'Mohenjo Daro' and 'Rustom' give Bollywood its second highest weekend collection this year

While both movies have not performed spectacularly, together they have raked in about Rs 80 cr

Films Rustom and Mohenjo Daro might not have broken any records individually, but together collections of the two have added Rs 80 crore to the box office this weekend, with Independence Day collections yet to come in.

Akshay Kumar’s Rustom raked in around Rs 50 crore in the first three days of the long weekend, while Hrithik Roshan starrer Mohenjo Daro collected around Rs 30 crore. This is the second best weekend so far this year, after the Eid weekend when Sultan, starring Salman Khan, was released on July 6 and collected Rs 180 crore.  The film went on to make Rs 300 crore at the box office.

Other films to have had good weekend collections this year are Shah Rukh Khan starrer Fan (Rs 52 crore), Housefull 3 (Rs 53 crore) and Airlift (Rs 44 crore). Among Hollywood films, it was Disney’s The Jungle Book that recorded one of the best weekend collections with Rs 40 crore. It went on to become the most successful Hollywood film in Inida, raking in Rs 185 crore.

This year is turning out to be great for Kumar, with all three of his films doing well at the box office. While Airlift was the year’s first superhit, Housefull 3 managed to recover costs, and by the looks of it, Rustom is on its way to book some profits as well.

Rustom cost approximately Rs 60 crore to make and has already recovered Rs 25-27 crore in satellite and music rights. With Rs 50 crore in the bank, and foreign screens (400) yet to report revenues, it can be assumed that the makers of the film can breathe easy. Mohenjo Daro will have a tougher time, unless it does well internationally. While foreign weekend collections for both films are not available as yet, the Mohenjo Daro is reported to have made around Rs 7 crore on Friday, having released in 800 screens outside India.

Not only do the two films have the Independence Day holiday to capitalise on in the first week, but will also look at attracting more audiences on Thursday, on the festival of Rakshabandhan. The films should not have a problem in the second week as well since the only movie releasing on 19 August is Happy Bhaag Jaayegi starring Jimmy Sergil, Abhay Deol and Diana Penty. The low budget film is expected to release in around 2,500 screens and will bank heavily on word of mouth.

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WEEKEND COLLECTIONS

• Akshay Kumar’s Rustom raked in around Rs 50 crore in the first three days of the long weekend
   
• Rustom cost approximately Rs 60 crore to make
   
• Hrithik Roshan starrer Mohenjo Daro collected around Rs 30 crore in first three days
   
• Mohenjo Daro is reported to have made around Rs 7 crore internationally