Salman Khan-starrer Bajrangi Bhaijaan became his first film to cross the Rs 200 crore mark in international markets.
The film's success in the Chinese market was instrumental in the film crossing the Rs 200 crore mark. According to reports, Bajrangi Bhaijaan, which was released as Little Lolita Monkey God Uncle, collected about $1.06 million in just half a day in China. This was Khan's first release in the country.
In India, the Kabir Khan-directed movie collected about Rs 320.34 crore, making it one of the highest Bollywood grossing films of all time. The film also stars Kareena Kapoor Khan and Harshali Malhotra in lead roles and the story revolves around Khan's journey to reunite a Pakistani girl with her parents.
Bollywood has a huge fan following in China and Indian films have a huge market there. This is evident from the success of Aamir Khan's Dangal or Let’s Wrestle, Dad in China. The film raked in Rs 14.67 crore in its opening day.
Aamir's Secret Superstar was also a hit in China and in its opening day it raked in about Rs 43.35 crore.
“The film has notched up phenomenal numbers in China, debuting at the number one position over the weekend,” Atul Mohan, editor of trade magazine Complete Cinema, was quoted as saying by LiveMint.com. “All thanks to the reputation Aamir Khan has built there, springing up a second blockbuster barely a few months after Dangal.”
So what kind of movies do the Chinese audience want? According to experts cited by DailyO, Chinese audience want movies they can identify with. This is why Dangal, which dealt with female empowerment, and 3 Idiots, which spoke about issues in the education system, did well in the box office and a movie such as Baahubali 2, which did exceptionally well in India, failed to evoke much enthusiasm.
“The market was always there but I think audience have become more receptive lately,” trade analyst Girish Johar was quoted as saying by LiveMint.com. “The entire mindset has changed where they are less strict and trying to educate themselves with good cinema from other industries.”
