Tiger 3 an ‘important’ film for Salman Khan after a string of flops; trade experts predict Rs 100 crore global opening at box office

Tiger 3 is a Diwali release. It is believed to be the leanest day for a film in terms of box office numbers since people are busy with the festivities. But the production house behind the film, Yash Raj Films, is confident about the product they have created. Even film exhibitor Akshaye Rathi believes that it won’t affect the film’s earnings “beyond a point”.

A poster of Salman Khan’s Tiger 3.

He explained, “What they are encashing on by releasing the film on this Sunday is the day of Diwali. The festival is celebrated in the homes of the Hindus, and if you look at the fanbase of Salman Khan, it doesn’t comprise people who are just Hindus. It comprises people of all religions who would come to the theatres, who are not doing Laxmi puja at home. The day after Diwali is considered the biggest day for business which they will encash on. Day after it is Bhai Duj, which again would be beneficial for them. So, all these holidays that they are getting actually make a lot of sense to release it on a Sunday.”

However, he also agreed that had the film been released on Monday, it would have gotten a better first-day collection. “But, the overall lifetime business would become much bigger,” Rathi added while revealing that the film will release on over 4500 screens across India.

As per reports, over one lakh tickets have already been sold at the national cinema chains, PVR, INOX and Cinepolis, for the opening day. The film is also doing well in the non-national chains and single-screen theatres, ensuring a big opening for Tiger 3.

Film trade expert and producer Girish Johar is expecting a Rs 100 crore opening for the film at the global box office and is confident that it will create history. He told indianexpress.com, “I’m expecting a very good start at the box office. Probably, the highest for Salman Khan. It is a solo release. There is a gap before the release and after the release. It’s ticking the right boxes and everything is going in its favour.” But he also said that the opening day figure for the film will be “sluggish” and will only grow from Monday.

Predicting the first-day box office collection of the film, both Rathi and Johar said Tiger 3 will earn around Rs 35 crore. Though it won’t come near Shah Rukh Khan’s Jawan which opened with Rs 75 crore and Pathaan which Rs 57 crore on the day of its release, Rathi believes that the film, in the long run, “has all the potential to make it to those levels.”

Given how the past six years have been for Salman Khan in terms of box office numbers, Tiger 3 is a crucial film for him. Rathi believes that though his stardom won’t be affected by a flop, but an actor of his stature needs to earn well with his every film. He said, “Of course, every film is important for a star of that stature and not just for him, but also for the industry in general because we only count on these sort of stars to bring in money that can allow the exhibition sectors or distribution sector to continue rolling.”

He continued, “It’s a very important film but his stardom won’t get eroded with just one film because it has been built over 30 years and it doesn’t get shaken by a couple of years. Even before the release of Wanted, he had a string of flops but he came back from that and that’s something we expect to happen all over again.”

Meanwhile, the cast and crew of Tiger 3 are maintaining a low profile instead of going all out with the promotion and Girish Johar thinks it’s a good “ploy” which worked even with Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan. He shared, “If you build the hype a little extra and then you fall short of expectations, that backfires. So it’s a very thin line.”

Tiger 3 is the fifth film in the YRF Spy Universe after Ek Tha Tiger, Tiger Zinda Hai, War and Pathaan. Salman Khan’s entry scene in the movie is 10 minutes long, giving a full spectacle of the actor’s charisma. It also stars Katrina Kaif and Emraan Hashmi in the lead roles.