Dangal Box Office: Aamir Khan's Film 'Off To Grand Start,' Say Experts

New Delhi: At a screening of Dangal on Thursday, Aamir Khan told reporters that he was nervous - not about ticket sales but about how his new film would be received by his public. "Numbers don't matter to me," he said, it is the audience's opinion that counts with him. But numbers are a good indication of what folks think of the movie, no? On that count, Aamir Khan needn't lose any sleep. Dangal opened to sold out shows today and trade analysts are agreed that records are about to be shattered. This should surprise nobody because Aamir's films routinely set new box office benchmarks - his 2014 PK is the most successful Bollywood of all time, making Rs 700 crore or thereabouts worldwide. Salman Khan's July release Sultan - also a wrestling movie like Dangal - also has impressive earnings, very close to what PK fetched. But Dangal, which saw over 50% advance bookings for its first day, is expected to make history.

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted:
 

Let's begin the day with some heartening news... #Dangal morning shows open to packed houses... Respite for the industry, finally!

— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) December 23, 2016

Early numbers have come in from international markets.
 

#Dangal [released in USA-Canada on Wed] embarks on a FLYING START...
USA: $ 282,280
Canada: $ 42,816
Total: $ 325,096 [Rs 2.21 cr] @Rentrak

— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) December 22, 2016

 

#Dangal takes a SUPERB start in key intl markets...
UAE-GCC: Thu AED 2.5 million [Rs 4.62 cr]
UK: Thu previews £ 118,487 [Rs 98.67 lacs]

— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) December 23, 2016

The verdict from Mr Adarsh and trade analyst Komal Nahta is that Dangal is going to soar.
 

#Dangal advance booking is TERRIFIC... Armed with TREMENDOUS critical acclaim AWESOME word of mouth, this movie will be a game changer!

— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) December 23, 2016

 

#Dangal off to grand start. History about to be written at box-office. Indications r it will be biggest blockbuster of Indian Cinema so far.

— Komal Nahta (@KomalNahta) December 23, 2016

A month ago, Aamir Khan told the press that the encouraging box office performance of Shah Rukh Khan's Dear Zindagi made him hopeful that the currency ban would not affect Dangal's business. "I think things are slowly getting back to normal. I think Rock On 2 got affected because it had released right at that time, but I believe Dear Zindagi is doing quite well. Hopefully, I think it will not affect our film," he told news agency PTI.

Dangal has already been screened for the press and a section of Bollywood. Reviews from every quarter are stupendous. In his review for NDTV Movies, Saibal Chatterjee describes the film as an 'outright winner,' writing: "Dangal is the kind of sports film that usually eludes Bollywood. It knows the rules inside and out and meticulously plays by them without ever succumbing to dreary predictability." Of Aamir Khan's performance, he writes, "Over and above his physical transformation, compete with wobbly gait and scraggly stubble, so impressively measured is the actor in the guise of national wrestling champion-turned-coach Mahavir Singh Phogat that he completely erases the boundary that separates the star from the role."

Salman Khan posted a tweet last night saying that his family think Dangal is a better film than his own Sultan:
 

My Family saw #Dangal today evening and thought it was a much better film than #Sultan. Love u personally Aamir but hate u professionally ! pic.twitter.com/sJlDG7u95c

— Salman Khan (@BeingSalmanKhan) December 22, 2016

Aamir Khan stars as wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat in Dangal, with actresses Fatima Sana Sheikh and Sanya Malhotra play his daughters Geeta and Babita, who won India's first medals in female wrestling at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Sakshi Tanwar plays Mahavir Phogat's wife Daya Kaur in the Nitesh Tiwari-directed film.