Thugs of Hindostan box office day 1: Records highest Bollywood opening ever

Big budget multi-starrer Thugs of Hindostan has collected a total of Rs 52.25 crore on the day of its release. The Aamir Khan, Amitabh Bachchan film is said to have recorded the highest opening for a Hindi film in history.

Thugs of Hindostan, the big budget film starring Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Katrina Kaif and Fatima Sana Shaikh, has reportedly recorded the highest single-day sales for a Hindi movie with collections of around Rs 52.25 crore (all languages).

A report in Boxofficeindia.com suggests that it has surpassed the previous record of Rs 39.32 crore set by Salman Khan’s 2015 Diwali release Prem Ratan Dhan Payo and Rs 40.73 crore nett achieved by magnum opus Bahubali - The Conclusion (Hindi). Its record-breaking advance tickets sale have had a huge role in the film’s performance on the day of its release. The film is also the best-ever Diwali release ever.

However, the film received a big thumbs down from the film critics. Reviewers have panned it for being boring and forgettable. The second day collections for the film will be pivotal in determining the film’s success with the audience as most of the collections made on day one are from advance bookings.

Thugs of Hindostan has also recorded the third highest pre-sales of all time with around Rs 27.50 crore nett, as reported by Boxofficeindia.com. It is the first Bollywood film with such an advance tickets’ sale as only SS Rajamouli’s magnum opus Baahubali –The Conclusion and Hollywood film Avengers: Infinity War have recorded higher advance sales.

According to Yash Raj Films, the first-day box office figures of the film are around Rs 50.75 crore (Hindi version) and Rs 1.50 crore from Tamil + Telugu dubs. The makers have claimed that the film has shattered seven box office records: 1. The highest all time opening, 2. The first film to cross 50 crore, 3. The biggest single day collection ever, 4. The biggest Diwali opener of all time, 5. Biggest opening day for Aamir and Amitabh, 6. The biggest ever opening for a non sequel and 7. YRF’s highest ever opening.

Expressing his happiness on the feat, director Vijay Krishna Acharya said, “Thugs of Hindostan is the quintessential Hindi movie that we love to watch with our friends and families. We were lucky to get two of the biggest stars of our generation to come together for an out and out masala Diwali entertainer and we are humbled and ecstatic with the love and appreciation that audiences have showered on Thugs to help the film create box office history on day one. We are thrilled to see that audiences across age groups, across India are loving Thugs of Hindostan and have made our film a part of their Diwali plans. We made Thugs with a vision to provide a pure festive entertainer for the entire family and this result is extremely gratifying for all of us at YRF.”

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh also updated the film’s box office figures on Twitter.

For the record, the ticket prices of the film were hiked against the usual practice. Film exhibitor Akshaye Rathi had earlier told Hindustantimes.com, “The ticket price that the movie would be fetching will be among the highest that has ever been for any Hindi movie. That will eventually give the film a spike in the figures to come. By Saturday, it will easily run past the Rs 100 crore mark.”