He has truly cemented his place as the King Khan of Bollywood with Jawan taking a blockbuster opening of Rs 75 crore on the first day of its India release. Shah Rukh Khan began 2022 with a superhit – director Siddharth Anand’s Pathaan, which collected Rs 55 cr on day one. He has now followed it up with director Atlee’s Jawan that also features Nayanthara and Vijay Sethupathi. By Monday, September 11, Jawan is expected to collect Rs 275 crore in India.
“The love and response of audiences on the first day of the release of ‘Jawan’ is overwhelming and sensational, and proves the significance and might of mass entertainers in the film industry. The action-packed spectacle has a truly national appeal with popular stars from the South, including Nayanthara and Vijay Sethupathi, along with an eclectic ensemble of stars, which is making the movie cater to a larger market with its Tamil and Telugu dubbed versions. With the movie also being screened in special formats like IMAX, 4DX and ICE, audiences are enjoying the larger-than-life storytelling in a more experiential manner. If the unprecedented audience response is anything to go by, we are confident that Jawan would not only be the biggest film of this year, but would end up adding immense strength to the cinema ecosystem,” stated Gautam Dutta, Co-CEO, PVR INOX Limited.
What made Jawan click?
While the Hindi version of Jawan raked in Rs 65 crore on Day 1 (September 7), the Tamil version of the film earned Rs 5 crore as did the Telugu version of the film. However, as compared to the south audience, it is the Hindi audience that has completely loved the Atlee film and can’t seem to be get enough of SRK in action. This is the second time this year that Shah Rukh has been seen in a commercial masala entertainer and this time round, Jawan has beaten Pathaan at the box office.
Director Atlee is known for his masala films and has successfully made three films with Tamil film star Thalapathy Vijay – Theri, Mersal and Bigil. The Tamil audience is familiar with his masala template which sees a mix of themes and twists along with a social message. For SRK and the Hindi-speaking audience the Atlee style of story-writing is different and this is one of the key aspects they have loved about the film. In Jawan, Shah Rukh talks politics, farmers’ suicide, corruption, anti-environment industrialists, and unlawful arms dealings, infant deaths, and lastly, his age to declare that SRK is still young at 57.
More than a south flavour, Jawan has a strong Tamil cinema flavour given that its director is from Kollywood, the heroine is Lady Superstar Nayanthara and the villain, talented Tamil actor Vijay Sethupathi. The music is by ace Tamil music director Anirudh Ravichander and most of the technicians on this film are from Kollywood as well.
Breaking the Box Office
Jawan has already been declared the biggest Hindi film of 2023 and possibly of the last few years as well. For SRK, it is a fantastic resurgence and a declaration to the world that he can never be written off. For the audience, their favourite Hindi star has unleashed a new side in this action drama. And for the producers and distributors, Jawan has proved that the world of theatres and cinema has survived the pandemic and will continue to thrive as long as there are good films being made. So how much will Jawan make over this weekend? Pankaj Jaysinh, CEO – Film Distribution, UFO Moviez India, said, “All languages put together we expect the business to be in the range of Rs 275 cr to Rs 300 cr. However, we will also have to see how much the collections are affected due to the closure of cinemas in New Delhi due to the G20 summit.”
The G20 summit will see the closure of cinemas in New Delhi on September 8, 9 and 10. While this may slightly dent the box office collections of Jawan, the movie is sure to make at least Rs 250 cr say trade pundits. Sanjeev Bijli, PVR-INOX Ltd’s Executive Director told PTI that he was not worried about the theatrical business taking a hit in central Delhi because of G20 restrictions.
While Pathaan made around Rs 650 cr totally, Jawan’s collection will surpass that number is the strong prediction of analysts. Early estimates stated that Jawan earned Rs 53 cr India on its second day for all languages with the Hindi version contributing around Rs 47 crore.
Worldwide SRK’s Jawan collected Rs 129 cr on Day 1, the highest so far for any Hindi film. This box office tsunami is expected to continue over the coming week. Shah Rukh Khan has shown the world that he can never be written off and he is truly ‘Jawan’.
