After delivering a blockbuster earlier this year that revived the Indian box office, Shah Rukh Khan has hit the screens again with another megahit-in-the-making. While Pathaan went on to break several box office records, including that of the highest collection in the domestic market, SRK’s latest Jawan is already making new records of its own.
In its initial three days, Jawan netted a global box office collection of Rs 384.69 crore. In the domestic market alone, Jawan’s collection stood at Rs 202.73 crore, making it the first Hindi film to cross the Rs 200 crore mark within three days of its release. But Jawan’s record-breaking spree started on its very first day when its gross domestic collection touched Rs 88.2 crore.
Its opening day nett collection in Hindi was Rs 65.5 crore, 19 per cent higher than the record set by Pathaan in January 2023. The movie, which released on September 7 in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu, looks all set to break more records in the coming days.
The movie’s opening day record collection was closely in line with the estimates made by Ormax Media’s first day box office (FBO) forecast. While Ormax FBO’s forecast for Hindi version opening day was accurate to the first decimal value, its estimate for gross collection on first day was within 2 per cent of the eventual collection. The FBO forecast utilises a statistical model based on user research. It also takes into account market factors such as scale of the release, seasonality, holiday availability, and ticket pricing.
Explaining the input parameters behind the forecast, Sanket Kulkarni, Head of Business Development (Theatrical) at Ormax Media said, “Ormax Cinematix combines audience data (Buzz, Reach & Appeal) with distribution inputs (release scale, multiplex showcasing, Average Ticket Price, etc.) and extrinsic variables such as holidays, festive periods, cricket, IPL, etc., to forecast the first-day box office of all films at a daily level, leading up to the final FBO on the day of a film’s release.”
While Jawan did find the holiday of Janmashtami useful on its first day, it has to be noted that Jawan was also competing with the India vs Pakistan cricket match over the weekend. The movie came out on top over the weekend with record collections on Sunday, the day of the cricket match, as well. Jawan ticket sales on Sunday bagged close to Rs 80.5 crore, exceeding the collections made on Saturday.
The movie’s South Indian influence has also helped it find acceptance among audience in Southern states, something SRK had achieved with Chennai Express ten years ago. Ashish Saksena, COO – Cinemas, BookMyShow said, “Sales have picked up across the length and breadth of the country for all languages, growing multi-fold for the Tamil and Telugu versions of the film, although the Hindi version is naturally taking the lead. Barring Shah Rukh Khan as the leading actor, the entire realm of the film, including the cast, director, storyline, cinematography, music and overall treatment, bears a strong imprint of South Indian influence.”
Another important reason for Jawan’s success so far has been the kind of reception it has received in single-screen cinema across India. Saksena said, “While the movie is expectedly raking in numbers at multiplexes, it has garnered spectacular interest from audiences opting to watch the mass entertainer at a single-screen theatre across the country. Ticket sales for Jawan at single screen theatres alone has contributed a significant 38% of sales on BookMyShow so far.” Similar success was seen in the case of Sunny Deol-starrer Gadar 2, which also performed well across Indian screens.
Although a dip in numbers is expected throughout the work week, it is estimated that Jawan will continue its sprint towards many more records in the upcoming days. Having sold 6.5 million tickets sold so far, BookMyShow also expects the demand for Jawan to continue. “Jawan is undoubtedly set to break new records for Shah Rukh Khan,” Saksena concludes.
