Animal advance box office: Ranbir Kapoor’s crime saga poised to deliver one of the biggest openings in Hindi film history, will gobble up Sam Bahadur

The record for the most advance sales in Hindi cinema is held by Shah Rukh Khan’s Jawan, which sold 5.57 lakh tickets. SRK’s Pathaan sold 5.56 lakh tickets prior to release. Both films ended up making over Rs 500 crore domestically — in Jawan’s case, over Rs 600 crore — and more than Rs 1000 crore worldwide.

Ranbir’s biggest hit remains Sanju, which grossed nearly Rs 600 crore worldwide in 2018. But since then, the actor has had an inconsistent run in cinemas. His first film in four years, Shamshera, bombed badly. Brahmastra did big numbers, but barely recovered its bloated Rs 400 crore budget; and the same was the case with Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar. Animal is expected to deliver the biggest opening of his career, with current projections targeting Rs 50 crore on day one. This would put it ahead of Salman Khan’s recently released Tiger 3, which made Rs 44 crore in India on opening day.

What the Animal tsunami also means is that Meghna Gulzar’s Vicky Kaushal-starrer, Sam Bahadur, is likely going to get eaten for breakfast. The film has sold tickets worth Rs 1.25 crore so far, also with two days left for release. Sam Bahadur also stars Sanya Malhotra and Fatima Sana Shaikh.