Sultan claims biggest opening of 2016, fails to beat PRDP’s record
A still from the movie
The year’s most anticipated film ‘Sultan’ starring Salman Khan finally hit theaters this Wednesday. The phenomenon was released across 4800 screens nationwide with another 1100 distributed in overseas markets, making it the most extensive Yash Raj Films release till date.
Post the release, there were two questions that everyone wanted the answers to – is the film as good as the trailers suggests and did it break the all time box-office record.
To answer the first question, the film did manage to entertain family audiences who it was targeted at. Most critics gave it a thumbs up and pegged it as one of Salman’s career best performances. The audiences, even those who aren’t a fan of Salman’s films, admitted to enjoying the movie.
The one thing that everyone seemed to agree on after watching the film was that Salman wasn’t Salman in the film, he was Sultan. Anushka was praised for her performance as Aarfa and Ali Abbas Zafar was lauded for the film’s execution.
Overall, both critics and audiences gave the film an aggregated rating ranging from a 3.5 to 4.5 on a scale of 5.
As for the box-office collection, the most anticipated question was if the film beat Salman’s 2015 release Prem Ratan Dhan Payo’s collection. With a collection of Rs 40.35 crore on day one, PRDP was the biggest opening for a Salman film.
The film opened to packed audiences on Wednesday and it got a bigger release than any other film. Plus, it had the Salman and Eid combination going for it.
Despite that, the film reportedly did not manage to break PRDP’s record.
According to BoxofficeIndia.com, the film has managed to earn between Rs 37-38 crore on it’s opening day. By far the biggest in 2016, but a few crore shy of beating the record. Before Sultan, 2016’s biggest opening record was held by Fan with a collection of Rs 19.2 crore. [Update: Sultan’s first day official collection stands at Rs 36.54 crore]
Sultan’s figures are from the film’s distributors and producer figures will likely be different.
So, what didn’t go as plan. According to an Industry source, “The film lost out on its core audience because of the shift in Eid, as many Muslims couldn’t see the film yesterday due to Ramadan. But, the first day figures will not change anything. The film has a huge weekend ahead and the numbers will definitely pick up from Thursday. It can still cross Rs 150 crore during the weekend itself.”
Update (Friday, 12 pm): The film has raked in close to Rs 40 crore on Day 2 and well on it’s way to crossing Rs 100 crore by end of day. Analysts predict that the film can cross Rs 150 crore by weekend.
About the film:
In Sultan, Salman Khan essays the role of wrestler Sultan Ali Khan, an Olympic gold medallist who is forced to go into retirement because of unforeseen circumstances. The story follows the now old and out of shape wrestler’s journey to his last fight for glory and redemption.
The film stars Anushka Sharma as the female lead. Anushka plays the role of Aarfa, an ambitious wrestler and Salman’s love interest. Other cast includes Kumud Mishra, Amit Sadh, Parikshit Sahni and Randeep Hooda.
