Which is the biggest grosser among Bollywood films in the United States?
The record — at $ 6.5 million so far — is currently held by Raj Kumar Hirani's Aamir Khan starrer
3 Idiots. But Karan Johar’s Shahrukh Khan blockbuster
My Name is Khan (MNIK) is rapidly
catching up.
My Name Is Khan had a record-breaking opening weekend at the box office in North America, grossing nearly $1.94 million between Friday and Sunday, following its release on February 12. It didn’t show a drop in collection with the Sunday figure of $ 761,000 marking the highest one-day gross for any Hindi-language film in the territory. The film should easily cross the $ 2 million mark in its first week itself.
But can it keep going long enough to overhaul 3 Idiots?
“It will easily beat 3 Idiots,” said Shiraz Jiyani, owner of a six screen theatre at Lakewood, near Los Angeles. “It had surpassed 3 Idiots in advance bookings.”
The critical reception to 3 Idiots however, was considerably better than to MNIK. In the US, reviews matter.
“The repeat value of 3 Idiots is much higher,” said Shariq Hamid, who owns four cinemas in Texas. “The audience reaction to MINK has been mixed.”
However, Shah Rukh Khan films have always done well in the US. The record 3 Idiots broke was that of Om Shanti Om.