 "Actor Shah Rukh Khan, left, poses for photographers with his Madame Tussauds wax figure in central London ahead of the launch of Khan's new film 'Fan'")
After 3.5 years, Shah Rukh Khan (SRK) is back with the studio largely responsible for his rise to stardom — Yash Raj Films (YRF), for the April 15 release Fan. Before this, Khan starred in YRF founder Yash Chopra’s swansong directorial venture Jab Tak Hai Jaan in 2012 which went on to make more than Rs 100 crore at the box office.
Times have changed now however, and a Rs 100 crore collection figure is no longer a recipe or assurance of profitability. In this case, the movie will need to cross the double century mark, since the cost of production and marketing is around Rs 105 crore. In order to make profits, Fan will need to make more than Rs 210 crore.
Releasing in 3000 screens in India and 700 screens abroad, analysts believe that the film can make around Rs 8 to 20 crore on the first day, it being a bank holiday and summer vacation time at schools and colleges. However collections from the second day will depend on word of mouth and social media response. If all goes to plan, the film should be able to make around Rs 55-60 crore in the first weekend say trade pundits.
Suniel Wadhwa, independent distributor and box office analyst says, “SRK-YRF are teaming up for Fan after Jab Tak Hain Jaan directed by Yash Chopra. Fan is the fourth film under banner of YRF which is being directed by Maneesh Sharma. The teaser and main trailer have attracted the audience and looks promising as it has already created a buzz among moviegoers and diehard SRK fans.” This will be SRK’s first thriller after Don 2 which released in 2011. Fans and audiences in general seem to be looking forward to seeing King Khan in a role that is not only romantic and/or slapstick.
Shaaminder Malik, an independent distributor and trade analyst for North India, however is sceptical of the film’s chances. “Being the solo release on a festival weekend, the film will get a decent opening. But beyond that, it is tricky. Barring one song, the music hasn’t really taken off. With The Jungle Book doing so well, the content offering of Fan will have to be very good to draw more audiences. Let’s wait and see how it goes.”
In recent years, YRF has given opportunities to new directors on projects varying in content, and scale. Before this, directors other than Yash Chopra and Aditya Chopra to have worked under the YRF banner include Shimmit Amin who directed Chak De India, Sanjay Gadhvi and Vijay Krishna Acharya on the Dhoom series and Kabir Khan on movies like Ek Tha Tiger and New York. Many of these films have been profitable, especially the Dhoom franchise and Ek Tha Tiger.
Other films at the box office this weekend include Disney’s The Jungle Book, which released on April 8 in India, a week before the US. The film has been going very well at the box office, having collected Rs 63.11 crore in the first five days, with 53 per cent of this coming from the regional dubs. The film was released in four languages — the original English version and three regional dubs — Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.
Fan’s fairly limited release will mean that The Jungle Book will not be affected much by the release of the SRK starrer.
