Dilwale soars past “100-crore” mark worldwide; Bajirao Mastani “going strong”

The films were released on Thursday, December 17, in the Middle East and worldwide on Friday, December 18.

Fans are flocking to cinemas to watch Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol – Bollywood's favourite on-screen couple, in Dilwale – their first film together since My Name is Khan in 2010.

Dilwale remains ahead of Bajirao Mastani in the battle of the box office. Starring Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol in the lead roles, Rohit Shetty's action comedy crossed 100 crores (1 billion rupees, Dh55.3m) worldwide during its opening weekend.

Meanwhile, historical drama Bajirao Mastani, starring Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra, made 46.77 million rupees in India in three days..

Both films were released on Thursday, December 17, in the Middle East and Friday, December 18, worldwide.

“Dilwale Overseas: Gulf - biggest ever opening for a Bollywood film, and the number one film this weekend, higher than ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ and other films,” trade analyst Komal Nahta posted on Twitter.

“Britain - highest opening for a Bollywood film in 2015. Australia - biggest opening of 2015, biggest ever for SRK. Malaysia - biggest opening for a Bollywood film. New Zealand - number two on box office charts. US - number nine in top 10 chart,” he added.

Bajirao Mastani witnessed a box-office hike over the weekend and is "going strong in cinemas", according to trade analyst Taran Adarsh.

“#BajiraoMastani is unstoppable. Super word of mouth translates into super biz. Friday Rs.12.80 crore, Saturday Rs.15.52 crore, Sunday Rs.18.45 crore. Total: Rs.46.77 crore,” Adarsh tweeted.

Both films were made on a budget exceeding 1 billion rupees.