Aamir Khan’s Dangal becomes highest grossing Bollywood film in Hong Kong

NEW DELHI: Aamir Khan’s Dangal has been ruling the box office in Hong Kong ever since its release. The Nitesh Tiwari-directed film has now become the highest grossing Indian movie in the country beating the 52-year-old actor’s 2009 film 3 Idiots, reported trade analyst Ramesh Bala.

“@aamir_khan ‘s #Dangal is now the highest grossing Indian movie in #Hongkong.. US$3.05 M.. Beats #3Idiots ‘ US$3.02 M to take the crown,” he tweeted. Dangal earned $5.2 million on its opening weekend in Hong Kong, according to trade analyst Taran Adarsh. The film, which is a wresting drama, currently has an overseas total of $217.17 million and worldwide collection of $297.68 million (including India), reported news agency IANS.

See trade analyst Ramesh Bala’s tweet here:

Speaking to IANS, Amrita Pandey, Vice President – Studios, Disney India said, “The film released in 46 screens in Hong Kong and Macau which is four times more than the regular screen count for a Hindi mainstream release.”

“The local audience’s overwhelming response reaffirms that an inspiring story backed by the right team, distribution planning, superior storytelling with such strong performances – can win hearts and transcend boundaries, and Dangal exemplifies that,” she added.

Dangal is based on wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat’s life, who trained his daughters Geeta and Babita to be world-class wrestlers. Both have won medals at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Aamir Khan features as Mahavir Singh Phogat in the film, Fatima Sana Shaikh and Sanya Malhotra portrayed the role of Geeta and Babita respectively. Zaira Wasim featured as the younger version of Geeta Phogat for which she earned the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress. The film also stars Sakshi Tanwar in a pivotal role.

Dangal released in India last year and collected over Rs. 375 crore at the box office. It surpassed the collections of Aamir Khan’s 2014 movie PK and Salman Khan’s 2016 film Sultan.

Dangal released in China earlier this year and ruled the box office in the country for many days. It achieved the fifth spot on Forbes’ list of highest earning non-Hollywood films in ‘cinema history.’

(With IANS inputs)