Thugs of Hindostan tanks at China box office with ₹32 crore, halts Aamir Khan’s golden run

Aamir Khan’s golden run at the China box office seems to have met a speed breaker. Thugs of Hindostan has made ₹32 crore in three days, a far cry from the ₹97 crore Dangal opened to.

Aamir Khan’s Thugs of Hindostan has sunk at the China box office, according to box office reports. The film was a disaster in India, as well. According to trade analyst Taran Adarsh, the ₹335 crore production - the biggest ever made in Bollywood - has made ₹32 crore in China, the world’s second largest movie market and traditionally a lucrative territory for Aamir.

Aamir Khan and Katrina Kaif in a still from Thugs of Hindostan.

“Thugs of Hindostan faces rejection in China,” Taran wrote in a tweet Monday. He reported that the big-budged action adventure - the film has been compared to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise - made $1.51 million on Friday, $1.56 million on Saturday and $1.61 million on Sunday, for a total of $4.71 million. Aamir had gone on a large-scale publicity tour in China, making appearances at several events, and on one occasion even posing with Johnny Depp and Jackie Chan.

By comparison, Aamir’s previous release, Dangal, was a runaway hit in the Middle Kingdom, cementing his status as one of the most popular stars in the region. Dangal made $14 million ( ₹97 crore) in its opening weekend and ended its run with a record-breaking ₹1400 crore in China. It went on to become the fifth highest-grossing non-English language film of all time.

Aamir’s follow-up, the small-scale drama Secret Superstar, which featured the star in a supporting role, further propelled his popularity. It made over ₹860 crore in China, much more than the ₹64 crore it made during its India run.

Similarly, Thugs flopped at the domestic box office, with earnings of less than ₹200 crore. Aamir has apologised to fans for not delivering, although he has said that the cast and crew’s intentions were above question. Unlike Dangal and Secret Superstar, what Thugs did not have going in its favour was good reviews. The film sits at a ‘rotten’ 18% score on review aggregator site, Rotten Tomatoes. By comparison, Dangal has a 92% score.

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