The cast of upcoming movie 3 Idiots R Madhavan, Aamir Khan and Sharman Joshi at a promotional event in Mumbai on Tuesday.
Aamir Khan-starrer
3 Idiots has set a new box office record for Bollywood films in the United States.
Within two weeks of its release, it has grossed $4.8 million, according to two major box office tracking websites, Hollywood.com and Deadline Hollywood.
No other
Bollywood film has ever crossed the $4 million barrier before.
The film collected $2.15 million in its opening week and ranked at number 12 at the box office among all films showing that week. It is playing in 119 theatres.
“It is the perfect masala mix that is working for the film,” said film critic Aseem Chhabra. The relatively infrequent releases of Aamir Khan films, the reputation of director Raj Kumar Hirani, the buzz on Facebook, and the opportunity the film offered to people of Indian origin to relive their college days in India, were among the other factors likely to have influenced the film’s success.
How long 3 Idiots retains the record, however, remains to be seen. My name is Khan, being released by Fox Searchlight Pictures on February 12, is likely to prove a tough competitor. Shah Rukh Khan is immensely popular in the US, with three of his films — Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, and Om Shanti Om figuring among the top five grosser.