'Sultan' earns Rs 150 million in Pakistan in five days

Bollywood superstar Salman Khan and Anushka Sharma-starrer “Sultan” has earned Rs 150 million on the first five days of its release, setting a new record of doing the best business on Eid days.

According to the Geo Films, the distributors of “Sultan” in Pakistan, the Indian film directed by Ali Abbas Zafar, has eclipsed the opening weekend record set by Pakistani movie “Jawani Phir Nahi Ani (JPNA)” on Eidul Azha last year.

“One advantage ‘Sultan’ had over previous films including ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ was that it was released over a five-day weekend because of Eid holidays,” said Muhammad Nasir of Geo Films. “And with tickets for the first five days of screening already being sold in advance ‘Sultan’ has crossed Rs 150 million by today (Sunday),” he added.

Since the release of action film “Bodyguard” in 2011, Salman Khan has established a near invincible dominance over the Eidul Fitr weekends. Released on July 6, the first day of Eid, “Sultan” earned Rs 35 million and Rs 41 million on its first and second day, respectively.

While “Sultan” continues to enjoy a healthy run in Pakistani cinemas, other international and domestic releases have not fared so well at the local box office.

Two of the major casualties of Sultan’s onslaught were Hollywood animated film, “Finding Dory” and the Pakistani heist-film “Sawaal 700 Crore Dollar Ka”. With exhibitors showing a preference to screen “Sultan”, both of the other movies were released on a limited number of screens.

Unlike “Sultan”, which was released on 75 screens, “Finding Dory” was shown in only 15 cinemas (25-30 screens) with its box office collections amounting to Rs 3 million after the first two days. The other Hollywood films, which were released along with “Sultan” on Eid were “Ice Age: Collision Course”, “The Legend of Tarzan” and “The Secret Life of Pets”.

“During Eid, lower or middle class families enjoy gatherings and they rush to single screens and an action film starring Salman Khan is the perfect choice for a fun outdoor gathering,” Nasir said.