Box office: Aamir Khan, Amitabh Bachchan make highest opening record with Thugs Of Hindostan

Diwali release Thugs Of Hindostan boasts of a stellar cast, including Aamir Khan and Amitabh Bachchan. A bumper opening was on the cards and it doesn’t come as a surprise that the Yash Raj Films action adventure has posted a record opening of around Rs50 crore nett, as reported by Boxofficeindia.com.  

The producer released a statement yesterday evening claiming that the early estimate put the opening figure at around Rs50 crore nett. According to Yash Raj Films, the opening day figure is Rs52.75 crore nett (all languages, India figure).

Made at an estimated budget of Rs300 crore, Thugs Of Hindostan had the biggest release for a Hindi film in India. The film, directed by Vijay Krishna Acharya, has been released in 5,000 screens in India (including Hindi, Tamil and Telugu). The film has opened to 2,000 screens abroad.

“Thugs Of Hindostan is the quintessential Hindi movie that we love to watch with our friends and families. We were lucky to get two of the biggest stars of our generation to come together for an out and out Diwali masala entertainer and we are humbled and ecstatic with the love and appreciation that audiences have showered on Thugs to help the film create box office history on day one. We are thrilled to see that audiences across age groups, across India, are loving Thugs Of Hindostan and have made our film a part of their Diwali plans. We made Thugs with a vision to provide a pure festive entertainer for the entire family and this result is extremely gratifying for all of us at YRF,” director Acharya said in a statement.

Thugs Of Hindostan review: Regular potboiler, not worthy of a maiden collaboration between Amitabh and Aamir

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh, too, backed the production house figure (Rs52.75 crore that includes Rs1.50 crore for Tamil and Telugu versions). He tweeted the following highest opening day figure for Hindi films:

“TOP 5 - 2018
Day 1 / Opening Day biz...
1 #ThugsOfHindostan ₹ 52.25 cr
[Hindi + Tamil + Telugu]
2. #Sanju ₹ 34.75 cr
3. #Race3 ₹ 29.17 cr
4. #Gold ₹ 25.25 cr
5. #Baaghi2 ₹ 25.10 cr
Hindi movies. Nett BOC. India biz,"

Here is what another tradeanalyst Komal Nahta tweeted: "Thugs Of Hindostan [5000 Screens] Day 1 Hindi - ₹ 50.75 Cr Tamil & Telugu - ₹ 1.50 Cr Total - ₹ 52.25 Cr. Highest grossing day in the history of the Hindi film industry. 1st film to collect more than INR 50 Cr NBOC in a single day. “

The reviews have not been flattering and both Nahta and Adarsh were left disappointed with the film’s content.

Now while the producers, Boxofficeindia.com and these trade analysts have put the opening day figure at Rs50 crore, a reliable industry source suggested that the actual figure could be in the range of Rs45-48 crore nett.  

The source, though, was not optimistic about the film doing well going forward. “The reviews are not flattering. Besides, the word of the mouth is not too good. While the film will continue to have the advantage of the extended opening weekend in the holiday period, I expect a 15% drop in collection starting today [9 November]," said the source.

Another trade source suggested that the actual collections were much lower. “Content wise the film is very poor. The opening day collection that’s being talked about is exaggerated. The actual collection is around Rs40 crore nett," said the trade source.

Thugs Of Hindostan made history on its opening day. It has made the highest opening day record for a Hindi film, beating the Rs39.32 crore nett collected by Salman Khan’s Prem Ratan Dhan Payo (2015). The film, produced by Sooraj Barjatya, was a family drama Diwali release too. The dubbed Hindi version of SS Rajamouli’s Telugu film Baahubali 2: The Conclusion had an opening of Rs40.73 crore nett.  Baahubali 2 Hindi version was released in around 3,950 screens in India.

If Thugs Of Hindostan had indeed crossed Rs47 crore nett on its opening then it has also set the record for the highest single day collection for a Hindi film. The record is held by Ranbir Kapoor’s Sanju that made Rs46.73 crore nett on its third day. Sanju had then surpassed Baahubali 2 (Hindi version) that made Rs46.27 crore nett on its third day. The record for highest opening for any Indian film belongs to Baahubali: The Conclusion that earned over Rs122 crore nett (all languages) on an opening day.

Given its huge budget, Thugs Of Hindostan would naturally depend upon the satellite and digital rights to recover its substantial cost. We were told by a trade source earlier that the satellite rights (to Sony Entertainment Television) and digital rights (Amazon) have fetched Yash Raj Films around Rs110 crore nett. Yash Raj Films has sold rights to Estar Films for distribution in China. As per sources, Yash Raj Film is said to have sold it for an estimated more than $15 million (approximately Rs109 crore at the current exchange rate). YRF sure has recovered the substantial cost through ancillary rights.

Set in the 1800s, Thugs Of Hindostan narrates the story of the Britsih Empire’s ploy to bring down the pirate, Khudabaksh (Amitabh Bachchan), a revolutionary for his followers. The British hire a Thug Firangi Mallah (Aamir Khan) to join Khudabaksh's ranks as an informer. Apart from Aamir Khan, Thugs Of Hindostan also features Katrina Kaif and Fatima Sana Shaikh in the lead cast.