Mumbai: The Indian film box office business was very limited till 2010. Only a few movies were able to cross the 100cr mark at the box office. But after 2010 the film viewing business changed with a scaling high movie budget and big releases improved and managed to create new box office records.
When films were struggling to do 100-200cr business, there was a film that crossed all the boundaries and created new benchmarks crossing the 100, 200, 300 & 500+ crore marks at the Indian box office.
Can you guess which film?
Well, we are talking about Aamir Khan-starrer ‘Dangal’ that was released in 2016. It broke all records and went ahead to establish new clubs like 500 crore, 1000 crore, and even 2000 crore club! The film accomplished these with the help of its performance in the local as well as overseas markets particularly in China where the film got an unprecedented response from the audience.
The film changed the perception of box office records in Indian cinema. Dangal has not only broken several box office records that were once considered to be unachievable but has also set new standards in that regard.
The movie revolves around the life of a wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat and his daughters Geeta and Babita, who embark on an inspirational journey to become wrestling champions.
Dangal’s Journey At The Box Office
Dangal was released in India on December 23, 2016, and the film was well-appreciated by critics and the audience. The film earned Rs. 26 crores on its first day. It had unparalleled consistency and word-of-mouth and went over 250 crores in 13 days, it was the quickest film to achieve the feat.
Dangal continued its dominance in the domestic market, and surpassed the lifetime collections of PK (340.8 crores), Bajrangi Bhaijaan (320.34 crores), and Baahubali first part (247 crore), to become the biggest grosser of an Indian film of all times. The movie closed its run in Indian theatres with a massive figure of 387.39 crores thereby becoming the first and only film to cross the 350 crore and 375 crore milestone.
Dangal did not only perform exceptionally well in the domestic market, but it also performed great overseas.
Phenomenal Success in China!
Dangal’s actual game-changer was its release in China, opening on May 5, 2017, with a phenomenal screen count of 9,000. It emerged that the movie received a lot of support and praise from the Chinese audience, wherein they could relate to its message of female empowerment, parental sacrifice, and sportsmanship.
Dangal displayed remarkable growth and stickiness in China, and it went past the 500 crore mark in just 15 days, becoming the first Indian film to achieve this feat. It also became the highest-grossing non-Hollywood film in China. It reached another record when it recorded 1000 crores in China in 30 days, which made it the first and only Indian film to achieve this feat.
However, on July 4, 2017, after 62 days of release, Dangal’s record-breaking run in China ended with a humongous total of Rs. 1230.29 crores, making it the fifth highest-grossing film of all time in China, behind only Avatar, Furious 7, Transformers: The Age of Extinction and Zootopia.
Dangal’s Other Achievements and Records
Dangal was also released in countries such as Hong Kong, Turkey, Japan, and South Korea where it was well-received and contributed to its global numbers.
As of 27 June 2017, Dangal’s worldwide box-office collection stood at over Rs 2000 crore and became the first Indian film to collect such money.
After the mega run of India’s first 2000cr movie ‘Dangal’, Indian cinema was boosted by setting new records at the box office. In 2015 ‘Baahubali: The Beginning’ achieved the feat and came close to Dangal’s record grossing over Rs 1800 crores at the box office worldwide. Then later RRR movie collected over Rs 1300 crores in 2022 at the Box office. and KGF: Chapter 2 over Rs 1200 crores. and in 2023 Pathaan & Jawan also achieved a benchmark crossing the Rs 1000 crore mark.
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