An Eid release has proved to very lucky for Shah Rukh Khan as his latest film "Chennai Express" is shattering all records at the box office. Last year, Salman Khan's "Ek Tha Tiger" which was released during the Islamic festival, has set a new benchmark for all films.
This year, it is "Chennai Express" which has set a new yardstick after breaking all previous records in India. After becoming the fastest film to cross ₹100 crore, the film has hit another record by earning over ₹150 crore in its first week.
The romantic comedy has minted ₹156.7 crore in its first week at the domestic box office.
"ChennaiExpress PP 6.75 cr, Fri 33.12 cr, Sat 28.05 cr, Sun 32.5 cr, Mon 12.62 cr, Tue 11.5 cr, Wed 12.56 cr, Thu 19.6 cr. Total: 156.7 cr," trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted on Friday.
With ₹150 crore, the film has become the fourth highest grosser ever in India. Aamir Khan starrer "3 Idiots" currently rules at the top spot with ₹202 crore followed by Salman's "Ek Tha Tiger" with ₹198 crore in second place and Ranbir Kapoor's "Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani" with ₹188.57 rounding off the top three list.
"Chennai Express" has made good use of the Independence Day national holiday. It also remained unaffected by new release "Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai Doobaara".
The film has set five records within its first week of its release.
1. The film broke "3 Idiots" paid preview record after earning ₹6.75 crore on Thursday.
2. It had the highest opening day collection with ₹33.12 crore, beating Salman's "Ek Tha Tiger" record.
3. It had the highest second-day earnings with ₹28.05 crore.
4. It became the fastest film to cross ₹100 crore mark in India.
5. With ₹156 crore in its pocket, the film had the highest first week collection.
The film is also setting records in the international market, where it is competing with Shah Rukh's previous films.
"ChennaiExpress crosses £ 1.3 million [₹12.5 cr] in UK, $ 3 million [₹18.5 cr] in USA-Canada and $ 3 million [₹18.5 cr] in UAE-GCC. From UK, USA-Canada, UAE-GCC and Australia alone, #ChennaiExpress has grossed Rs 53 crores in Week 1. Unbelievable. Unimaginable!!!" Adarsh said.