PK will surpass Dhoom 3’s figures in North America.
By The American Bazaar Staff
WASHINGTON, DC: After just a week and a half, Aamir Khan’s PK, directed by Rajkumar Hirani, has surpassed all challengers to become the highest-grossing foreign-language film in 2014, earning $7.91 million to date.
Khan’s last hit, Dhoom 3, cumulatively earned just over $8 million in North America last December, but PK‘s numbers indicate it is only a matter of time until that figure is surpassed.
Dhoom 3‘s meteoric performance at the box office was aided in turn by the most lucrative North American Bollywood premiere of all time with $3.57 million at 272 different venues. The film carried momentum into its first week, earning $616 million before adding another $1.75 million this past weekend.
PK is now projected to have earned $51.6 million in India and an additional $17.8 million overseas, including North America. If the estimates hold true and the $51.6 million cumulative Indian gross remains steadfast, PK will achieve hallowed status as the top Bollywood earner of all time, far beyond Dhoom 3‘s $44.8 million.
As synopsized by Deadline Hollywood, “the story sees Khan as an alien who lands in the Rajasthan desert with a mission to study life on Earth. When the device that allows him to communicate with his spaceship is stolen, he sets out to find it while attempting to blend in. Ultimately, he heads to Delhi where the fish-out-of-water asks innocent questions that hold a deep and valuable meaning about the belief system that humans have created to reach God.”
Opposition from religious groups in India lends some controversy to PK‘s release, but the buzz does not seem to have been any detriment for Aamir Khan’s latest vehicle to smash box office records.