Kabhi Alvida Naa Kahena (Never Say Goodbye), featuring Bollywood's top stars including Shahrukh Khan, took $720mn in its first week worldwide, they said.
KANK which was shot in New York city, has also set a box office record for a Hindi film in North America with a $1.4mn collection in the opening weekend.
The edgy KANK, as it is known, marks a departure for screenplay writer Karan Johar who is better known for his bubblegum romance tales and glamorous melodramas.
"KANK has broken recent Bollywood records in its worldwide initial collections, with over Rs150mn record box office openings overseas," said Bollywood trade analyst Komal Natha.
The film beat this year's other top hits including sci-fi super hero romp Krrish and youth cult movie Rang de Basanti (Paint Me Saffron), starring Aamir Khan.
KANK also stars Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan and his son Abhishek alongside leading actresses Rani Mukherjee and Preity Zinta.
The previous record for a Bollywood opening in the US was $1mn for 2001's Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, which like KANK was directed by Karan Johar, according to Indian American film journalist, Gitesh Pandya, who runs BoxOfficeGuru.com
With a $21,122 average collection from 64 locations KANK scored the best per-theatre average of any film in the Top 40, he said in his weekly box office report calling it as part of a trend of Indian films being set and shot in the South Asian diaspora.
The three-hour-plus extravaganza relating the tale of two soul mates, married to other people, who tackle the notion of true love, was given the widest release ever for a Bollywood film in North America opening on 95 screens in 64 theatre locations.
The previous record was 88 screens for 2004's Veer-Zaara, which also starred Shahrukh Khan, Rani Mukherji, Preity Zinta, and Amitabh Bachchan, Pandya told South Asian Journalists Association (SAJA) Forum.
KANK was especially impressive at New Jersey's Regal Commerce Center in North Brunswick where the film grossed an astounding $61,470 over the weekend from two screens.
Typically, grossing $10,000 on a weekend is a major achievement. This 18-screen multiplex plays mostly Hollywood films, but also does phenomenal business from Bollywood films thanks to its location in the heart of one of America's largest South Asian communities.
Hopefully, KANK's strong numbers will encourage other American multiplexes in major markets to start programming Bollywood pictures, Pandya said.
It has been a big comeback year for the industry. Screen counts for 2006's other big Bollywood films were 61 for January's Rang De Basanti, 72 for May's Fanaa, and 59 for June's Krrish. For the most part, the marketing push has been about the same for all of these big hits this year.
But freelancer Aseem Chhabra thinks it still makes no sense for him to pitch a KANK story to the mainstream press in the US as most editors will have no idea what this film is about.
KANK has opened only in the Indian market in the US. It's not just a question of box office. Bollywood films have not crossed over into mainstream or even art house theatres in the US, he said. – Indo Asian News Service
office record in North America
Anupamaa
Avatar and Signatures Shop
Tu Juliet Jatt Di
Naagin 7
6