Box Office Prediction: Shah Rukh Khan's Pathaan Eyes Historic Opening

Mumbai, January 19 - The Bollywood film industry is bracing itself for the blockbuster start of the year, thanks to Shah Rukh Khan-fronted spy action thriller Pathaan which is scheduled to hit big screens on January 25. The buzz for the movie is sky-high and the industry is anticipating something big with this Yash Raj Films' biggie.

The advance booking for the movie was opened yesterday, and as you read this, it has already sold over 5 lakh tickets, including 260K in three national chains (PVR, Inox & Cinepolis) for the opening day in all formats.



The advance booking collection of "Pathaan" has already crossed most of the Bollywood films' pre-sales post the covid-19 pandemic, and by tomorrow, it will be behind only "Brahmastra" which sold approx. 6 lakh tickets for the opening day in advance. The movie also stands a chance to cross "Brahmatra" opening day pre-sales by tomorrow or the day after.

As per the industry insiders, "Pathaan" will be released on over 4500 screens for the Hindi version, making it one of the biggest releases ever. The industry is anticipating a 30+ crores opening, however, looking at the pace of the advances and the genuine excitement among the moviegoers, the opening of 40+ crores should be a cakewalk.

Returning to advance booking, "Pathaan" will be aiming to challenge "War" opening day advance booking numbers (32+ crores). Considering that and other aspects, the aforementioned opening day prediction can be termed conservative and final numbers might be in the 45-50 crores range. The movie stands a chance to emerge as the biggest non-holiday opener in Hindi.

"Pathaan", also starring John Abraham and Deepika Padukone is a Wednesday-day release so the next day, January 26 could see higher numbers due to the Republic Day holiday, and if it gets favorable reviews, the 5-day opening weekend might be in the range of 200 crores net.

Stay tuned...