'Dhoom: 3' mints over Rs.35 crore on opening day

Aamir Khan-starrer action thriller "Dhoom: 3" opened the way many had expected before its release. The film has collected more than Rs.35 crore on its opening day.

"Dhoom: 3", that was made at an approximate budget of Rs.100 crore, has collected Rs.36.22 crore - Rs.33.42 crore in Hindi and Rs.2.80 crore in Tamil and Telugu, said a statement.

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted Saturday: "'Dhoom: 3' emerges the biggest non-holiday opener ever."

Also featuring Abhishek Bachchan, Uday Chopra and Katrina Kaif, the movie with complicated stunts reportedly released in about 4,000 screens in India.

"It is an extraordinary movie. Big names like Aamir Khan, Katrina Kaif are part of this Yash Raj film. It was also hyped by Bollywood fraternity. We got Rs.3.5 crore worth pre-booking. On day one, there was over 90 percent occupancy," Gautam Dutta, COO, PVR Cinemas, told IANS.

In the film, Abhishek and Uday return as Jai Dixit and Ali. Aamir is seen in a negative role as a gymnast in the film while Katrina portrays an acrobat diva.

It also released down south in dubbed versions Friday and clashed with Tamil film "Biriyani" in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. But the film produced by Yash Raj Films banner managed to get an impressive opening.

"Although 'Dhoom: 3' was competing with Tamil film 'Biriyani', it still managed to register a good opening both in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh," trade analyst Trinath told IANS.

Though the stars of the film were not seen hopping from one TV show to another to promote their latest offering, they tried other innovative marketing strategies like launching an extensive range of merchandise and dolls.