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Join UsSalman Khan is gearing up to debut in China in a couple of weeks as his much-loved film, Bajrangi Bhaijaan is slated to hit the big screen on 2nd March 2018 across the country. The film, directed by Kabir Khan, got a positive response from a preview show held recently and the trade in China is hopeful that the film would do a respectable business at the box office and help Salman Khan establish a fan-base in the country.
The film has several points working in its favour and several going against it. The biggest plus for the film is the fact that it is a human drama, a genre which is loved by the Chinese audience. The film has been rated 8.6 on Douban, which is touted as the replacement of IMDB in China, which goes on to prove that the emotions of the film worked with the Chinese audience as well. To add to the advantages, Bajrangi Bhaijaan is one of the most loved Bollywood films this decade in India. It would be interesting to see if all these factors come together and help Bajrangi Bhaijaan grab eyeballs in the neighbouring country as well.
While the film has a lot of factors going in favour, the biggest disadvantage it commands is the fact that it has found an extremely delayed release in China i.e. almost 3 years after its global release. According to a data released in the past, Bajrangi Bhaijaan was one of the most pirated films in China along with Taare Zameen Par and 3 Idiots, which means that a huge chunk of audience has already watched the film.
Among the 9 films released in China so far, only 3 I.e. Dangal, Secret Superstar and PK have managed to strike the chord with audiences and do humongous biz, thereby establishing Aamir Khan as the biggest star in China. Other two Aamir Khan films that released in the country are 3 Idiots and Dhoom 3, and even these two films fared much better than the other Indian films that release in China. Shah Rukh Khan too tried his luck in China, however all his films i.e. My Name is Khan, Happy New Year and Fan sank without a trace at the box office.
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Here’s a look at how Indian films have fared in China:
Dangal: $193 Million (1309 crore)
Secret Superstar: $ 117.66 Million (759.92 crore)
PK: $19.65 Million (Rs 129 crore)
Dhoom 3: $ 3.23 Million (19.93 crores)
3 Idiots: $3.02 Million (14.15 crore)
Baahubali: $1.17 Million (7.54 crore)
Happy New Year: $0.40 Million (2.38 crore)
Fan: $0.23 Million (1.50 crore)
My Name Is Khan: $0.07 Million (51 lakhs)
Bajrangi Bhaijaan has been allotted approximate 788 shows in China and the count is expected to increase if the film fetches a good audience response. The advance booking of Bajrangi Bhaijaan has opened in China, and the film has sold approximate 1000 tickets by now (12 days remaining for the film to release), however, given the fact that Salman Khan is not a known face in the country, the bookings are expected to surge only once the word of mouth is out among the audience.
Given the response so far, the movie is expected to fare better than the likes of My Name Is Khan, Fan, Happy New Year and Baahubali at the Box-Office, however it would be interesting to see if the film finds acceptance like PK, Dangal and Secret Superstar or ends up somewhere in the range of Dhoom 3 and 3 Idiots.
While it would be unfair to compare Bajrangi Bhaijaan directly with Secret Superstar and Dangal, given the fact that Aamir Khan built an audience for his films over the last few years, whereas Salman Khan is just entering the territory explored by Aamir Khan. While the sky is the limit if the film finds acceptance among the audience, collections above $6 Million (Rs 35 crore) would be a good result for Bajrangi Bhaijaan to start with.
