India's 'Baahubali' Punches Out 401 Crore / $62.6 Million Gross In 15 Days
At the start of its 3rd week of worldwide release, S.S. Rajamouli’s game-changing Indian epic Baahubali: The Beginning has become only the 4th film in the country’s history to cross the 400 crore rupees (US$62.4 million) threshold. On Friday the film took in an additional 10 crore ($1.56 million) to extend its cumulative 15-day global total to 401 crore.
Produced from a screenplay by Rajamouli from a story by his veteran screenwriter father, Vijayendra Prasad, Baahubali has captivated audiences in over 4,200 theaters in India, the U.S., the U.K., Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and other territories. On Friday it surpassed the 2009 Aamir Khan-starring hit comedy 3 Idiots to take the number 4 rank among all Indian releases, and it stands to catch Chennai Express this weekend to seize the 3rd-best ever total.
Baahubali is the only non-Hindi language film among India’s top 10 grossing films, and has more than doubled the previous Telugu language record-holder Magadheera, also directed by Rajamouli, which earned $23 million in global receipts in 2009.
To have a shot at catching second-ranked Dhoom 3, Baahubali will need an additional, sizable boost from the international markets. North America has already kicked in over $7 million, a record for an Indian film in that territory, and it seems only China can make much of a difference now. There’s no word yet as to whether Baahubali will release in PRC theaters, but with Aamir Khan’s PK having scored more than $20 million there earlier this year, Chinese moviegoers have demonstrated a strong interest in Indian fare.
Article Credits : Forbes
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