Tiger 3 box office collection Day 1 early reports: Salman Khan actioner eyes biggest Diwali day in Bollywood history

The much-awaited superstar Salman Khan fronted actioner Tiger 3 released on Sunday and is aiming to clock excellent opening day numbers despite Laxmi Puja day, generally considered dull for business.

The third installment of the hugely successful franchise, Tiger 3 also stars Katrina Kaif and sees Emran Hashmi as an antagonist. The actioner is part of Yash Raj Films’ spy-universe, which also features Hrithik Roshan’s War and superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan.

Tiger 3 opted for an unusual Sunday release, coinciding with Laxmi Puja. According to early estimates posted by industry tracker Sacnilk, the film is heading to record an opening day collection of Rs 40 crore. The movie, which released in 5500 screens in India, recorded morning occupancy of 36.55 per cent in Hindi.

Though the numbers are nowhere near the opening day records made by two Shah Rukh Khan films earlier this year, Pathaan did Rs 57 crore followed by Jawan which did Rs 75 crore all-India, the figures are humungous for Laxmi Puja day, which actually is not a box-office friendly date as people get busy with festivities post evening.

If Tiger 3 scores Rs 40 crore as per the early trend, it will be the highest ever Diwali day in Bollywood history. The current record for aggregated total for Diwali day is Rs 22 crore, which was the combined collection of Shah Rukh Khan’s Jab Tak Hai Jaan (Rs 12.60 cr on day one) and Ajay Devgn’s Son Of Sardaar (Rs 9.30 cr on day one), the two films that clashed in 2012.

Hrithik Roshan’s Krrish 3 currently holds the record for the highest Diwali day collection by a single movie. The superhero film netted Rs 15 crore on Diwali day, which was the film’s third day.

Tiger 3 is expected to go big from Monday, when the film will finally utilise the long Diwali holiday period. The Salman Khan actioner will hope to break lifetime records of the top Bollywood films of the year– Jawan, which did a business of Rs 640 crore all India, followed by Pathaan, which did Rs 547 crore all India.