With 197 crore, Aamir’s Dangal beats opening weekend collection of Salman’s Sultan

Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan’s recently released sports drama ‘Dangal’ has minted Rs 197.53 crore at the box office in its opening weekend, surpassing the first week collection of Salman Khan starrer ‘Sultan’.

‘Sultan’, the highest grossing film of 2016, had reportedly made Rs 180.36 crore in its first week and registered a collection of Rs 300 crore in India.

‘Dangal’, which released on December 23, collected Rs 20.29 crore on Thursday and is now expected to cross the Rs 200-crore mark on Friday, read a statement issued on behalf of Disney India, which has backed the Nitesh Tiwari directorial.

The film, which released across 4000 screens across India, had collected Rs 29.78 crore on day one. But positive reviews and advance weekend bookings helped the film cross the Rs 100 crore mark in three days.

The movie has connected with audiences for its powerful portrayal of the tale of Mahavir Singh Phogat, a former national champion who, much to the disapproval of his wife (Sakshi Tanwar) and his whole village, trained his daughters Geeta (Fatima Sana Sheikh) and Babita (Sanya Malhotra) to wrestle.

Trade Analyst Taran Adarsh said that ‘Dangal’ has stood out as a winner.

“‘Dangal’ emerges a winner. Collects a whopping Rs 197.53 crore nett in week one. Expected to sprint towards Rs 250 crore by weekend two,” Adarsh posted on Twitter on Friday.

“‘Dangal’ reign to remain unopposed, unchallenged for another week. Question is, when will it hit Rs 300 crore mark? Will it challenge ‘Sultan’?” Adarsh added.

The total box office collection of Salman’s ‘Sultan’ stands at 567 crore.