Top Bollywood grossers at overseas box office: QnA Session

Answers from the just-concluded ‘Live Question and Answer’ session. We answered 15 questions from our readers. This new page was created to have a fresh discussion in the comments section.

Q. List of highest grossing bollywood movies in overseas markets - Farhan Haider

A. PK is the highest overseas grosser. It has crossed the 300 crore mark ($47 million) at the overseas box office alone. The only film to collect 300 crore (net) in India and overseas. The other major grossers are Dhoom 3 ($31 million), 3 Idiots ($26 million), My Name Is Khan ($23.5 million) and Bajrangi Bhaijaan ($21 million).

Q. Will the clash between Raees and Sultan happen? If not which film is most likely to come on Eid? – Rock

A. For now, both Yash Raj Films and Excel Entertainment have confirmed that both Sultan and Raees are scheduled to release during Eid 2016. It will depend on the makers of both films. There could be delays in shoot of Sultan, which could result in the film being postponed. Raees could be postponed too. Salman is at the peak of his stardom and the audience do come out in big numbers during Eid to watch his films. So both Excel and YRF have to sit together and work things out. If the clash happens and both films are liked, both will do well. If not, the better film will flourish and the weaker one will perish. However, a clash of two massive films featuring two of the biggest superstars, won’t be beneficial to anyone except websites like Indicine.

Q. Who is the biggest superstar of the country today? – Vipul Sudan

A. Salman Khan. There is no arguing over this at this point in time. Undisputed No 1 in India and challenging SRK and Aamir in the overseas markets too.

Q. What is the prediction of Brothers and it’s buzz? – Sachin Jha

A. Akshay and Sidharth have started promoting the film, so the buzz will increase in the next few days leading upto its release. Three dialogue promos of Brothers was released last night, two of them highlighted the ‘family’ and ’emotional’ angle in the film. That should help attract the family audience, because they don’t really like watching intense action and blood.

Q. Any chance for BB to beat PK. How is it holding up today (3rd Sat) – Miz

A. It has picked up today, occupancy for morning, noon and evening shows was higher than yesterday. Beating PK will be difficult now. Release of a film like Drishyam and lack of an extra week, as compared to PK, has sealed the fate of the clash. Unless there is a miraculous growth today and tomorrow, PK will remain the highest grosser. Also, Drishyam is carrying positive word-of-mouth, so business of Bajrangi Bhaijaan is certain to be affected.

Q. Who is the actor that is consistent in his whole career? – Aniel

A. We have answered this question several times before. It’s Shah Rukh Khan. To give you an example, he’s not doing too badly currently, but is still considered to be going through some sort of bad phase. In the last 5 years, none of his films have fallen short of the 200 crore mark worldwide. Even though Salman and Aamir are way ahead in terms of blockbusters and all time grossers in the last 5 years, it’s not a record that even they can boast of. Note: Both Jai Ho and Talaash didn’t cross 200 crore worldwide. Also note that they didn’t release during the festive period.

Q. Who are the three stars who can deliver 300 Cr movies in India – Ashok

A. Great question. The three stars are Eid, Diwali and Christmas. Plus content.

Q. According to your site, a mystery thriller like Talaash which was released in 2012 earned Rs 14.52 crore (first day collection).
Screen count:2500. Now Drishyam which belongs to the same genre (thriller) has earned Rs 6 crore according to you. Screen count:2350. And ticket price is obviously higher than Talaash as Talaash was released in 2012.. Now my question is..is this the genre due to which such movies cannot make huge money on its first day? Some haters were saying that Mr. Perfectionist has no stardom and Rs 14.52 cr is very low – Jazick

A. Aamir Khan is one of the biggest and by far the most respected superstar in the industry. Period. There are a lot of people we know, who do not watch Hindi movies, but only watch Aamir Khan films. When Aamir does a film, it’s expected to be nothing less than a masterpiece. He has carried that burden of delivering a classic each and every time for more than a decade and has incredibly successful. He has been intelligent too. If he does too many off-beat movies like Talaash, he will lose out on his fanbase. So he does one not-so-commercial film like Rang De Basanti, Taare Zameen Par, Talaash or the upcoming Dangal and then follows it up with an out-and-out commercial entertainer. Each time he comes on screen, he gives you something different. People come out in big numbers to watch every Aamir Khan film. If this isn’t stardom, fan-following and respect towards his acting and movies, then what is?

Q. Akshay Kumar or Ajay Devgn, who’s the bigger star today? – Babaji Ka Thullu

A. Akshay Kumar. Trade knows it, everyone knows it. Because with an Ajay Devgn film a decent / good opening isn’t guaranteed. A 6 crore opening including paid previews for Drishyam is way below the mark. Irrespective of genre and competition, it should have taken a better opening.

Q. Is Kabir khan doing a film with Hrithik and Katrina? Or it is just another rumour? – Rahul

A. Kabir Khan always wanted to direct Hrithik. He has confirmed that they are discussing a script, which could be made into a film. During Bajrangi Bhaijaan promotional period, Kabir told us that he plans to take a break after the release of Phantom and then decide which film to do.

Q. Wazir and Hera Pheri 3 will release in December or not? – Saptarshi

A. Wazir is confirmed for theatrical release on 4th December. Stars Amitabh Bachchan and Farhan Akhtar. Directed by Bejoy Nambiar. Hera Pheri 3 won’t release in December.

Q. Please create a list of 2015 movies on basis of word-of-mouth. Prashanth Yadav

A. It’s difficult to rank films based on word-of-mouth. Tanu Weds Manu Returns showed better trends than Bajrangi Bhaijaan, but that was only because TWMR didn’t feature a male superstar. It relied on word-of-mouth. Bajrangi Bhaijaan had a superstar plus word-of-mouth, so it took a huge opening and then sustained well. These two films, along with Piku, are the best word-of-mouth films of 2015.

Q. Which is the best film of Saif Ali Khan both comercially and critically. – Luv

A. Omkara is his most critically acclaimed performance and film. Unfortunately, it didn’t do too well at the box office. Kal Ho Na Ho is probably his most acclaimed film, both critically and commercially. Solo films, it would be Love Aaj Kal and Hum Tum.

Q. List of Akshay Kumar’s 100 crore worldwide grossers?

A. Quite of few Akshay Kumar movies have ‘grossed’ 100 crore worldwide. Singh Is King, Housefull, Housefull 2, Rowdy Rathore, Holiday, Baby, Gabbar Is Back, Tees Maar Khan, Special 26, Entertainment, OMG! Oh My God. I hope we haven’t missed any. It doesn’t take much to gross 100 crore worldwide. Even with 65 crore net collections from India and a bit of contribution from overseas, films do over 100 crore worldwide. 200 crore worldwide is what a film from a superstar should do. Only one film has crossed 200 cr worldwide for Akshay and that’s Rowdy Rathore.

Q. Who will beat PK’s lifetime collection? Aamir, Salman or Shahrukh? – True Actor

A. Even with extraordinary word-of-mouth and two open weeks, Bajrangi Bhaijaan is likely to fall short of PK. So it would take a lot more than Aamir, Salman and Shahrukh to break PK’s record. Apart from featuring a big name, a film has to receive universal acclaim, has to have a favourable genre and ideally 3 open weeks at the box office. Even one extra holiday in between will make a big difference to the overall total. If there is a clash between two films, like Dilwale vs Bajirao Mastani or Raees vs Sultan, absolutely no chance for both films. Maybe in 2-3 years time, when there are more screens across India and higher ticket prices, it would be easier. But by then, Rajkumar Hirani will be ready with his next film.

Q. Is the news Hrithik and deepika doing a Yash raj film Thug… true? – Rumii

A. From reliable sources: Hrithik is yet to sign the film.