FAN Box Office Opening

Shah Rukh Khan’s FAN has taken the best opening of 2016. The early morning shows on Friday were at around the 50-55% mark, with late-morning / noon shows recording 55-60% occupancy.

The opening falls in the ‘excellent’ category, which is a commendable achievement because the film was riding almost entirely on Shah Rukh’s ability to bring audience to theatres on Friday morning. Like we’ve already mentioned in some of our previous articles, FAN didn’t tick any of the boxes when it comes to commercial Hindi films that generally get a good opening. The film did not have a leading lady, nor did it have popular music (in fact, FAN is completely songless) or an extravagant marketing campaign.

The fact that the film has still opened to levels that suggest a 20 crore plus first day (net collections), is a big achievement.

The last film to take a ‘excellent’ or better opening was ‘Dilwale’ and before that it was ‘Prem Ratan Dhan Payo’, proving yet again that the industry is still dependent on Khans, followed by Hrithik for a big start on Friday. These are the only actors who have consistently delivered on the morning of release for the last few years.

FAN is set for a good first day at the box office, but the real test will come on Saturday and Sunday when word-of-mouth comes into play. It’ll have a base, but whether it manages to build on that or not, will depend on the neutral section of audience (those who are not fans)  - which is why word-of-mouth will be crucial for the film. More so since ‘The Jungle Book’ is on a phenomenal run at the box office.

Opening Day occupancy of films in 2016

• FAN – 55% (partial holiday)
• The Jungle Book – 50% (partial holiday)
• Batman vs Superman – 50%
• Airlift – 35%
• Kya Kool Hai Hum 3 - 30%
• Rocky Handsome – 30% (holiday)
• Ki and Ka – 25%
• Kapoor & Sons – 25%
• Ghayal Once Again - 25%
• Mastizaade - 20%
• Sanam Re - 20%
• Neerja – 15%
• Jai Gangaajal – 15%
• Wazir - 15%
• Saala Khadoos - 8%
• Fitoor - 15%
• Love Games – 5%

Note: While the opening of FAN might not look much higher than the two Hollywood films, the SRK starrer has released on significantly higher number of screens.