‘Krrish 3′ Tops ‘Chennai Express’ Box Office Record
MUMBAI — Rakesh Roshan’s superhero three-quel “Krrish 3,” starring his son and leading Bollywood hunk Hrithik Roshan, has overtaken “Chennai Express” to emerge as the highest domestic Bollywood grosser of all time.
The “Chennai Express” record did not take very long to break. The film, directed by Rohit Shetty, and starring Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone, released during the Eid holiday frame in August and ended its box office run with collections of 2.27 billion rupees ($36.1 million) in India and $19 million overseas.
“Krrish 3” released on Nov. 1 during the Diwali holiday frame and has collected $36.3 million in India and $6.2 million overseas, including $1.9 million in the U.S. and $2 million in the Middle East. The Indian collections include Tamil and Telugu-language dubbed releases.
The highest-grossing Bollywood film worldwide remains Rajkumar Hirani’s 2009 Christmas release “3 Idiots,” which has collected more than $60 million. That film’s star, Aamir Khan, has made the Christmas frame his own over the years with releases during the period including “Taare zameen par,” “Ghajini” and “Talaash,” besides “3 Idiots,” dominating the box office.
The 2013 Christmas season will see the release of another three-quel and India’s first Imax film, the Chicago-set “Dhoom 3,” starring Khan as a master burglar. Threatening “Krrish 3”’s new record, it will be distributed by Yash Raj Films beginning Dec. 20.
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