MNIK grosses 150 crore worldwide in 11 days

Karan Johar's "My name is Khan", featuring Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol in the main roles, has grossed Rs 150 crore worldwide in the first 10 days after its release, the film's producers said today.

A press release from the producers said "My Name is Khan" (MNIK) had become only the third film in Bollywood history to touch this mark within the first ten days. Trade analysts expected it to become, within the coming week, the highest grossing Shah Rukh Khan film ever.

MNIK, a love story set against the backdrop of racial discrimination post 9/11, had raked in Rs 90.2 crore ($ 19 million) worldwide in its first three days, the biggest ever three-day collection worldwide in the history of Indian cinema.

The makers of the film are happy that MNIK has achieved all this in February, rather than in the summer holidays or the festive October-December period. Traditionally, February is not considered a strong period for a major film release because of the cold weather in many parts of the country and the world and school examinations in some parts of India. Besides, MNIK had to contend with controversies as well as the situation arising out of the bomb blast in Pune on February 13.

According to the release, the business done by MNIK in ten days in February was twice that achieved by any other Bollywood film ever released in this month in the past.

The release said MNIK was the biggest Bollywood film of all time within ten days in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), South Africa, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, East and West Africa, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Mauritius.

Mr Mario Haddad, Head of Empire International Middle East, said that due to the demand they were opening the film in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria on March 10.

In the United Kingdom, MNIK has become the fastest film to cross GBP 2 million, managing the feat in just 11 days. The producers said that in the United States and Canada, MNIK was already the highest grossing Shah Rukh film of all time, within just ten days of release.

"We are delighted to be entering this elite group with our first major Bollywood venture. The film was created for a global audience and continues to break records worldwide. It is truly proving to be India's first global Bollywood film," Mr Vijay Singh, CEO of Fox Star Studios, added.

http://netindian.in/news/2010/02/22/0005458/mnik-grosses-rs-150-cr-10-days