Rajkumar Hirani’s Sanju is causing records to tumble at the box office. The Sanjay Dutt biopic that stars Ranbir Kapoor has crossed the Rs 100-crore mark in just three days. Sanju was released on June 29 across an estimated 4,000 screens, and has posted opening weekend figures of Rs 120.06 crores until Sunday evening, according to information provided by producers Rajkumar Hirani Films, Vinod Chopra Films and Fox Star Studios.
With its gargantuan early response, Sanju has shot to the top of the list of fastest Rs 100 crore earners. While the Salman Khan starrers Sultan (180.36 crores) and Prem Ratan Dhan Payo (Rs 129.77 crores) are credited with posting the highest opening weekend, Sultan was released on a Wednesday (July 6, 2016) and Prem Ratan Dhan Payo released on a Thursday (November 12, 2015), which means that both productions had more days at their disposal.
In North America, Sanju earned $2,550,000 (Rs 17.5 crores) across 356 screens in the first weekend, reported analytics company comScore, which has been hired to track the movie’s box office.
Sanju has become the seventh Hindi film of the year to have make more than Rs 100 crores. The other films are Padmaavat, Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety, Raid, Baaghi 2, Raazi and Race 3. The biopic’s record-breaking success is further proof of director Rajkumar Hirani’s astute understanding of what Hindi filmgoers want to watch and are willing to pay for. Hirani has never looked back since the massive success of his debut Munnabhai M.B.B.S in 2003. His comedy PK (2014) counts as the highest grossing Indian film of all time (international earnings included). If trade reports are to be believed, Sanju might surpass PK’s domestic record.
Sanju’s superlative showing is a massive boost for Ranbir Kapoor, whose last release Jagga Jasoos (2017) crashlanded. The 35-year-old actor’s depiction of the key stages in the life of Sanjay Dutt, from addiction at a young age to imprisonment in his later years, has won widespread acclaim despite misgivings over Hirani’s handling of the material.
