SRK's RA.One beats Salman's Bodyguard

SRK’s Diwali release RA.One earned Rs 43.6 cr in the first two days surpassing what Bodyguard, apart from many other Diwali releases, gathered at the BO in their respective opening weekends.

Relieving everyone of its promotional overdose, Shah Rukh Khan’s RA.One finally hit screens on Wednesday, October 26. On the opening day, the film garnered Rs 18.5 cr net. On Thursday, the Anubhav Sinha directorial raked in Rs 25.10 cr net. The two-day combined collection (Rs 43.6 cr) surpassed what Bodyguard, apart from many other Diwali releases, gathered at the Box Office in their respective opening weekends.

But the first-day standalone collections failed to break the record the Salman Khan Eid release set with Rs 21 cr in the first 24 hours. Bodyguard’s two-day collections amounted to Rs 39 cr. The first-day collections of the last few Diwali releases such as Om Shanti Om (2007), Golmaal Returns (2008) and Golmaal 3 (2010) have been Rs 6 cr, Rs 5.75 cr and Rs 9 cr respectively.

Nonetheless Sinha, who is currently on the last leg of his international promotional tour with Khan in Los Angeles, is elated. , “We were expecting it to be low on Diwali because not many people get out of their houses. But the figures were great,” he says, adding, “The response is heartwarming everywhere. From tomorrow I’m going to chill for a week. Then we will think about what to do next. It’s too early to speak about a sequel.”

Sinha, who made his directorial debut with Tum Bin in 2009, is now feeling even more ambitious. “I might create more superheroes or creature films. I have the dream of creating a large visual effects facility in India. I want to create an ILM (Industrial Light & Magic) movie like George Lucas.” RA.One that starred Arjun Rampal and Kareena Kapoor was made for a reported budget of Rs 150 cr.