Now in its 13th day of domestic Indian release, S.S. Rajamouli’s fantasy epic Baahubali: The Beginning has mowed down the box office records of previous Indian films like so many hapless Kalakeya warriors.
As it nears the end of its second week, Baahubali has collected more than US$59 million (375 crore rupees), enough to eclipse Aamir Khan starrer Dhoom 3 and claim honors as India’s second-highest grossing film in history.
To claim the domestic box office crown Baahubali will need to surpass the $71.9 million / 458 crore record held by 2014 smash hit comedy PK, which also starred Aamir Khan.
To beat PK’s #1 all-time global box office record, Baahubali will have to amass over $118 million in worldwide collections. It’s at roughly $70 million worldwide so far, with over $6.7 million of that total having come from the U.S.. But to catch up Baahubali will almost certainly need China, where PK scored $20 million, triple Dhoom 3’s prior record for an Indian film release in the PRC.
There’s no word yet as to whether Baahubali will be granted import and distribution permissions by China’s film authorities. With its ultra-violent battle scenes, the film may run into resistance from the Chinese government’s censors.
Baahubali has benefitted not only from heavy theater attendance, but also from sky-high ticket prices. A friend from Tamil Nadu–where movie ticket pricing is set at a government mandated 120 rupees, or about $2.00–told me the story this morning about how he he went to the cinema the other day to seeBaahubali while on business in Bangalore. He was startled to see that the posted price was 3,000 rupees, nearly $50.00. When he arrived at the box office and found it deserted, he assumed that there had been no takers at that ridiculous price. But on further inquiry he was startled again; the reason there was no line at the box office was because there were no available tickets. Every single seat for every single screening of the day had been sold out hours earlier.
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