A still from Prem Ratan Dhan Payo
The Diwali box office has swapped one Khan for another and it's been good for business. The biggest festival in the Indian calendar is usually booked for Shah Rukh Khan, whose
Happy New Year made it a Happy Diwali last year. This time, a shuffle in dates and films has meant that the Diwali berth has been occupied by Salman's
Prem Ratan Dhan Payo and, as it turns out, has proved equally bountiful - in fact, more. (Also Read:
Movie Review)
Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, directed by Sooraj Barjatya and co-starring Sonam Kapoor, released in 4200 screens across the country on November 11 and early reports have recorded a 'bumper opening of 70-75%' across the country.
Box Office India predicts that the film's big Thursday will close with the highest opening in Bollywood history, beating the records set by SRK's
Happy New Year and Aamir's
Dhoom: 3 previously. The report states that tickets have sold at the rate of Salman's
Bajrangi Bhaijaan, which preceded
Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, and Aamir's 2014 film
PK, currently the biggest Bollywood film at home and abroad.
In a separate report,
Box Office India compares the theatre occupancy for morning shows of
PDRP, Bajrangi Bhaijaan, PK, Happy New Year and
Kick in Noida, one of the better opening centres across India. It finds over 93% occupancy in cinemas and the highest audience count for
PDRP and concludes that opening collections will set an 'all-time record.' Their prediction for day one business is Rs 40 lakhs, higher than
Happy New Year's Rs 33 lakhs and
Bajrangi Bhaijaan's 30 lakhs.
Salman Khan has already served up the blockbuster
Bajrangi Bhaijaan this year, during Eid in July - the festival traditionally reserved at the box office for him. Assuming it matches the forecast,
PDRP will be the 49-yea-old actor's ninth blockbuster in a row.
Much of the excitement is caused by the fact that
Prem Ratan Dhan Payo reunites Salman with Sooraj Barjatya, the director responsible for his Prem persona in films such as
Maine Pyar Kiya, Hum Aapke Hain Koun and
Hum Saath Saath Hain.
Produced by the Barjatya-owned Rajshri Productions and distributed by Fox Star Studios,
Prem Ratan Dhan Payo also features Anupam Kher, Swara Bhaskar, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Deepak Dobriyal and Armaan Kohli in key roles.