Box Office Business: How Dangal wrestled the cash crisis and won

Dangal was the story of the struggle of a wrestling champion, but the Aamir Khan-starrer had to face no such struggle as it knocked out demonetization out of the ring in just one week. Trade analysts said that the wrestling drama has grossed Rs 274 crore at the end of Week 1, while the net collections of the film stand at Rs 197.53 crore. The film fraternity had been nervous about business taking a hit ever since PM Modi announced the note ban but the Nitesh Tiwari film has proved that content is truly the king by becoming the first blockbuster post the November 8 announcement. Demonetisation had impacted the collections of other Bollywood biggies like Ae Dil Hai Mushkil.

In fact, the film is on pace to beat the lifetime collections of Sultan, the biggest grosser of 2016, in just two weeks. Experts said that the biggest respite has come for single screens, which were hit worse by demonetisation as they depend more on cash bookings.

But the success was not easy as apart from the battle against the note ban, the film had to fight other odds too, both on and off screen. The film also had to match the high expectations set by Sultan, another film that revolved around wrestling.

Dangal created history after it won fair and square against the historical move by government. Multiplex and single-screen owners all around the country are now expecting an end to the dry spell after Dangal upped the sales of the market, dumping demonetisation.

Mukti Gupta, owner of Mukti World, a multiplex in Kolkata, said, "Yes, Dangal surely is the first movie to be called a super hit after November 8; this surely is a stupendous success for the Bollywood industry."

Critics have appreciated Dangal for its form and content and have recommended it strongly.
 
Karan Johar went to the extent of saying that he had not seen a film as good as Dangal in a decade.