2015 has belonged to which actor?

Q. Which Bollywood entertainer ruled 2015? Salman for giving 2 huge hits and and great performances. Varun for having a breakout year. Priyanka for her Hollywood success? – Omar

A. 2015 has belonged to Salman Khan. Bajrangi Bhaijaan Rs 321 crore in India and Rs 625 crore worldwide. Prem Ratan Dhan Payo Rs 215* cr in India and 400 plus crore worldwide. Combined it’s a staggering 1025 crore plus. One man industry this year. Bollywood would be struggling this year without Salman Khan films as all the other top stars like SRK, Aamir, Hrithik haven’t had a release so far. Varun Dhawan has taken giant strides and raced past all actors of his generation. He’s ahead of Ranveer and Ranbir now. Dilwale will only help increase his audience further. While investors of Akshay Kumar films will be disappointed, exhibitors (like every other year) will be happy.

Q. What is the maximum capacity of Indian Box Office on a single day? I guess if released all over india and accepted universally like Baabubali in all language for Bollywood movie, I think 100 crore is possible with Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada – ARK

A. Interesting question, but difficult to put a number. Baahubali 2 will probably give us a better idea. It ticks every possible box. Sequel to a massively successful film, top director, Pan-India appeal, curiosity over the most asked question of 2015 ‘Why did Kattappa kill Baahubali’? The film is a huge hit on TV too and the makers have also released it on the internet. There will be mayhem at the box office when ‘Baahubali 2’ releases in theatres and if the makers are targeting the Christmas weekend, even Aamir Khan will be worried. A lot of people have asked if ‘Baahubali 2’ can collect Rs 200 crore in Hindi. It most certainly has a chance if it gets a solo release.

Q. What are your expectations from Akshay Kumar films in 2016? What do you expect from Airlift and Housefull 3? – Saksham

A. Airlift might take a slightly better opening than Baby this year, but such movies hold very little appeal towards Akshay’s core fan base and his movies haven’t been opening well at multiplexes. The trailer has been liked though, so there are expectations of a 12-13 crore opening. Housefull 3 will be huge. If the trailer and other promos get a good response, it could be Akshay’s biggest opener to date. We know very little about ‘Rustom’ to comment at this stage. It’s scheduled to clash with Mohenjo Daro, which will affect the business of both films.