Aamir Khan, the man who conquered the box office with Ghajini same time last year, returns yet again on Christmas, this time with a comedy directed by Raju Hirani.
The ticket prices for the weekend were hiked by around 100% (double) at some places, not in all cities as reported by the media though. Neither the makers nor the distributors are to be blamed for the hike, the price of tickets is decided by the multiplex owners.
The advance booking that opened earlier this week, was fantastic. The paid previews playing at 2 shows per screen (7PM and 10PM) at multiplexes in select cities were sold out. With Friday being a holiday for Christmas, 3 Idiots will enjoy a extended holiday weekend and should easily be the top earner for the weekend this year.
Weekend collections, as predicted earlier, should easily touch 30 crores and with extremely positive initial reports, Aamir Khan should score a box office hat-trick with 3 Idiots.
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Update: The paid previews, as predicted has broken the record of Ghajini. The percentage of occupancy was lower than Ghajini but with previews held at more than 650 screens all over India, the business crossed the Rs 2 crore mark, a day before its release.
Today (Friday) was a holiday and even the morning shows (7 – 10AM) at multiplexes were houseful. Friday, if paid previews were any indication, should easily break the 10 crore mark. Collections should be somewhere between 10 – 11 crores.
When we spoke to Deepak of Big Cinemas, he was quite upbeat about the business “For the first time this year the morning shows were sold out. The advance booking for Saturday and Sunday is great, we expect every show to be houseful over the weekend.”
Rs 35 crores for the weekend including paid previews is a possibility and if 3 Idiots sustains on Monday, Week 1 nett could cross 50 crores.
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3 Idiots is now officially the highest grossing film on its opening day (Friday), the collections are strong all over and the word of mouth is outstanding. Aamir, Hirani, Vinod Chopra and others associated with the film, couldn’t really have asked for more.
The movie is all set to be the first and only Bollywood blockbuster of the year.
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As updated yesterday, 3 Idiots has shattered predictions and is soon to be one of the biggest blockbusters Bollywood has ever witnessed. The Ghajini record is history as the Monday collections are as good as Saturday.
The movie has further added 11 crores on Monday, which is unheard of, 3 Idiots has broken every record, in every circuit, in almost every city.
It would be close to impossible for any film, including My Name Is Khan and Kites to come close to the record set by 3 Idiots.
Sky is the limit for the film. Aamir Khan – Take a bow!
Thursday – 2.5 crores (paid previews)
Friday – 12.50 crores
Saturday – 11.50 crores
Sunday – 13.50 crores
Monday – 11 crores
Tuesday – 9.5 crores
Wednesday – 9 crores
Thursday – 10 crores
Week 1 – 79 crores
Friday – 11 crores
Saturday – 11 crores
Sunday – 12 crores
Monday – 6 crores
Tuesday – 5 crores
Wednesday – 4.5 crores
Thursday – 4 crores
Week 2 – 53.5 crores
Week 3 – 30 crores
Week 4 – 16 crores
Total so far – 182.5 crores