The Indian blockbusterJawan, starring Bollywood superstarShah Rukh Khan, is hoping for a top-place finish at the global box office in its opening weekend, as it takes onThe Nun II. Having already broken multiple records in India, many of which were set by Khan’s ownPathaanearlier this year, the film is also looking at a top-five finish at the domestic box office. The movie is eyeing a $5.5 million opening weekend domestically;Pathaanopened on a Wednesday and generated $9.5 million across is five-day domestic opening.
On Sunday, Red Chillies Entertainment — that’s Khan’s production company — reported thatJawanhas made ₹384 crore across the world in three days, which converts to approximately $46 million, most of which (around $30 million) has come from India. Theaction moviedebuted globallyon Thursdayand is projected to handily pass the ₹500 crore ($60 million) mark worldwide by the end of its extended opening. The higher end of projections put these figures between $70 million and $80 million.
This would make it one of the biggest-ever openings for an Indian film, behind onlyBaahubali 2: The ConclusionandRRR— both of which were directed by filmmakerS.S. Rajamouli, and went on to gross between $60 million and $70 million in their traditional three-day debuts. ButJawancan certainly claim to have delivered the biggest Hindi-language debut of all time, having overtakenPathaan’s three-day worldwide gross of around $36 million.Pathaanwent on to become the second-biggest Hindi movie of all time behindDangal, having made approximately $130 million globally, andJawanis expected to challenge that number, if not overtake it.
This Is the Year of SRK
India has several regional film industries that mainly function independently of each other, although for any movie to deliver numbers such as these, they must appeal to a nationwide audience. BothBaahubali 2andRRRdid phenomenal business across India despite hailing from the Telugu-language industry, but the majority ofJawan’s revenue is still coming from the main Hindi-language release and not the Tamil and Telugu dubbed versions.Jawanwas, however, designed to have cross-country appeal; it involves directorAtlee, best known for his collaborations withTamil megastar Vijay, and starsNayantharaandVijay Sethupathi— all three of whom are best known for their work in south Indian cinema.
SRK, as he is fondly known, has sustainedunprecedented levels of popularity across three decadesin Hindi-language films — best known across the globe as Bollywood. He had a rather rough few years before the pandemic and went into a self-imposed sabbatical that lasted five years. He bounced back withPathaanand is continuing the momentum withJawan. He has one more release lined up for this year, hitmaker directorRajkumar Hirani’sDunki, which will be released around Christmastime.
Jawanis out now in theaters. Stay tuned at Collider for future updates!
