Shah Rukh Khan & Deepika Padukone’s Chennai Express’ Satellite Rights Were Sold At 40 Crores But Its ‘Super-Hit’ Box Office Collections Boosted Profits By 45% – Decoding The Number Game!
Shah Rukh Khan pulled off a smart deal for Chennai Express' satellite rights, surging profits by a staggering amount. Check out the box office connection!
Chennai Express’ Satellite Rights Deal Was Linked To Its Box Office Collections! (Photo Credit – YouTube)
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Chennai Express was released 11 years ago today and its massive box office collections created a storm in Bollywood. Deepika Padukone and Shah Rukh Khan starrer gained the ‘super-hit’ verdict and was the fastest film to cross the 200 crore mark back in the days. But do you know the profits the producers gained by selling their satellite rights? Scroll below for an exciting trivia!
Released in 2013, Chennai Express revolved around a businessman, Rahul Mithaiwala, who accidentally boards a train from Mumbai to Rameswaram with the daughter of an influential crime boss. The ensemble cast included Deepika Padukone, Shah Rukh Khan, Nikitin Dheer, and Sathyaraj. It made 6.75 crores alone from paid previews, which is, to date, the highest earned by any Bollywood movie via special shows before release.
Before the release of Chennai Express, Zee had secured the satellite rights to Deepika Padukone and Shah Rukh Khan starrer for their then-upcoming channel ‘& Pictures.’ They paid a whopping 40 crores to the producers, but there was a catch linked to its box office collections.
Zee made a deal, which stated if the film crossed the cut-off amount (reportedly 130 crores) in its box office collections, the producers would get two crores for every 10 crore extra earned beyond that.
Rohit Shetty’s directorial made 227 crores at the box office, which means Zee paid the producers 2×9 = 18 crores extra. The overall money minted from satellite rights was 58 crores, which is almost 45% higher than the initial value. Fantastic, isn’t it?
UTV Motion Pictures and Red Chillies Entertainment jointly produced Chennai Express. The Indian masala film broke several other records at the box office, including the highest weekend of all time by beating Ek Tha Tiger and becoming Shah Rukh Khan’s highest-grossing film until 2023. His three releases of last year—Dunki, Jawan, and Pathaan—all crossed the 227 crore mark at the box office.
Jawan is currently the highest-grossing film of Shah Rukh Khan, with domestic collections of 640.42 crores.
Note: Box office numbers are based on estimates and various sources. Numbers have not been independently verified by Koimoi.
