Two years after Tiger Zinda Hai, the winning combination of Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif and filmmaker Ali Abbas Zafar is creating magic at the box office all over again. Their new release, Bharat, has smashed the Rs 100-crore milestone in just four days of its release.
On the day of its release, Bharat raked in a staggering Rs 42.30 crore and dethroned Sooraj Barjatya's Prem Ratan Dhan Payo (Rs 40.35 crore) to become the biggest opener of Salman's career. Over the next two days, the film continued its winning streak at the box office despite them being working weekdays. According to early estimates, it earned around Rs 35 crore to take its total collection so far to around Rs 130.50 crore.
REVIEW | BHARAT
With this, Salman has set a new record - he is the superstar with the highest number of films in the coveted Rs 100-crore club. Out of the 14 films that have achieved this feat, three films have crossed the Rs 300-crore mark, while two films have whizzed past the Rs 200-crore milestone.
Trade analyst Amul Mohan told India Today Television that Bharat is expected to make over Rs 150 crore at the box office in its extended weekend. "The only trouble I see in this five-day extended weekend is that World Cup ke matches bohot ho rahe hai ab. India phir se Sunday bhi khelegi aur India vs Australia ek bada match hai. South Africa was already deflated and India vs Australia is always supposed to be one of the bigger games... Shayad Sunday ko thoda maar kha sakta hai magar mujhe phir bhi lagta hai ki given the word-of-mouth and the response to the film, Rs 150 crore se upar jaana chahiye extended weekend mein," he said.
Directed by Ali Abbas Zafar, Bharat also features Katrina Kaif, Disha Patani, Sunil Grover, Nora Fatehi, Jackie Shroff and Sonali Kulkarni in key roles. The film, which released in 4,700 screens across the country and is going strong in single screens as well as multiplexes, depicts the history of India through the life of an ordinary man.
Bharat has received a thumbs up not only from the audience but also the critics. India Today reviewer Ananya Bhattacharya gave it 3 out of 5 stars and wrote, "Through the eyes of Bharat, we see the journey of Bharat, our country, through some of its best and worst phases. Director Ali Abbas Zafar manages to capture in 2 hours and 47 minutes the ups and downs that this man and his country wade across. The best part of Bharat the film is that it has something for everyone. It is the quintessential Big Salman Khan Film with all its trappings. Romance, comedy (and a lot of it, thanks to Sunil Grover), drama, action, emotion."
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