Movie World
Bollywood movies of 2018 that proved to be of mediocre quality – Part 2
Thugs of Hindostan
By Dinesh Kamath
Thugs of Hindostan was an ambitious
project of Aamir Khan. The film appears to have been inspired by Hollywood
movie ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’. The Hindi version was directed by Vijay
Krishna Acharya. It was an action adventure. It had multi star case. But the
movie did not appeal to the Indian movie-goers. Khan also apologised to his
fans for disappointing them and took responsibility for ‘TOH’s’ failure.
Thugs of Hindostan is a 2018 Indian
Hindi-language action adventure film written and directed by Vijay Krishna
Acharya, and produced by Aditya Chopra under his banner Yash Raj Films. The
film stars Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Fatima Sana Shaikh and Katrina Kaif.
Set in 1795, the film follows a band of Thugs led by Khudabaksh Azaad, who
aspires to free Hindostan (the Indian subcontinent) from the rule of the
expanding British East India Company. Alarmed, British commander John Clive
sends a small-time Thug from Awadh, Firangi Mallah, to infiltrate and counter
the threat.
Produced on an estimated budget of
₹240 crore (US$33 million), Thugs of Hindostan is one of the most expensive
Bollywood film. Initially titled Thug, the film marked the first time Khan and
Bachchan featured together as leads, and was the second collaboration between
Khan, Acharya and Kaif, after Dhoom 3 (2013). Principal photography commenced
on 5 June 2017 in Malta; the film was also shot in Thailand and Mehrangarh. It
was put on a short hiatus after Bachchan was injured on set. Filming concluded
in March 2018, the final schedule being completed in Rajasthan. The soundtrack
was composed by Ajay-Atul, with lyrics written by Amitabh Bhattacharya.
Thugs of Hindostan was released
during the week of the Diwali festival, on 8 November 2018. It received
generally negative reviews from Indian critics, with praise towards the
performances of Bachchan and Khan, and criticism towards Acharya's direction
and screenplay. The film recorded the highest first-day collection and highest
two-day collection for any Hindi film in India, and the fourth biggest opening
weekend in India, but immediately experienced a significant drop in the second
day itself. The film released in China on 28 December 2018, where a special
edition edited by Aamir Khan was released. Thugs of Hindostan has grossed ₹320
crore ($49 million) at the worldwide box office.
The Yash Raj Films's marketing team
began their promotion of the film on Monday, 17 September 2018: an official
logo and title card was revealed on their YouTube channel. The following day, a
motion poster of Khudabaksh, the commanding thug played by Bachchan, was
released. This was the first of a systematic marketing campaign that introduced
the film's characters to the general public consistently throughout the week,
using motion posters. On 19 September, the second character to be revealed was
the archer Zafira, played by Shaikh. John Clive, played by Owen, a ruthless
British leader, was revealed on 20 September. Suraiyya, a dancer played by
Kaif, was displayed on 21 September. 3 days later, the poster of Firangi, played
by Khan, who was an eccentric-looking, donkey-riding thug, was revealed.
Worldwide, the film grossed between
₹202.38 crore ($31.08 million) and ₹211.98 crore ($33 million) worldwide in its
opening weekend, and it grossed ₹238.4 crore ($37 million) worldwide in its
opening week. By 26 November 2018, the film had grossed ₹262.8 crore ($40.36
million) worldwide. As of 31 December 2018, Thugs of Hindostan has grossed ₹320
crore ($49 million) at the worldwide box office.
Market(s) Gross revenue
India ₹151.19 crore ($23 million)
Overseas $19 million (₹134.21 crore)
China CN¥62 million – $9.17 million (₹65 crore)
Other territories $9.5 million (₹69 crore)
Worldwide ₹320 crore ($49 million)
India
Thugs of Hindostan had the biggest
morning occupancy for an Indian film in 2018, with 65-70% of the seats booked.
Its first day collection in India was the highest for any Hindi film, at ₹52.25
crore nett (₹63.5 crore gross), surpassing the previous opening day records
held by Happy New Year (₹44.97 crore), Baahubali 2 (₹41 crore), and Prem Ratan
Dhan Payo (₹40.35 crore). On the second day, the film's nett collection dropped
to ₹29.25 crore. Its two-day total was an estimated ₹81.50 crore nett in India,
the highest for any Hindi film in its first two days. In three days, the film's
domestic collection was ₹105 crore nett, becoming Amitabh Bachchan's first film
to net ₹100 crore in India (without taking inflation into account). By the end
of its opening weekend on 11 November 2018, the film's domestic collections
were ₹123 crore nett and ₹157.69 crore gross. It surpassed Dhoom 3 to become
Aamir Khan's biggest opening weekend in India, and surpassed Sanju to become
the highest opening weekend grosser of 2018. Thugs of Hindostan also became
India's fourth highest opening weekend grosser of all time, after Sultan, Prem
Ratan Dhan Payo and Baahubali 2. In its opening week, the film's collections in
India were ₹140.4 crore nett, and ₹180 crore gross, becoming the fourth highest
opening week grosser of 2018, after Sanju, Padmaavat and Race 3.
The box-office takings, however,
dropped significantly after receiving bad reviews, and the film made only ₹145
crore in India after 11 days. It resulted in significant losses for theatre
owners, who demanded refunds from the subdistributor of Yash Raj Films. As of
26 November 2018, the film's collections in India stand at ₹151.19 crore nett
and ₹193.83 crore gross.
Overseas, the film grossed US$6.4
million (₹46.66 crore) in its opening weekend, including US$2.22 million in the
Arab states of the Persian Gulf, US$1.45 million in the United States and
Canada, and £497,663 ($638,029) in the United Kingdom. It had the year's third
highest-grossing opening weekend overseas, after Padmaavat and Sanju. In its
opening week, the film grossed US$7.8 million (₹56.8 crore) overseas. As of 26
November 2018, the film grossed $9.5 million (₹69.18 crore) overseas.
In China, where it released on 28
December 2018 at 19:00 China time, the film grossed $1.78 million (₹12 crore)
within the last five hours of opening day, entering the daily box office chart
at number three (behind Chinese film Kill Mobile and Hollywood film Aquaman),
but with the second highest per-screen average (behind Kill Mobile). In China,
the film grossed $4.78 million in its opening weekend, and $8.21 million in its
opening week.
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