Amasses more than $3.3 million in 3 days for record opening.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: Bollywood blockbuster Dhoom 3 is well on its way to breaking box-office records around the world, and has become one of a rare group of Hindi films to crack the top 10 of the North American weekend box office.
The hotly anticipated action film amassed $3,305,000 (20.5 crore rupees) in box office receipts from Friday through Sunday, good enough for #9 on the weekend box office charts. It’s an astonishing sum when considering the fact that it opened on just 236 screens. That means Dhoom 3 made $14,004 for each screen that was showing it.
In terms of total overseas performance, the film grossed $12 million during the same time frame, and has already grossed over 100 crore rupees in India, becoming the fastest Bollywood film in history to do so. In the US, it has already beaten the openings of other 2013 blockbusters Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, Chennai Express, and Krrish 3.
All this money puts Dhoom 3 on the fast-track to become the highest-grossing Bollywood film of all-time very shortly, most likely in early January, if collections stay as robust as they were on opening weekend. It’s predecessor, 2006’s Dhoom 2, also held that title for some time when it was released, but has since then is no longer in the top 10.
Dhoom 3 has the added benefit of receiving the largest theatrical roll-out of any Bollywood film to-date. It has been released onto 750 screens outside of India and 4,500 screens within India, demolishing the record set by Chennai Express back in August. It is also the first Hindi film to ever be released in IMAX; although it was not shot using the proprietary IMAX film cameras, it was re-mastered for IMAX screens and given a state-of-the-art Dolby ATMOS surround sound mix.
Shot predominantly in and around Chicago, the film stars Aamir Khan and Katrina Kaif as two circus performers and lovers who are also thieves. Their crimes draw the attention of the characters played by returning cast members Abhishek Bachchan and Uday Chopra, who must catch the circus duo before they strike again.
To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com