US box office collection: 'Sardar Gabbar Singh' beats 'Srimanthudu' premiere shows' record

"Sardar Gabbar Singh" (Sardaar/SGS) has made brilliant collection at the U.S. box office in the premiere show. It has beaten the record of Mahesh Babu's "Srimanthudu" and become the second biggest film after "Bahubali: The Beginning."

Read: Sardar Gabbar Singh Movie Review | SGS Box Office Collection

Power star Pawan Kalyan is one of the most popular Telugu actors in North America and some of his films held the records of the biggest openers and highest grossers at the U.S. box office in the past. The huge success of "Gabbar Singh" generated a lot of curiosity about its sequel "Sardar Gabbar Singh" among film goers in the country.

Eros International, which has bagged its global theatrical rights, decided to cash in on the Pawan mania and teamed up with IDream Media to distribute the film in the key international markets. They have released the film in 184 screens in the U.S., 18 screens in Canada, 1 screen in Mexico, 18 screens in the U.K. and 37 screens in the U.A.E.

Makers also held paid preview shows for "Sardar Gabbar Singh" in over 125 locations across the North America. Idlebrain Jeevi tweeted, "#SardaarGabbarSingh 184 locations in USA alone. 300+ premiere shows. 60 shows sold out."

The distributors made the ticket booking available for the premiere shows well in advance. Though the ticket price was increased to $25 in some locations, the movie registered decent amount of booking and the film ran to packed houses in several centres in the premiere shows.

The makers are yet to reveal the figures of its collection in the premiere shows. But if we are to go by the early estimates, "Sardar Gabbar Singh" has collected approximately $ 416k from 119 locations at the U.S. box office in the preview shows Thursday night.