The failure of Tubelight (2017) is a distant memory now, an aberration, as Salman Khan has roared back to form with the action thriller Tiger Zinda Hai setting a new record for opening weekend (three-day) box-office collection in Hindi cinema.
Directed by Ali Abbas Zafar, Tiger Zinda Hai bagged a staggering Rs114.75 crore nett (aprroximately) in its opening weekend, beating Khan's own Sultan (2016), which had got Rs105.55 crore nett in three days, as reported by Box Office India.com. Sultan was also directed by Ali Abbas Zafar.
The Hindi dubbed version of SS Rajamouli's Telugu blockbuster Baahubali: The Conclusion (2017) holds the all-time record with a staggering Rs127.28 crore in its first three days.
Tiger Zinda Hai got Rs34.crore nett on its opening day (23 December). The collection inreased to Rs35.25 crore nett on the second day. Released on 4,600 screens in India, the film then saw a record single-day collection for any Hindi film, bagging Rs45.5 crore nett on 24 December, beating the Rs41.29 crore nett achieved by Aamir Khan’s Dangal (2016) on its third day, which was Christmas day last year.
The Hindi dubbed version of Baahubali: The Conclusion had collected Rs46.50 crore nett on its first Sunday (30 April 2017). Dangal had been released on 4,250 screens across India, while the Hindi version of Baahubali 2 had got 3,950 screens.
With Christmas on Monday, Khan and Yash Raj Films, producers of Tiger Zinda Hai, will hope the number only gets better in the extended holiday period. The estimated production budget of Tiger Zinda Hai is Rs150 crore.
The first film, Ek Tha Tiger (2012), directed by Kabir Khan, had set a record for the opening day collection, bagging Rs30.61 crore nett. Ek Tha Tiger had been released on 3,200 screens in India and did a lifetime India box-office business of Rs186.14 crore nett.