Raees continues its stormy run on the box office

Bollywood hit Raees continues on its storming box-office success on the second day of opening in cinemas, with Kaabil – that was released on the same day, January 25 – lagging far behind.

Thursday was a major bump-up for both the films, as movie-goers thronged the theatres. Therefore, Raees and Kaabil garnered INR 263 million and INR 186.70 million, respectively, bringing the corresponding total to date to INR 467.20 million and INR 291 million.

Raees is on its way to easily beat the INR 500-million mark on its third day and has also nullified the alleged ‘January Jinx’, which states that movies hitting cinemas early in the year do not perform well.

The proclivity of Shah Rukh Khan, who plays Raees against Pakistani sweetheart Mahira Khan’s character Aasiya, to make robust opening-day sales has been strengthened once more, given that two of his prior projects Fan and Dilwale churned in INR 190 million and INR 210 million, respectively.

The SRK-Mahira starrer also became one of Shah Rukh Khan’s top five earning films, while Hrithik Roshan’s Kaabil secured a place in the latter’s highest five projects.

It is also well on its path to enter the INR 1-billion club in the B-world, although the gap between the two films’ sales is narrowing, according to a Forbes piece, since they are forecasted to reap more over the coming weekend.

Moreover, movie trade analyst Ramesh Bala in Forbes mentions that SRK’s “movie is generating better word-of-mouth and is performing strongly across multiplexes and single screens.”

Kaabil, directed by Sanjay Gupta, was played on 2,200 screens, while Rahul Dholakia-directed Raees screened in 2700 cinemas. In this regard, producer Rakesh Roshan in an interview to India.com commented that he is “disheartened [… because] the exhibitors told me that it will be 50 / 50. I was shocked to see the 60/ 40 ratio.”

Geo.TV reported on January 26 that Raees on its first day clinched Rs. 250 million on the release day, which is more than double of what Kaabil was able to garner – Rs. 104.30 million, as per business website financialexpress.com.

#Raees is PHENOMENAL on Day 2. All set to pack a FAB total in its 5-day weekend. Wed 20.42 cr, Thu 26.30 cr. Total: ₹ 46.72 cr. India biz.

— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) January 27, 2017

Expectations for Raees remain high for its five-day weekend.

Mahira disappointed 'Raees' not being released in Pakistan 

On Friday, certain news websites published a story that Mahira Khan was disappointed 'Raees' wasn't being released in Pakistan and went as far as to attribute quotes to the actress that the film's release had become a victim of an 'evil eye'. 

However when Geo.tv reached out to Mahira Khan for a comment she found the quotes being attributed to her funny and responded; "I obviously didn't say this," adding "I'd want for Indian films to open up [in Pakistan], and surely my own as well." 

So like everyone else, including Mahira we are anxious for the release of 'Raees' and can't wait to see the Pakistani star shine alongside the King of Bollywood.