Top 10 first-day Bollywood grossers

Salman Khan's 'Prem Ratan Dhan Payo' holds the record of being the top first-day grosser of all time. The family drama, directed by Sooraj Barjatya, was released a day before Diwali in 2015 and went on to earn Rs 39.32 crore. Apart from having Salman as the hero, another reason that helped the film triumph at the box office was that it targeted family audiences.

Second on the list of top first-day grossers is another Salman Khan film – ‘Sultan.’ Directed by Ali Abbas Zafar, ‘Sultan’ was released a day before Eid in 2016. Eid has always proved to be the most fortunate time for Salman to release his films and ‘Sultan’ was no exception. The film, which received mostly positive reviews from audience and critics, earned Rs 36.59 crore on its opening day.

‘Happy New Year’ was Shah Rukh Khan’s Diwali release of 2014 which opened with a whopping figure of Rs 36.31 crore. Farah Khan-directed film had Deepika Padukone as the female lead with an impressive cast on-board including Abhishek Bachchan, Sonu Sood, Boman Irani and Vivaan Shah. Although the film received mixed reviews from critics, its excellent box office figures were a proof of its likeability among the viewers.

Aamir Khan’s Christmas release of 2013, ‘Dhoom 3’ had left everyone surprised with its astounding box office figures. The Yash Raj Films’ production had all the elements to shine at the ticket windows and as it turned out, it did live upto the expectations. The third film in the ‘Dhoom’ series, ‘Dhoom 3’ put Rs 36.48 crore on the board on its first day.

Rohit Shetty and Ajay Devgn combination is a killer when it comes to fetching moolah at the box office. ‘Singham Returns’ released in 2014, added another page to Ajay and Rohit’s success story. Sequel to ‘Singham,’ the film earned Rs 31.68 crore on its opening day. Since ‘Singham’ was already a success and the film was released on Independence Day holiday, there was no reason for the film to fail at ticket counters.

Sixth on the list is another Salman Khan film – Kabir Khan-directed ‘Ek Tha Tiger.’ The film marked first ever collaboration of Salman Khan with Yash Raj Films and proved to be a super hit at the box office. Released on Independence Day holiday in 2012, the film bagged a huge sum of Rs 30.61 crore on its opening day. ‘Ek Tha Tiger’ also starred Salman’s ex-flame Katrina Kaif.

Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘Chennai Express’ is placed at seventh position on this list. The Rohit Shetty-directed film was released on the occasion of Eid in 2013 since Salman had no releases in the year. The film, starring Deepika Padukone as female lead opposite SRK, fetched a whopping Rs 30.48 crore on its first day at the box office.

Salman Khan’s ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ holds eighth position on the list. The Kabir Khan-directed film marked Salman’s supposed return to films which are content driven. Hugely lauded by the critics and the audience alike, the film’s emotional theme immediately struck a chord with the viewers and it set the cash registers jingling. Also starring Kareena Kapoor Khan and child actor Harshaali Malhotra, ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ opened with the figure of Rs 26.67 crore.

Aamir Khan’s Christmas release of 2014 – ‘pk’ was one of most loved films of the year. Aamir’s innocent portrayal of a Bhojpuri-speaking alien and the noble subject of the film was a hit among the audiences. Directed by Rajkumar Hirani, the film, which had Anushka Sharma playing the female lead, bagged Rs 25.45 crore on its day one at the box office.

Tenth on the coveted list is Salman Khan’s 2014 Eid release ‘Kick.’ The film saw producer Sajid Nadiadwala turning a director, which made a whopping Rs 24.97 crore at the box office. The presence of Salman Khan and the hit music were some of the reasons behind the success of the film. ‘Kick’ also proved to be a turning point in Jacqueline Fernandez’s film career, who until then, didn’t have any big hit to her credit.