Now this is something that no one in the industry could ever see coming, and that too so quick and so far. Normally, a record that is set for the 'highest grosser ever' is retained by an All Time Blockbuster for a year at least. Especially since the advent of the 200 crore and then the 300 crore club, it has become all the more difficult for even the biggest of films to go past the last big grosser and then outscore it. However, Baahubali 2 [Hindi] has made it all look like a child's play. Not just has it turned out to be the highest grosser ever of the current era, it has also managed to do that in just 14 days.
What is further interesting is that in the process, it has managed to dethrone Dangal from its top spot - hold your breath - barely four months after its arrival and then subsequently the record being set!
Let's take a look at some of the highest grossers of the recent times, and how Aamir held one major record for a year and then the other one for even a couple of years before his new record as surpassed in barely four months.
The record setters
* Dhoom: 3 [Rs. 284 crore] - Release date - 20 Dec 2013 (Record)
* PK [Rs. 340.80 crore] - Release date - 19 Dec 2014 (Record breaker)
When Dhoom: 3 released, it enjoyed a record start for itself and then stayed that way right through its run in theaters. When it went past theRs. 250 crore mark, it became the first ever film to do so. Later, it came quite close to the 300 crore mark before ending its run at Rs. 284 crore. In the process, it turned out to be the highest grosser ever.
Later, Aamir's record was broken by Aamir only as during next couple of years, no film could even come close to the total set by Dhoom: 3. The film that ultimately managed to so do was Aamir's own PK which went on to not just establish the Rs. 300 Crore Club but go deep into it with a lifetime score of Rs. 340.80 crore. This resulted in the film also turning out to be the highest grossing film ever in Bollywood.
* Duration for which Dhoom: 3 held the record for being the highest grossing film ever- 1 year
* Margin of record - Rs. 56.80 crore
The in-betweeners
* Bajrangi Bhaijaan [Rs. 321 crore] - Release date - 17 July 2015
* Sultan [Rs. 301.50 crore] - Release date - 6 July 2016
2015 and 2016 was the time when no new records were set and PK continued to rule as the highest grossing film ever. Yes, there were a couple of 300 Crore Club entries but none could actually come close to the Aamir Khan starrer. Both films were Salman Khan affairs and while Bajrangi Bhaijaan did Rs. 321 crore, Sultan did lesser at Rs. 301.50 crore. This was still no mean feat though since these were the only triple centuries in 2015 and 2016, as audience footfalls started to dwindle during this duration. Meanwhile, Aamir was busy shooting for his next big blockbuster so that he could be ready for another big grosser.
The record breaker
* Dangal [Rs. 387.38 crore] - Release date - 23 Dec 2016
Aamir Khan stepped back into the arena with Dangal and yet again surpassed his last big effort. It took him a couple of years to put together his Dangal and once it hit the screens, there was all around havoc as the film not just surpassed the highest grossing film ever, PK, it also went past it by a margin and in fact challenged a slot in the Rs. 400 Crore Club. Though that mark was missed by just around Rs. 13 crore, a major record was broken. Dangal was now officially the highest grossing film ever with Rs. 387.38 crore in its kitty.
* Duration for which PK held the record for being the highest grossing film ever- 2 years
* Margin of record - Rs. 46.58 crore
The game changer
* Baahubali 2 [Rs. 432.80 crore and counting - expected lifetime Rs. 485 crore+] - Release date - 28 April 2017
When Dangal turned out to be such a biggie, one wondered which would be the next film that would do the unthinkable and dethrone the Aamir Khan starrer from its top spot. Would be it be Shah Rukh Khan's next with Imtiaz Ali, Salman Khan's Tubelight or Tiger Zinda Hai, or Rajinikanth and Akshay Kumar's 2.0? Not many thought of Baahubali 2 to emerge as the film that would turn out to be a game changer. Especially, the Hindi version was definitely not in the contention to emerge as a threat for Dangal. At best, bets were being placed for the Prabhas film to at max. enter the Rs. 200 Crore Club.
And then the unthinkable happened!
Not just did the film go past the 200 crore mark, it even went past the 300 crore mark in a jiffy and then soon enough challenged Dangal as well. Even as trade was counting days in which these records were being shattered, Baahubali 2 [Hindi] did something that no one could fathom. It went past Dangal in a matter of just two weeks and the record, which was painstakingly set by Aamir Khan after a couple of years, was gone in a matter of four months flat!
It is now a given that Baahubali 2 [Hindi] will comfortably go past the Rs. 485 crore mark. That would be a gap of around Rs. 100 crore when compared to Dangal [Rs. 387.38 crore].
* Duration for which Dangal held the record for being the highest grossing film ever- 4 months
* Margin of record - ~Rs. 100 crore (expected)
Which film would now challenge Baahubali 2?
As can be seen above, in the last few instances when new records were established, the margin was Rs. 56.80 crore and then Rs. 46.58 crore respectively. However, with the newest record, the margin is set to almost double at Rs. 100 crore. This makes it even tougher for a new film to emerge as the highest grosser ever. The straight forward challenge for the film is to now enter the Rs. 500 Crore Club (and here we are talking about just the Hindi version). One wonders which film would that be.
Will be it Salman Khan's Tiger Zinda Hai? Rajinikanth and Akshay Kumar's 2.0? Will it be Shah Rukh Khan's film with Aanand L. Rai? Or will it be back to Aamir Khan (with Amitabh Bachchan alongside) to score a Rs. 500 Crore biggie with Thugs of Hindostan? Very importantly, how long would it take for a film to reach there? Baahubali 2 [Hindi] broke the record within four months of the release of Dangal. Will it be anywhere close to that for a new film?
Rest assured, all new big releases would be looked at quite keenly as the competition has only become Baahubalian!
