Will Salman Khan’s Bajrangi Bhaijaan Strike Gold At The China Box Office?

Salman 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.