(l to r) Aamir Khan, Raju Hirani and Vidhu Vinod Chopra
It has overtaken Aamir's own film Ghajini's collections, which held the previous record of the biggest business done by films in the post-multiplex era.
The film, apart from breaking Indian domestic market records, in this time has also emerged as the highest Bollywood earner even in the overseas markets. The film has done well in multiplexes as well as single screens despite its seemingly English title, which is considered a detterent in single-screen markets.
The film has given exhibitors a huge relief. Managing director of G7 Cinemas Manoj Desai said, "2009 had been very bad for exhibitors but Paa and 3 Idiots came and saved us. In fact 3 Idiots has created history at the box office and I can easily call it the new Sholay of Bollywood."
"In many ways this is a mysterious success. Everyone knew that this film might do well but this is enormous and cuts across various segments. It has come during one of the darkest periods of Indian box-office history," a trade insider said.
Trade analyst Amod Mehra agreed: "It took 34 years for a film to reach Sholay's level. This film is set a new benchmark for the film industry. The film will earn a revenue of nothing less than Rs 150 crore net in India and the business in the Bombay circuit will be about Rs 30 crore. The maximum a film has done in the past in this circuit has been Sooraj Barjatya's Hum Aapke Hain Kaun (Rs 20 crore)."
Trade analyst Taran Adarsh too believes that 3 Idiots has shattered all box-office records. "The arithmetic of the box office has gone for a toss. No one expected it to be such a hit and the way it is performing in its second week is incredible," he said.
PVR Pictures marketing head Ranjan Singh said: "This is the third time that an Aamir Khan film has worked like magic in the last week of the year. The film has created history all over the country and cut across all segments of the audiences."
Shiv Shakti
Cricket
Current Affairs
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