'Tubelight': Salman Khan-starrer gets moderate opening, will it be able to beat 'Sultan'?

This Eid is offering something extra special and all the fans and followers of Salman Khan is now on cloud nine as Salman Khan's much awaited flick 'Tubelight' has finally hit in and around 4,400 screens across India on Friday.

The movie's tag line 'Kya Tumhe Yakeen Hai? (Do you have faith?) resonates closely with Salman's fans who have made his movies critic-proof by thronging to cinema halls in huge numbers, film after film.

Kabir has once again touched upon his favourite topic of cross-border relationship after 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan' by setting 'Tubelight' against the backdrop of India-China War of 1962. 

While Salman's last year's Eid release "Sultan" created magic at the box office and the actor's performance received surprisingly good reviews from critics, the initial response to 'Tubelight' by critics has not been that warm.

Also Read: Salman Khan's 'Tubelight' hit screens | Live reactions from viewers

However, there are hopes that Salman's fans will accept the 'Eidi' from him as warmly as they do every year during this holiday season. 

"Occupancy for today ranges anywhere from 35 per cent to even 75-80 per cent. One disadvantage the film is facing is that, it released in the last week of Ramzan, so the mass audience of Salman Khan is not coming to watch the film," PTI quoted trade analyst Akshaye Rathi.

He said that the opening day collection would be around Rs 25 crore, which is less for a Salman Khan-starrer as all his previous films -- 'Sultan', 'Bajrangi Bhaijan' and 'Prem Ratan Dhan Payo' crossed the Rs 40 crore-mark. 

"The response so far has been mixed but family audiences are coming in. A spike is expected on Monday as Eid is a big holiday," Rathi added. 

'Tubelight' also stars Sohail Khan, Om Puri, Chinese actress Zhu Zhu and child actor Matin Rey Tangu.

Also Read: Matin Rey Tangu changes his mind, wants to be an actor instead of chef