Rajinikanth-Starrer ‘Jailer’, Sunny Deol In ‘Gadar 2’ Help Propel India To Historic Box Office Weekend
14.08.2023 - 08:15
/ deadline.com
Led by Rajinikanth-starrer Jailer and Anil Sharma’s Gadar 2, box office in India reached record-breaking numbers this weekend. According to the Producers Guild of India and Multiplex Association of India, the August 11-13 frame was the busiest single weekend since the beginning of the pandemic. What’s more, across three days, ticket sales hit more than 390 crore ($47M), a new all-time theatrical gross record for the biggest combined weekend in history.
Also figuring in the mix of releases this session were two other new titles: Akshay Kumar-starrer OMG 2 and Meher Ramesh’s Bhola Shankar featuring Chiranjeevi. Holdovers included Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer which counts India as its 5th biggest offshore market.
In total this weekend, Indian turnstiles saw over 2.1 crore admissions (21M), the biggest number of the past decade. This is all in advance of Tuesday’s Independence Day holiday. Per local reports, Jailer grossed an estimated $19.5M while Gadar 2 did $18.3M, the former over a four-day debut and the latter in a three-day bow.
Outside of India, Jailer’s four-day opening grossed an estimated $15.75M, according to Pink Villa which says this its the best international debut for a Tamil film and the fourth biggest ever for any Indian title. As Deadline reported Sunday, the action thriller landed in the Top 10 at the North American box office. Written and directed by Nelson Dilipkumar, it’s the highest grossing Tamil film so far this year.
Gadar 2, starring Sunny Deol, saw a weekend debut of $1.135M in North America. The sequel to Gadar Ek Prem Katha is set in 1971, amidst the backdrop of the partition of Bangladesh and East Pakistan.
Commenting on the success at