Dangal 300 crore mark: Will Aamir Khan top the year again?

In its journey to achieve its first target i.e to cross the 300 crore mark, Dangal has covered half the distance in just 5 short days at the domestic box office. The film still has 2 open weeks before the release of a small film like ‘Ok Jaanu’ and nearly a full month before the two big films ‘Kaabil’ and ‘Raees’ release in theatres.

That’s a lot of time for a film that’s carrying excellent word-of-mouth. But to push it to the next level and challenge the all time record of PK, Dangal needs a strong second weekend and one more 25 crore+ day which falls closer to the 30 crore mark.

While analysing, we came across an interesting trend for films that carry excellent word-of-mouth. The 2nd Sunday collections of Bajrangi Bhaijaan was 12% higher than the 1st Tuesday collections of the film. Interestingly, PK had the same but slightly better trend – which could be because of the Christmas week benefits even on a non-holiday. PK’s 2nd Sunday was 14% higher than it’s 1st Tuesday.

If Dangal trends like the two films that we just mentioned, it would be looking at a total of around 196-197 crore by the end of its first week and a 260 crore plus total by the end of its 2nd weekend (10 days). Not to forget, Dangal’s 2nd Sunday is also New Years, so there could be a further boost of 5% to business.

Unless there are unexpected drops, Dangal is almost certain to cross the 300 crore mark and become yet another ‘Highest Grosser Of The Year’ for Aamir Khan.

With all his previous Christmas releases since Ghajini in 2008, Aamir has not only delivered the ‘Highest Grosser Of The Year’, but also gone on to smash the ‘Highest Grosser of All Time’. Ghajini, 3 Idiots, Dhoom 3, PK – all were record grossers. All those films either had a top director, top franchise, top heroine or were out-and-out commercial films.

Dangal had none, which would make the achievement – if he does eventually get there – beyond extraordinary.

For the last 15 years, barring a few smart decisions like Dhoom 3, Aamir has chased excellence in film-making over box office records and it’s that sheer passion for giving his audience an unforgettable experience through his films – that has made the trust in the Aamir Khan brand stronger than ever.

It’s also the extraordinary conviction the man has to dedicate two years of his life to a film, putting no less than his health at risk, that makes him deserving of all the success that he gets and more.