Pathaan, India’s next blockbuster, had the greatest opening weekend of any Bollywood film ever. Pathaan, written and directed by Siddharth Anand, features Shah Rukh Khan in part after a four-year absence from the performing world. As a bonus, he is reunited with Deepika Padukone, who he previously worked with in Om Shanti Om and Chennai Express films. Pathaan, in the fourth Film of the YRF Spy Universe franchise, must stop Jim (John Abraham), a former RAW agent gone bad who is now in charge of a terrorist outfit planning to release a deadly virus across India.
Pathaan, starring Shah Rukh Khan, premiered on January 25, and according to Deadline, it has already set a new record for the largest opening weekend in the history of Bollywood. It is also the first Film in the Hindu language to gross over 300 crores ($36.8 million) worldwide. Pathaan has been a commercial and critical success, having a current Rotten Tomatoes score of 94%.
The question is whether or not Pathaan will succeed in RRR.
The success of Pathaan is similar to that of RRR, another Indian film from the early twenty-first century. RRR, directed by S. S. Rajamouli, has won many honours in America. It was nominated for two Golden Globes and won the Critics’ Choice Award and the Critics’ Award for Best Film. The song “Naatu Naatu,” which has gone viral, has also been nominated for an Academy Award. RRR was a massive success at the box office, earning more money than the top two Telegu movies combined. Pathaan’s early success suggests it has a good chance of repeating its success in Hollywood. Even though Pathaan doesn’t have a memorable original song, the Film is expected to do well at the box office.
Which Bollywood Films Have Been the Most Successful Over the Past Decade?
Pathaan Pathaan’s success, with its intimate relationship between Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone, suggests it may be Bollywood’s comeback after a spate of underwhelming releases. With its worldwide premiere in over a hundred countries, Pathaan has the potential to assist the Bollywood business in recovering after recent titles in South India have eclipsed the region’s films.
While this change has occurred, Bollywood has had a boom, most notably with the release of Dangal in 2016. It is the highest-grossing Hindi-language Film and Indian Film of all time. The Walt Disney Company India produced the biographical sports drama film. Dangal stars Aamir Khan as retired wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat, who seeks to reclaim his previous glory by coaching his daughters in the art. The global gross for “Dangal” was $338 million.
Secret Superstar, directed by Khan in 2017, was the latest in a long line of financially successful films directed by the prolific filmmaker. Khan co-starred with Zaira Wasim as Insia, a young woman who wants to be a singer but wears a niqab in her viral videos on YouTube to protect her identity. Secret Superstar, which addressed social topics like feminism and gender equality and had a more overtly political premise than Dangal, was a critical darling.
The 2015 comic drama Bajrangi Bhaijaan and the 2014 action comedy PK follow as the third and fourth highest-grossing Hindu-language films of all time, with revenues of $141.1 million and $133.0 million. Dangal’s first weekend grossed $15.92 million, which is impressive considering no film has ever done as well. On this basis, Pathaan has a shot at becoming India’s highest-grossing Film, surpassing Dangal, given its current figures and RRR’s level of success.
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