Shah Rukh Khan’s “Pathaan” has reached blockbuster status in just two days of release.
Produced by Yash Raj Films, the film shattered opening day records for a Hindi-language film, with a worldwide gross of $12.7 million on Jan. 25.
On Jan. 26, a public holiday in India for Republic Day, “Pathaan” did even better, grossing INR829 million ($10.1) million in India and a further INR307 million ($3.7 million) internationally. The film’s two-day gross stands at INR2196 million ($26.9 million).
The film, which is part of producer Aditya Chopra’s spy universe, also stars Deepika Padukone and John Abraham and is directed by Siddharth Anand. Other films in the universe include the Tiger franchise, starring Salman Khan, and “War,” starring Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff, which is also directed by Anand.
“Pathaan” opened at some 5,500 screens across India and 2,500 screens internationally in 100 countries. It ends a box office drought for the Hindi-language Bollywood industry, which had a lean 2022, and marks a comeback for Khan, not seen as a leading man since 2018’s “Zero.”
Recent controversy kept “Pathaan” in the news pre-release. In December 2022, the film sparked inter-religious controversy with the release of a video for a key song. In response, the country’s film censors advised a re-think.
Akshaye Widhani, CEO of Yash Raj Films, said: “As an industry, we are rejoicing today. This is the most important sentiment emerging out of the ‘Pathaan’ success. All of us at Yash Raj Films are grateful for the incredibly humbling support from media, audiences and the industry towards ‘Pathaan.’ It is this unanimous love for the film that has resulted in ‘Pathaan’ shattering all existing records and creating new ones. We are happy that the film has entertained everyone in such an immersive manner.”
“Indians globally are celebrating the film and SRK’s return to the cinemas. It’s really special for us to witness this outpouring of warmth,” Widhani added.