken away, as there is no scope for romance — courting a beau and romancing a wife is not the same thing. The other factor the earlier version had was the mother emotion, which this one has no scope for. The one-liners and punches, as well as gags, are scarce in comparison and some scenes, if you enjoy them, are because Salman Khan is doing them in his inimitable style. The script seems to have been hurried through to launch the sequel before the original fades from public memory.”
However, the fact remains that Salman Khan has given his sixth back-to-back hit and this film is also slated to join the Rs 100-crore club.