Kabali's turnover could raise awe and envy: Even before its release, the film collected Rs 223 crore. The day it was released, it made Rs 250 crore!
Only one film competed with Kabali in July, Salman Khan's Sultan. While Sultan has collected more than Rs 500 crore, Kabali is expected to go a step further.
In the Hindi film world, the three Khans who rule Bollywood seem to have set terms for their film releases. So during Deepavali, you would have a Shah Rukh Khan-starrer, while Aamir Khan would come up with one during Christmas. During Eid, it is the turn of Salman Khan to come up with a new film. The trend has been continuing for years.
Sultan was expected to be the biggest hit in Bollywood. Last year, Salman's Bajrangi Bhaijaan collected Rs 102.6 crore in the first three days of screening. Sultan earned Rs 105.3 crore in 5400 screens. So how did Kabali fare?
In the first day, Kabali earned Rs 250 crore in India and abroad. It has set a record in the US by being the biggest earner during premier. Baahubali made USD 13 lakh while Kabali made more than USD 19 lakh. Now what remains to be seen is whether Kabali would overtake Baahubali.
Kabali's performance is something that the Malayalam film industry cannot even think. Who would make a Malayalam film spending Rs 100 crore? Then come the marketing and distribution hurdles and so on. In Kerala, theatre rights for the film were sold for over Rs 7.5 crore, a feat that our superstar films cannot match.
In addition to the crores that the film made in various states, it earned about 40 crore in satellite rights from Jaya TV.
Keralites who used to view Tamilians with disdain should understand that we are behind them in all respects. For example, their agriculture in barren lands is a sight to behold. Their highways are something we need to consider as an example. When will the realization hit us that we are now good for raising flags and blocking work only?
Tailpiece: In Bollywood, no films release in the first two weeks of New Year. The belief is that it would bomb.
