‘PK’ crosses Rs.300 crore in India, team ecstatic

Mumbai, Jan 5 (IANS) Aamir Khan-starrer “PK”, which has kept the cash registers ringing at the Bollywood box office since the last three weeks has crossed the Rs.300 crore figure in the country, said distributors and trade analysts.

“#PK creates History. Crosses Rs.300 cr. (Week 3) Sun 11.58 crore. Grand total: 305.27 cr nett. India biz. ALL TIME BLOCKBUSTER,” trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted Monday.

Even trade analyst Komal Nahta shared: “#PK touches the 300-crore mark. @aamir_khan has distinction of starting 100, 200 & 300-cr club.”

The Rajkumar Hirani directorial, which raises questions about religion and people’s blind faith in godmen, has been co-produced by Vinod Chopra Films and Rajkumar Hirani Films, in association with Disney India.

Officials are ecstatic with the response to the movie despite protests from Hindu fringe groups.

Calling “PK” a “shining example” of Disney India’s effort to “create, back and collaborate with the best”, Amrita Pandey, vice president and head (marketing and distribution), Studios, Disney India, said: “‘PK’ is a delightful movie with an important message and we are glad that audiences across the world have embraced our film in the way they have.”

At a time when filmmakers hope to make the most of their film’s opening weekend itself, “PK” has managed houseful screenings for three weeks. The movie’s performance abroad is also overwhelming — the cumulative gross box office collection of “PK” so far is $23 million (Rs.143.7 crore), said a statement.

“The box office performance is unprecedented both in India and internationally, with each successive day of its theatrical run setting new benchmarks,” Pandey added.

According to Disney India, “PK”, which also features Anushka Sharma, Sushant Singh Rajput and Sanjay Dutt, is the highest grossing Hindi film ever in India, North America, Australia and many other countries.

“Most importantly, the film has enjoyed an unprecedented growth trajectory and shows no signs of letting up, with cinemas registering incredibly high occupancy rates well into the third week of release,” she said.

Filmmakers often contend that content is the king, and distributor Hemant Shah of Tilak Enterprise Pvt Ltd, says that is the sole reason why “PK” has had a “rocking” stint on the big screen since day one when it released Dec 19.

Distributor Rajesh Thadani said that worldwide, “PK” has crossed Rs.500 crore.