Bajrangi Bhaijaan records 2nd highest first week collections

Salman Khan’s Bajrangi Bhaijaan has collected Rs 184.65 crore in its first week at the box office, taking it to the 2nd spot in the highest first week totals of all time.

Unlike Dhoom 3, Bajrangi Bhaijaan was not a franchise film, not did it have a popular music album or action sequences that attract the masses. The credit for the record-breaking opening goes entirely to Salman Khan, who ensured that the film got a huge initial, after which the word-of-mouth took over.

So just how massive is the first week collections of Bajrangi Bhaijaan? Some points:

• Bajrangi Bhaijaan is the 10th highest grosser of all time in just 7 days. Ahead of films like Dabangg, Dabangg 2, Bodyguard, Rowdy Rathore, Singham Returns and Bang Bang just to name a few.
• The first week business of Bajrangi Bhaijaan is more than the combined business of both Akshay Kumar releases so far. Gabbar Is Back 85 crore, Baby 96 crore. Total Rs 181 crore.
• The film smashed the record of the previous highest grossing film of 2015 – Tanu Weds Manu Returns (151 crore) – in just 5 days!
• The first week business of Bajrangi Bhaijaan is more than the combined business of 80% of Bollywood releases so far this year.
• The film was one of the fastest to cross the 100 crore mark (3 days) and the fastest of all time to cross the 150 crore mark (5 days)
• A 20 crore holiday opening day would be considered outstanding for almost all stars in the industry outside the Top 4. But Salman’s Bajrangi Bhaijaan has collected 20 crore or more on 5 consecutive days, beating the previous record of 4 consecutive days by PK.

With one extra holiday or a release period like ‘KICK’ last year, when the Eid holiday fell during the weekdays, Bajrangi Bhaijaan could have probably become the first film to collect Rs 200 crore in its first week itself.