Pathaan emerges as the biggest Indian post-covid blockbuster in UK; pockets a whopping £1.9 million during opening weekend

Headlined by Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, and John Abraham, Bollywood film Pathaan has been creating waves at the box office not only in India but overseas as well, ever since hitting the marquee on January 25, 2023.

At the worldwide box office, the film has already crossed the £60 million mark and £30 million mark domestically. In the process, the Siddharth Anand directorial has already dethroned a number of Indian blockbusters overseas.

Pathaan has been doing phenomenal business in the United Kingdom where it has already beaten Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s recent blockbuster Ponniyin Selvan: Part 1 (2022) to emerge as the biggest Indian post-covid blockbuster in the country. The Mani Ratnam directorial had ended its box office run with a lifetime collection of £1.2 million.

Variety reports that Pathaan raked in an impressive £1.9 million at the UK box office during the opening weekend. For those not in the know, the film enjoyed an extended weekend as it released on Wednesday, January 25, coinciding with India’s Republic Day on January 26.

If we talk about a regular weekend of three days (Friday to Sunday), Pathaan netted £1.4 million from 223 theatres. The Yash Raj Films’ offering tried to give tough competition to James Cameron’s global blockbuster Avatar: The Way Of Water (2022) in the UK. During the same weekend, Avatar 2 pocketed £2.1 million, thus staying at the top.

Pathaan also emerged as the biggest-ever opening for an Indian film at the UK box office by scoring £319,000, thus surpassing Salman Khan’s Sultan which collected £271,000. It is now eyeing to break the record of Dhoom 3 (2013), which is the highest Indian grosser of all time in the UK with £2.7 million. Surprisingly, all three films are produced by Yash Raj Films.

The entire cast of Pathaan recently met the media to celebrate the thunderous success of the film. Getting emotional about the film’s success, Deepika Padukone said, “To be honest, I don't think we set out to break records. We set out to make a good film. This is what SRK taught me in my first movie. He told me, ‘You should work with people who make you happy.’ It’s such a lovely atmosphere to work in and that’s what the audience is taking back. It’s pure, love and joy and it reflects and that’s what the audience is taking back.”

Keep visiting this space for more updates and reveals.