This Day That Hit: When Shah Rukh Khan, Hrithik Roshan And Akshay Kumar RULED The Box Office!

The day, 8th August saw the release of several successful films over the last couple of decades. Yes, there have been a few unsuccessful films too that released on this day, but the ones which succeeded were game changers for the respective stars. Starting with Shah Rukh Khan first, the superstar had 2 films that released on this date. The first one was Pardes directed by Subhash Ghai which released in 1997. Shah Rukh Khan had already established himself as a star of the industry by 1997 with successful films like Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Darr, Trimurti and Karan Arjun, however it was the success of Pardes followed by Dil Toh Pagaal Hai that established him as the romantic star. The film was a slow starter at the Box-Office, as it raked in merely 65 Lakh on its opening day, but as the word of mouth kicked, the biz escalated in the cities and the film went on to emerge an extremely successful film. The movie ended its run at the box office at collections close to Rs 23 crore. Subhash Ghai had initially planned the film with Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan in lead, however, Salman wasn’t keen to play the character of Rajiv in the film.

The second Shah Rukh Khan film that released on this date was Chennai Express, and it was indeed a historic film for Shah Rukh Khan. The Rohit Shetty directorial emerged the biggest opener of all time by surpassing the previous record holder, Ek Tha Tiger. The film also commanded a positive word of mouth and ended up being an All Time Grosser by breaking the 4-year old standing record of 3 Idiots. The lifetime collection of Chennai Express was approximately Rs 227 crore and is till date the highest grossing film for Shah Rukh Khan. The lifetime collections of Chennai Express would have been higher had it got a free run at the box office, however the run was dented by constant flow of releases week after week.

Hrithik Roshan had a release in the form of Koi Mil Gaya on this date in 2003. As the actor had become an overnight superstar after Kaho Na Pyaar Hai, all his films were keenly anticipated. The pre-release hype and anticipation around Koi Mil Gaya was so high that it proved to be the second biggest opener of all time upon its release. The opening day collection of Koi Mil Gaya was Rs 2.25 crore, and the movie ended its run at the Box-Office at collections close to Rs 47.19 crore in India. It was one of the biggest hits of all time, and further strengthen Hrithik Roshan’s standing in the Hindi film industry. Last decade, Hrithik Roshan was the only superstar who not just challenged, but at times also surpassed the hype and buzz that Shah Rukh Khan films used to create back then. The number game aside, Koi Mil Gaya also proved Jr. Roshan’s versatility. When the film released, no one knew that in the future it would end up being one of India’s biggest franchise.

Akshay Kumar had two releases on this date i.e. Singh Is Kinng and Entertainment. Anees Bazmee’s Singh Is Kinng (2008) is iconic for the actor for several reasons, and the pre-release hype surrounding that film still remains the best ever for an Akshay Kumar starrer. The film released when Akshay Kumar was passing through the best phase of his career, and the media had started labelling him as the “New King of Bollywood”. The film proved to be a record opener at the ticket window as it raked in Rs 7.24 crore on its opening day. The movie ended its run at the Box-Office at collections close to Rs 69 crore and created history in Punjab. Singh Is Kinng broke the 7 -year old standing record of Gadar: Ek Prem Katha in East Punjab, and this was quite a difficult feat to attain. Not just in India, but the film witnessed a strong run even abroad, and is one of Akshay Kumar’s biggest hit in the overseas belt till date. The second Akshay Kumar film that released on this date was Entertainment in 2014, however that film failed to set the Box-Office on fire.