Box Office : Rockstar earns Rs 64 crore over the weekend

Director Imtiaz Ali's latest release Rockstar has rocked the box office by grossing Rs.64 crore worldwide on the opening weekend.

Veteran actress Shabana Azmi has praised Ranbir Kapoor's performance and said that the film "tugged at my heartstrings...Hindi cinema is finally coming of age".

Co-produced by Shree Ashtavinayak Cinevision Ltd and Eros International, the film released on more than 2,000 screens worldwide and registered Rs.53 crore in India and Rs.11 crore overseas in first three days of its release, said a statement.

The musical thriller, made on a budget of over Rs.60 crore, opened with mixed reviews, but everyone praised Ranbir's performance as an aspiring singer who turns into an aggressive lover after being jilted.

Both critics and fans describe it as young actor's finest performance to date and Shabana agrees too.

"Ranbir's performance in Rockstar is totally original he inhabits Jordan's complex world and infuses it with childlike honesty that's believable," she posted on micro-blogging site Twitter.

"Imtiaz Ali's writing in Rockstar is surprising and unpredictable. Tugged at my heartstrings...Hindi cinema is finally coming of age..wow," she further added.

Rockstar introduces two new faces--Pakistani-American model Nargis Fakhri and Brazilian model Moufid Aziz.

IANS

Rockstar earns Rs 11.25 crores on day 1

Call it the coincidence of its release date 11.11.11 but the opening day figures are in the same range. However, the fate of film depends on its weekend collections.

Ranbir Kapoor's much-awaited Rockstar which released all across yesterday might have received mixed reviews but has got a decent opening. The film has opened in the range of 70-100% occupancy at most centers thanks to the immense hype surrounding the film. Also the fact that it was a solo release helped the film get a good initial. The business is certainly good at multiplexes as compared to single screens with the film catering to the elite audiences than the masses.

Call it the coincidence of its once-in-a-lifetime release date of 11.11.11 but the opening day figures are in the same range. Early trade reports reveal that the opening day collection is around Rs 11.25 crores. This is Ranbir Kapoor's biggest opening-day collection till date, beating the Friday figures of all his earlier films.

However the overall fate of the film largely depends on the weekend figures. With mixed response, the collections could vary over Saturday and Sunday and Monday morning figures will decide on the final destiny of Rockstar.

‘RA.One’ box office obsession: The danger of reducing movies to money

RA.One didn’t break Bodyguard’s opening day record, but it did set a new three-day benchmark, raking in Rs 60 crore in India

The sound and fury around Shahrukh Khan’s superhero saga, RA.One, reached a cacophonous climax last week. There was much debate, of course, on the quality of the film (it was largely panned by critics in India), but the real entertainment was in the breathless number-crunching. The question on everyone’s lips was: could Shahrukh beat arch rival Salman Khan’s grosses? Would Shahrukh’s relentless 10-month-long marketing campaign deliver a bigger opening day than Bodyguard’s Rs 20 crore Eid take?

As it turned out RA.One didn’t break Bodyguard’s opening day record, but it did set a new three-day benchmark, raking in Rs 60 crore in India. The heated speculation about whether the film was a hit or flop, how much it needed to make to qualify as the former, and how long it would take to get past the Rs 100 crore benchmark continued in the media, blogs and on Twitter well past the first few days. I felt like a participant in a spectator sport, and wondered, when did we become so box office-obsessed?

When I was a rookie reporter in the early 1990s, the vocabulary for viewers at least was restricted to ‘hit’ and ‘flop’. The ‘trade’, which sat in Mumbai’s Naaz building, discussed minimum guarantees, a film’s initial deficit and overflow. Ego-massaging ads that declared a film a ‘bumper-success’ routinely appeared in trade papers, but ads in mainstream media with box office figures were unheard of (one reason might be the mafia threat that loomed over Bollywood from the late 1990s to mid-2000s—producers didn’t want to advertise how much money they had made for fear of extortion threats from the ‘Bhais’).

These days, trade news makes mainstream headlines. There is frequent talk of the ‘100 crore club’—films that have made more than Rs 100 crore. The first to break the barrier was Ghajini in 2008. This year has been especially bountiful with a slew of films like Ready, Singham and Bodyguard achieving this—in fact, Bodyguard set a new record by doing it in less than a week. Each milestone was duly celebrated with full-page ads in newspapers. And Kareena Kapoor was anointed the 100-crore heroine, having worked in three such films—3 Idiots, Golmaal 3 and Bodyguard. The fact that she was the decoration (at least in the latter two) was happily overlooked.

An industry flush with funds and expanding its markets is a wonderful thing. But our growing obsession with numbers is less so. Flashback, if you will, to Hollywood in 1975. Steven Spielberg, only 28, had made a film with a mechanical fish in the starring role—Jaws. It tested so well that Paramount Studios created a massive TV campaign around it and released it in hundreds of theatres—both were a first for the industry. Jaws was the first film to break the $100 million mark and is now acknowledged as the movie that changed the business forever—studios discovered the formula that hype plus carpet-bombing equals the event film (read mega-money). Slowly, the more personal, director-driven cinema of the early 1970s was replaced by the blockbuster film. Jaws, in the words of a Public Broadcasting Service headline, became the monster that ate Hollywood.

In the last few years, Bollywood has also discovered the event movie. Essentially a film so big and hyped that viewers turn out in droves to see it because it’s almost like there isn’t a choice. The multi-crore grosses that eventually follow are then bandied about as proof of quality. The art becomes irrelevant.

I love blockbusters—scale, stars, mega-budgets. But there is a real danger in reducing movies to money. After Asoka’s release, Shahrukh had said to me, “I have never done a film with the market in mind. Cinema is a mishran of Lakshmi and Saraswati. I have always gone for Saraswati and Lakshmi has followed. I may be stubborn and an idiot, but it works for me. I know this is a business, but I will always dole out art.” Now seems an opportune time to remember that.

RASCALS collects Rs 8.63 crores on opening day!

Sanjay Dutt Productions and Rupali Aum Entertainment's Dussehra bonanza RASCALS has hit the right cord with the audiences. The comic flick, starring Sanjay Dutt, Ajay Devgn, Kangana Ranaut, Lisa Haydon and Arjun Rampal, directed by David Dhawan has done stupendous business on its opening day.

A Movie Still From Rascals

The movie released on Thursday 6th October, and has garnered an outstanding collection of Rs. 8.63 crores on the first day itself, making it the fourth highest for 2011, after READY, Ajay Devgn's own SINGHAM and BODYGUARD. This was despite a limited release & low ticket prices compared to the weekends. Trade pundits even go to say that if the tickets were priced at the regular rates, then the movie could have grossed higher and maybe even crossed Rs. 11 crores on the opening day. 

Packed with hilarious performances from the film's cast and some chartbusting music, the movie has won a lot of appreciation form audiences all over. With a strong, positive word of mouth and a long weekend ahead, the industry is expecting a bumper opening for the film!

Mausam nets Rs 221 mn on box office

MUMBAI: Mausam, following bad reports, had an average opening weekend. The Pankaj Kapur-directed movie collected Rs 221 million on strength of multiplexes with single screen collections not being up to mark.

The drop has been noticed with the start of the new week.

Meanwhile, the box office collections of two other releases, Rivaaz and Jaana Pehchana, remained very poor.

Mere Brother Ki Dulhan benefited in its second-week run due to no opposition as it added Rs 168 million to its first week collections of Rs 378 million. The two-week net collection of the film is Rs 546 million.

Salman Khan-starrer Bodyguard collected Rs 90 million in its third week, taking its three-week total box office collection to Rs 1.45 billion.

'Mausam' outruns 'Speedy Singhs' at box office

Shahid Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor’s romantic movie Mausam has scored over the other release of the week, Speedy Singhs, at box office.

Mausam, directed by Pankaj Kapur had already generated enough curiosity and controversy prior to its release. On Friday, the film got a decent opening, ranging between 75 percent to 50 percent at theatres. The response was particularly good in the northern belt, particularly in Punjab, Delhi, UP and even in Rajasthan. The average occupancy of the film could come to around 50 to 60 percent at multiplexes. The response was equally good at single screen theatres.

Check out: Mausam - Movie Review

The film has, however, got mixed reviews from the critics, though it hasn’t got rave review from anyone. The film’s collection is likely to rise on Saturday and Sunday, but it remains to be seen if it can hold steady over the coming week.

Mausam easily overtook the other release of the Friday, Speedy Singhs, which saw a meagre response of 10 to 15 percent at box office.

Check out: Speedy Singhs - Movie Review

Produced by Akshay Kumar, Speedy Singhs is being described as a Xerox of Akshay’s own flopped Patiala House with the only difference that instead of cricket, ice hockey is the game central to the plot. The film is headed for a flop tag.

The coming week would see multiple releases: Hum Tum Shabana, Force, Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster, Chargesheet and Tere Mere Phere.

‘Mausam’ earns Rs. 9 crore on opening day

Bollywood’s Veteran actor Pankaj Kapoor’s directorial debut “Mausam” starring his son Shahid Kapoor and actress Sonam Kapoor had a good opening Friday as it earned approximately Rs.9 crore on the first day, an informed source said.

Made at a budget of Rs.35 crore, the film released in around 1,900 screens and is going strong with 100 percent occupancy. The film aims to bring back the true romance. 

“Mausam” is a love story which shows how a couple is forced to estrange by socio-political situations around.

It captures the crest and trough they go through a span of 10 years until they reunite and make a happy ending. Shahid Kapoor plays the role of an air force pilot and Sonam Kapoor a Kashmiri girl. 

The film was supposed to release Sep 16 but it was postponed after the delay in getting a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Indian Air Force which had objections over a few scenes.

- IANS

'Mere Brother Ki Dulhan' going strong at box office

With no competition from any major release last Friday, the Yashraj movie Mere Brother Ki Dulhan is going strong at box office.

The film got a good opening Rs. 25.6 crore nett in its opening weekend and its run at theatres remained steady over its first week. The movie was made at a cost of Rs. 20 crore and it raked in a decent collection of Rs. 37.5 crore nett in its first week run at the theatres. Add to that the fact that the much awaited Mausam, scheduled to release on Sept 16, was postponed by a week, giving MBKD another seven days of good run.

Going by the trade figures, the collections in the second week have dipped slightly for MBKD but the movie is holding steady more or less.

On the other hand, Salman Khan’s Bodyguard rounded off its second week with a collection of Rs. 21 crore nett, taking its total collections to the whopping figure of Rs. 130.50 crore nett.

The coming Friday would see the release of Mausam and Speedy Singhs. Of the two, Mausam is expected to get a good opening.

Katrina Kaif and Shah Rukh Khan lead among celebrity endorsers

TAM reports estimate that six percent of television ads feature either of these celebrities

According to recent reports of TAM AdEx, Katrina Kaif and Shah Rukh Khan seem to be the marketer’s favourites, with both of them commanding 6 percent of television ads featuring them. MS Dhoni follows with 5 percent of the pie, while Kareena Kapoor, Sachin Tendulkar and Amitabh Bachchan garner 4 percent of the share. Abhishek Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Asin and Saif Ali Khan make it to the top-ten list with 3 percent share.

 

 

Among advertisers, Hindustan Lever is the top advertiser using celebrities, while Procter & Gamble and PepsiCo make it to the second and third spot respectively. 

 

 

Film stars have been the most sought after brand ambassadors by marketers, and they continue to do so. However, as per the recent trends emerging from TAM reports indicate that sportspersons are gaining more shares of celebrity endorsements as compared to film stars on television. The report estimates 21 percent of celebrities on television in the first half of 2011 are from the arena of sports as compared to 10 percent in the first half of 2010. 

 

Meanwhile, film actresses continue to top the table, with 39 percent share of celebrity endorsements followed by film actors with 37 percent. This is a drop from last year’s estimates, where film actresses topped the table with 45 percent share and film actors followed with 42 percent. Television actors and actresses continue their single digit shares with 2 percent each. Interestingly, both professions gained by 1 percent each as compared to last year.

 

 

Source: campaignindia

'M.B.K.D.' touches Rs 50 cr in 10 days, Hit

Film	Cast	Plusses	Minusses	Verdict
Mere Brother Ki Dulhan	Imran Khan, Katrina Kaif, Ali Zafar, Tara D'Souza, Parikshit Sahni, Kanwaljeet Singh, John Abraham [sp. app.]	Fresh pairing, super music and several entertaining moments	Dips in its post-interval portions	Collected approx Rs 12.1 cr nett in Weekend 2. Total so far: approx. Rs 50 cr nett. Hit
Bodyguard	Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Raj Babbar, Mahesh Manjrekar, Aditya Pancholi, Rajat Rawail, Hazel, Asrani, Vidya Sinha	Salman Khan, the twist in the love story and musical score	Screenplay could've been tighter in its first hour	Collected approx Rs 5.62 cr nett in Weekend 3. Total so far: Rs 141.63 cr nett. Blockbuster

(Ratings are based on the box office collections and the cost of the film)

Source: Bollywoodhungama

‘Mere Brother Ki Dulhan’ grosses 29 crore in just 4 days

After Salman’s ‘Bodyguard’, which smashed box-office records, it’s his ex-flame's ‘Mere Brother Ki Dulhan’ that is doing good business at the box-office.

According to box-office reports, Katrina Kaif, Imran Khan and Ali Zafar starrer MBKD has successfully managed to gross around 29 crore in just four days.

The film, which hit the cinema houses on Sept. 9, continued to fare well on Monday.

 Download the songs of Mere Brother Ki Dulhan

Trade experts are expecting the movie to mint nearly 37-38 crore by this week.

MBKD actress Katrina receives good reviews from critics
Ever since YRF’s latest venture MBKD has hit the screens, its female lead Katrina has been receiving good reviews for her performance in the film.

Going gaga over the rock star chic, one of the critics articulated, "The charismatic Katrina Kaif in MERE BROTHER KI DULHAN is easily the star of this show. Offering an uninhibited and winning performance as the mad but endearing Dimple." 

When asked to react to reviews, Katrina, who still seems to be well-grounded, stated that every project which she undertakes is a challenge for her and she leaves no stone unturned to give her best.

"The way I approach my films, each of them has to be a separate entity in itself. To start a film, do it well, promote it to the fullest, get it up for release and then to see that it gets accepted by the audience - there are challenges at every juncture. Really, every film of my own is a little battle of its own," Katrina told the shutterbugs.

Katrina to sizzle with Sanjay Dutt in ‘Agneepath’
After mesmerizing one and all with her chartbuster item track ‘Sheila Ki Jawani’ from ‘Tees Maar Khan’, Katrina seems to have become the hot favorite item girl in the industry now.

Grapevine has it that the bombshell, who recently made a special appearance in Salman’s ‘Bodyguard’, will now be seen sizzling with Sanjay Dutt in KJo’s ‘Agneepath’.

Apparently, the item song in question is going to be composed on the lines of Amitabh’s popular song ‘Jhuma Chooma De Dein’ from the film ‘Hum’.

The song has been compiled by Ajay Gogavale and Atul Gogavale.

Source: Totalfilmy

Katrina Kaif steals the show in Mere Brother Ki Dulhan

Fresh off the success of her last blockbuster Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Katrina Kaif proves her mettle yet again in the span of 2 months with Yash Raj’s Mere Brother Ki Dulhan that opened to impressive collections this weekend.

Apart from proving yet again that she’s Bollywood’s lucky mascot when it comes to box office figures, Katrina Kaif also received stellar reviews for her performance as the zany Dimple Dixit.

Talking about her role in the film says Katrina, “It was my dream to work in a Yash Raj film. It is a romantic comedy, very exaggerated, tongue-n-cheek.I play Dimple in the movie she is completely mad and very bindaas”

“The charismatic Katrina Kaif in Mere Brother Ki Dulhan is easily the star of this show. Offering an uninhibited and winning performance as the mad but endearing Dimple” adds critic Rajeev Masand

If that wasn’t all, as per official box office reports, Mere Brother Ki Dulhan had the seventh biggest opening day of the year (7.35 crores approximately).*

Katrina Kaif however remains unfazed with the adulation coming her way and is keen to push the envelope even further in her next releases. Says Katrina “The way I approach my films, each of them has to be a separate entity in itself.  To start a film, do it well, promote it to the fullest, get it up for release and then to see that it gets accepted by the audience - there are challenges at every juncture. Really, every film of my own is a little battle of its own."

Salman film breaks SRK's overseas record

Salman Khan-starrer Bodyguard is on a record-breaking spree. After a stupendous opening in the domestic market, the film has surpassed the record of Shah Rukh Khan-starrer My Name Is Khan by earning 194,000 GBP on the first day of screening in Britain.

My Name is Khan had collected 191,000 pounds on the opening day in Britain.

The film is also on its way to becoming the highest grosser in the Middle East. It has collected $1.6 million in the first two days, just a little behind the previous highest grosser Dabangg which collected $1.7 million.

"Reliance Entertainment's overseas team is delighted to have delivered one of the biggest overseas hits of the year. Bodyguard is poised to be a record-breaking success for Salman Khan in the international markets," Sanjeev Lamba, CEO Reliance Entertainment said in a statement.

The film, which also stars Kareena Kapoor in the lead, has earned $3.8 million in the US and is expected to overhaul the $5 million collections of Dabangg.

Read more at: http://movies.ndtv.com/movie_story.aspx?ID=ENTEN20110183405&keyword=bollywood&subcatg=MOVIESINDIA&nid=131113&cp

Bodyguard smashes all records

Everyone was forecasting " Bodyguard" to open to big box-office collections, but no one anticipated the massive response the movie ended up generating. The film, which opened on Eid on Wednesday, ran to packed houses in the country, with trade analysts predicting the collections to be in the range of `18-20 crore.

During the last couple of years, it was Salman's other big ticket release, "Dabangg" (`14.35 crore), and Aamir Khan's "3 Idiots" (`12.5 crore), which had shown the biggest openings.

Says trade analyst Taran Adarsh, "Salman is something else now. I think the movie has earned almost `20 crore on day one and over the weekend, it will cross `85-90 crore." Komal Nahta is more conservative in his estimates and pegs the weekend collection at `65-70 crore. However, Nahta says the film has broken all international records too. Says Nahta, "In Dubai, the movie opened on Tuesday because that's when Eid was celebrated. While "Dabangg" had opened with 7 lakh dirhams (`87 lakh), "Bodyguard" made 11 lakh dirhams (`1.36 crore). In London, the movie opened with a collection of 60,000 pounds (`44.4 lakh) on Tuesday, which too is unheard of. It has broken all previous records for any Bollywood film."

While analysts hail Salman and the film as a box office miracle, multiplex and single screen officials tell us that various strategies have come together to help the film. Says Tinku Singh, group president, SRS group, "In NCR, we ran 53 shows in Faridabad, and 22 and 30 shows in Gurgaon and Indirapuram. The total collection on day one was `24 lakh. It is houseful across the country. After the "Aarakshan" fiasco, everyone's rejoicing with this movie. And the thing to remember here is that the movie opened on a Wednesday, so it will have five days, plus two more weekends at least, to make a lot more money."

Also, "Boduguard" opened to weekend pricing across most multiplexes, giving them much more revenue. However, PVR Cinemas chose to go ahead with weekday pricing for Wednesday, and reported 95% occupancy in the morning shows, and 100% occupancy towards the evening. Out of 550 shows in PVR halls, approximately 325 were played in Delhi and Punjab. Says Deepa Menon, vice president, corporate communications for PVR Cinemas, "The movie saw an excellent opening in Delhi-NCR, ending the day with nearly 95% occupancy, which is quite phenomenal. This definitely is one of the biggest openings on day one that we've seen."

Even in single-screen theatres, the film has done record-breaking business in Delhi-NCR. While Vishal in Rajouri Garden reported a total of `4.5 lakh in four shows, all four shows were houseful in Delite, said Sunil Parashar, media coordinator for Dellite. Sheila Cinema in Paharganj too, saw four full shows, totalling a collection of over `3 lakh. Says Parashar, "During "Ready", ticket prices had been increased by 20% even in single-screen halls. But for "Bodyguard", even at normal single-screen prices, the movie has broken all records. Most single screens are houseful till Sunday."

Biggest opening days
Bodyguard: `20 cr
Dabangg (2010): `14.35 cr
3 Idiots (2009): `12.5 cr

'Salman Khan refuses to believe Bodyguard's success'

Salman Khan is recovering after an eight-hour surgery in Pittsburgh and refuses to believe that his " Bodyguard" has broken box-office records, says his brother-in-law and co-producer Atul Agnihotri. 
 
Salman, who underwent surgery for a nerve problem that was causing exruciating pain in his head, jaws and cheeks, believes his family is just trying to cheer him up by telling him that "Bodyguard" is rocking the box office.

"He is not totally convinced. He is thinking that we are saying this to cheer him up. This is because he is totally cut off from his regular sources. If he had been in Mumbai, he would have had more interaction, seen more TV and read editorials. There he is totally depending on what we are saying," Atul, who co-produced the film with Reliance, told IANS in an interview. "Bodyguard", which released on Eid Wednesday, has surpassed the opening day box-office collection of "Dabangg" (Rs.14.5 crore) and " 3 Idiots" (Rs.13 crore) by garnering Rs.22 crore in the domestic market.

Salman, 45, is expected to be home in 10 days. He is currently under observation, said Atul. ?First, they did some test on him and then he was subjected to the first medical procedure. The surgery went for eight hours. Now he is under three-day observation. I think tomorrow night (Saturday) or day after (Sunday) morning they will review and go for the next step. He will be there for a week or 10 days more," he said.

Atul is riding high on the unprecedented success of the Salman-Kareena Kapoor starrer action-drama, which has received overwhelming response from the audiences despite bad reviews. "We were expecting a good opening but the number has gone beyond our prediction. For us, before the release (of 'Bodyguard'), 'Dabangg' was the benchmark. That we have surpassed, which is a great thing," he said.

The film is scoring high even in south despite being a Hindi remake of Malayalam film of the same name. It was also made in Tamil. "Even in Cochin where people have seen both its Tamil and Malayalam version, the film is doing extremely well. Till yesterday (Thursday) we had two theatres, today (Friday) we have opened up third screen so that?s an indicator of the reaction of the audience in south," said the 41-year-old actor-director-producer.

Atul is expecting the box office collection to touch Rs.85 crore by this weekend. "As 31st was a holiday, we did a business of around Rs 21.57 crore, then yesterday (Thursday) we have touched about Rs.19 crore again. In that sense we have already done around Rs.41 crore and above, across India. Today is a Friday. In three days (including weekends) there is a possibility that we would cross Rs.80 to Rs.85 crore in India," said Atul.

Paisa vasool: 'Bodyguard' Salman wows box office home & abroad

He is Bollywood's biggest paisa vasool star today. That's what theatre-owner Rachit Malhotra thinks of Salman Khan. Malhotra owns Agra's Jwala cinema, a single-screen theatre with an abundant 1,139 seats. Yet on Wednesday (Eid) and Thursday, they weren't enough to accommodate the frenzied fans who queued outside for a ticket. Every show of Bodyguard, Salman's latest release, was houseful.

"For the audience, Salman is the film. Everything else is secondary. They aren't just whistling when he bares his chest. They are even dancing outside the hall. They know a Sallu bhai movie is always tension-free, with entertainment guaranteed," says Malhotra.

It's a similar tale in each of the four single-screen theatres and the three multiplexes in the city of the Taj. "Combined, there are about 60 shows of Bodyguard every day in Agra. Most are houseful. That's staggering," he says.

The success story is being replicated across India, even abroad. Trade expert Komal Nahta says the film raked in a record-breaking 11 lakh dirham (about Rs 1.36 crore) on Tuesday, the opening day in Dubai. Even in UK, the first-day collection of £60,000 (about Rs 44 lakh) was equally impressive.

"The movie could cross Rs 85 crore in the first nine days. Overall, it could end up netting around Rs 125 crore," says Nahta, editor, Film Information. Bodyguard's box-office figures - his third major recent hit along with Dabangg (2010) and Ready (2011) - might bring a smile on the lips of India's most famous bachelor. Smiling won't be easy though. Salman has trigeminal neuralgia, a condition that causes acute pain in the jaw. He is currently undergoing treatment in the US.

Like Bodyguard, Dabangg and Wanted (2009) were also released during Eid. "He has a huge following among the Muslim youth. With an Eid release he is able to capitalize on it," says Nahta. That's correct but not the full truth. The 45-year-old actor is equally popular among urban lower-middle class youth and the underclass across communities.

Social scientist Shiv Viswanathan believes the secret of Salman's popularity lies in his ability to combine machismo and irreverence, innocence and mischievousness. "He combines opposites effortlessly," he says.

Distributor Sanjay Mehta puts the second surge in the star's popularity in perspective. In the past 10 years, Bollywood was dominated by feel-good family dramas, love stories and naughty comedies. "Salman was the first to spot the shortage of action films. and its possible demand. With Wanted and Dabangg, he reinvented himself as an all-action hero who also delivers one-liners, makes people laugh. With a few changes, Bodyguard continues in the same vein," he says.

Salman's bulging biceps in Veergati (1995) spurred the 'bodybuilding' craze in small town India. Almost two decades later, he continues to be every neighbourhood gym's No. 1 poster boy. Yet, his major early hits were either romantic comedies or emotional dramas: Maine Pyaar Kiya, Hum Aapke Hain Kaun, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam .

The actor's reinvention as an action star became possible after the regular men of muscle -- Sunny Deol, Sanjay Dutt, Ajay Devgun and Akshay Kumar -- recast themselves as funny-face comics and uneasy romantics. The new Salman filled that gap. True, he was always at home in action flicks (Garv, 2003). But with Wanted and Dabangg, he repositioned himself as Bollywood's top action man.

Viswanathan says that part of Salman's charm lies in the fact that he makes no claims of being an intellectual. "He is just normal and healthy, a child of nature, the boy next door. And he is sheer entertainment. He is non-problematic intellectually. And that works in an age where everybody seems to be into problem solving," he says. Mehta says that Salman's rebellious streak has also endeared him to the masses. "They find him more human," he says.

In recent years, the actor has matured in real life. Salman doesn't make headlines any more for allegedly shooting black bucks or breaking glass panes of his girlfriend's home or reportedly driving over people sleeping on the pavement. Now he makes news primarily for breaking box-office records, for being able to figure out the people's pulse unerringly. Time and again. There is something about Salman Khan.

Salman Khan's Bodyguard sets record for first-day box office collections of Rs 20 crore

It has been a very happy Eid for Salman Khan three years in a row. After Dabangg in 2010 and Wanted in 2009, his latest movie, Bodyguard, released on Wednesday, has set a new record for first day's box-office collections. It netted an estimated Rs 20 crore, beating the Rs 14.5-crore opening of Dabangg (last Eid), and the Rs 13.5 crore collected by his friend and rival Aamir Khan's 3 Idiots in 2009.

With several full-house shows and strong advance bookings even for weekdays, Bodyguard could even emerge as one of the biggest grossers of all time, cementing Salman's position as Bollywood's biggest boxoffice draw more than 20 years after he made his debut in Maine Pyaar Kiyain 1989.

Over the last two years, in terms of box-office collections, Khan's movies have also been beating high-decibel releases of Tamil superstar Rajinikanth. But a reason for that could be the wider reach that Khan's Hindi movies get across the country, whereas Rajinikanth's Tamil movies are released primarily in theatres in the south, an exception being Robot, which had a Hindi version.

Long queues reminiscent of the openings of Amitabh Bachchan's movies in the 1970s and 1980s were reported from cities and towns. "Our theatres in Gorakhpur, Patiala and Bijnor are witnessing a deluge of Salman fans. We are sold out for the next few days," said Tinku Singh of SRS Cinemas, which has theatres across UP, Haryana and Punjab.

At Anurag Cinema in Meerut, shows of Bodyguard are sold out for a few days, said head booking clerk Bharat Kumar. "The crowds have gone mad. There is commotion all around here."

The movie's co-producer, Reliance Big Pictures, which spent Rs 22 crore on marketing, says it will raise thatamount through Day 1 collections alone. "We estimate the first day's business can touch Rs 20 crore net, which will be unprecedented," said Sanjeev Lamba, chief executive officer of Reliance Entertainment.

Bollywood trade analyst Komal Nahata said the movie would have garnered Rs 18-19 crore in collections. "This looks like the biggest opening weekend ever.

Salman Khan has achieved superstardom," he said. "Bodyguard has monstrous, earth-shattering, mindboggling opening," tweeted Taran Adarsh, another trade analyst.

Khan and his team followed a recent trend in Bollywood of launching films ahead of Friday - the day films are traditionally released in India - to take advantage of the extended weekend, which began on Wednesday with Eid. Many parts of the country will be closed for Ganesh Chaturthi on Thursday. The movie has been released across 2,800 screens in India. Multiplex chains are reporting houseful shows, with occupancies ranging between 85% and 100%.

"Bodyguard is witnessing 100% occupancy across shows. Even advance bookings for several shows in the coming days are sold out. We believe there will be repeat audience for the film," said Gautam Dutta, chief operating officer at PVR, which operates multi-screen theatres in many cities in the country.

Tushar Dhingra, the COO at the ADAG-owned Big Cinemas, which runs theatres in many cities in India, said the film has done well across both big and small centres. "Bookings are averaging 85-100% across board. Audiences are pouring in and advance bookings for the rest of the week are also strong," he said.

Hat-trick for Salman as Bodyguard grosses Rs20cr on Day 1

Actor Salman Khan has scored a hat-trick at the box-office with his latest release, Bodyguard, which net Rs 20 crore on the first day of its release. His two other recent films, Dabanng and Ready, raked in the moolah


While Dabanng collected Rs 14 crore on the first day, Ready garnered Rs 12.5 crore. Till then, these Khan capers hit the silver screen, actor Aamir Khan's 3 Idiots had been the highest first-day grosser with Rs 13 crore.

The massive opening for Bodyguard, which also stars Khan along with Kareena Kapoor, could not have come at a better juncture for Salman Khan, who is battling ill-health. He is in the United States for two surgeries to tackle his neurological problems-trigeminal neuralgia and a form of brain aneurysm. The neuralgia results in painful spasms across the actor's jaw.

He is scheduled to undergo the procedures within a couple of days. Regarding Bodyguard's opening, Fun Cinemas' head of operations Vishal Anand, said, "This has to be the highest-ever opening in Bollywood, beating Dabbang by nearly 15% or so.

" He feels Bodyguard should be able to net Rs 70 crore because of the present five-day weekend due to the Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations. "It is on the verge of making a record in Bollywood," he said. Bodyguard could have gained from the fact that there was "30-day lull at the box office". However, the impending release of Mere Brother Ki Dulhan and Mausam may change things.

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh said, "Salman has become a phenomenon if one goes by the first day collection alone." He credits the first-day rush to the "Salman phenomenon". He said, "I feel after Salman has started doing charity he has found a special connect with the audience and they make his films work."

However, many other industry watchers have panned the film. "In terms of content, 'Bodyguard' is an average film as compared to Dabanng and Ready.

One will have to wait and watch to see how it fares beyond the first day," said a film analyst. Adarsh feels otherwise: "Salman and Eid are a lethal combination. I think this film will break the first weekend record as well."

Box Office: Bodyguard takes gigantic opening across multiplexes

Salman Khan's Bodyguard has taken a super duper opening at multiplexes across India. The movie opened at multiplexes and single screens across the country on Wednesday.

Given by the initial reaction to the movie, Bodyguard is all set to give tough competition to previous opening weekend toppers like Dabangg, Ready and 3 Idiots.

According to initial reports, multiplexes in metros saw packed houses in the morning show for Bodyguard. Moreover, the five day festive Eid weekend is only going to bolster collections for the movie.

Also slated to release alongside Bodyguard are movies like That Girl In Yellow Boots, Bas Ek Tamanna, Bol and Mummy Punjabi. While chances for these films are bleak at the box office, they might have a spillover audience in those who failed to get tickets for Bodyguard.