"Dangal" was anticipated to be huge, but the question everyone was asking, was would it be good enough to take record-setting box-office earnings away from Salman Khan's "Sultan"?
Now the box-office takings for the Aamir Khan starrer has overtaken "Sultan" which makes it the highest Bollywood grosser of 2016 in just 13 days. The Behindwoods Tamil Cinema Website reported that "Dangal" had managed to set a "phenomenal historical record" as it "entered the 300 crore club on its 13th day."
The wrestling movie which was based on the real-life story of Mahavir Singh Phogat who taught his daughters Geeta Phogat and Babita Kumari to wrestle their way onto the Commonwealth Games medal podium received rave reviews before it was released, and audience reactions were very positive across India and internationally.
However, all the reviewers were wondering if it could make it into the elite ranks like the famous "PK" movie, and if it could outperform "Sultan" - another film set against a wrestling background.
'Dangal' sets a record, but can it catch 'Dhoom 3' and 'PK'?
#PK crossed ₹ 300 cr on Day 17... #Dangal crosses ₹ 300 cr on Day 13... Indeed, Aamir is setting NEW BENCHMARKS... India biz.
— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) January 4, 2017
Aamir Khan’s "Dangal" has earned more from worldwide box-office collections in its second week, than the "Sultan" lifetime earnings. The movie by Salman Khan earned Rs 572 crore in its entire lifetime, but "Dangal" has already grossed Rs 426 crore gross (Rs 300 crore nett) and according to The Indian Express, this is just from the domestic box-office.
It also earned Rs 158.7 crore from the international box-office "which takes its total worldwide earning to Rs 584.7 crore gross." This amazing record has done well enough to be recognised so far as the biggest 2016 collections.
Worldwide & Overseas #Dangal beats Sultan & becomes Highest Grosser Of the year. pic.twitter.com/zbpFfMziF0
— Dangal Film (@dangal_film) January 5, 2017
The Indian Express echoes a lot of moviegoers when they present the question on everyone's mind.
Can "Dangal" overtake Aamir Khan's previous record setter "Dhoom 3"? This is something that everyone will be looking for over the next week. There are other movies coming up that are also earmarked to be great cinema, but even "xXx: The Return of Xander Cage" starring Deepika Padukone, is not likely to upset the "Dangal" rush to the top of the box-office collections.
Can the movie overtake Aamir's single biggest gross earnings from "PK" which topped out at Rs 769 crore? It seems every movie fan on the planet is hoping for it, but only time will tell.
If you have not yet seen "Dangal" then we have to ask where your head has been buried these past 14 days.
