ARTICLE BY FORBES AUTHOR : ROB CAIN
India's 'Baahubali' Blasts Past 500 Crore / $78 Million Worldwide
In its fourth week of worldwide release, Hyderabad-based Arka Media Works’ action epic Baahubali: The Beginning has continued to fend off new competition to surpass the vaunted 5 billion rupees (US$78 million) mark in theatrical box office revenue.
Only two other Indian films have ever reached this rarefied level of success: Vinod Chopra Films’ PK set the all-time record in 2014 with 7.4 billion rupees (US$120 million) in worldwide grosses; Yash Raj Films’ Dhoom 3 had previously held the record at 5.24 billion rupees (US$85 million) when it rolled out in 2013. Both of those top-grossing films were Hindi language productions starring Aamir Khan.
What makes the Telugu-Tamil language Baahubali all the more remarkable is that it is the only non-Hindi film to reach even the 3 billion rupee worldwide box office level, let alone 50 billion. The Tamil language movie Enthiran topped out at 2.83 billion rupees in 2010.
The reason non-Hindi films typically under-perform is that their reach is limited in India. “Regional” films, as movies made in the Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and other non-Hindi languages are often called, are usually restricted to exhibition in only three to four Indian states, whereas Hindi films can achieve national distribution across at least 22 of India’s 29 states.
Baahubali was able to buck this trend. It has also benefitted from an unusually extended run, attracting moviegoers well beyond the second weekend when most films relinquish their screens to newcomers. Baahubali has managed to hang on to more than 2,000 screens around the world in its fourth week.
This weekend Baahubali has topped all newcomers, including such releases as the Hindi movie Drishyam, Telugu pictures Mirchi Lanti Kurradu, Mantra 2, Challenge, and Dhana Lakshmi Thalupu Thadithey, and Tamil films Orange Mittai, Idhu Enna Maayam, and Sakalakala Vallavan Appatakkar.
Only one current release, Salman Khan Films/Kabir Khan Films’ Bajrangi Bhaijaan, has a solid chance of moving past Baahubali in the all-time rankings. Bajrangi Bhaijaan has amassed more than 4 billion rupees (US$62.4 million) in worldwide collections in its first 17 days.
Credits : Forbes.
Only one current release, Salman Khan Films/Kabir Khan Films’ Bajrangi Bhaijaan, has a solid chance of moving past Baahubali in the all-time rankings. Bajrangi Bhaijaan has amassed more than 4 billion rupees (US$62.4 million) in worldwide collections in its first 17 days.
Credits : Forbes.
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