This has been an uncommonly massive year for Indian cinema, with multiple movies generating record numbers at the box office. And this week, new records will be broken by the epic Hindi-language (or Bollywood) crime film,Animal, starringRanbir Kapoorin the lead role. Directed by the provocateurSandeep Reddy Vanga,Animaldelivered the second-biggest opening day haul in Bollywood history, and currently finds itself sandwiched between twoShah Rukh Khanmovies, both of which debuted earlier this year.
According to the production house T-Series,Animalgrossed ₹116 crore (around $14 million) globally on opening day. This figure includes a massive ₹64 crore ($7.6 million) from its home country, India, and an estimated $2.5 million from North American theaters — a record for Bollywood films.Animalis also the first Bollywood movie to gross over $1 million domestically from Thursday previews alone. Earlier this year, SRK’sPathaanandJawangenerated ₹106 crore ($12.7 million) and ₹130 crore ($15.6 million) on their respective opening days, and went on to gross over $100 million worldwide by the end of their theatrical runs.
Top Indian Movies of 2023
Global Box Office
$138 million
$130 million
$83 million
$74 million
$73 million
Animalis expected to generate over ₹300 crore (nearly $40 million) across its opening weekend at the global box office. This would be the biggest debut of Kapoor’s career, cementing him as the pre-eminent Bollywood star of his generation. A member of the illustrious “First Family of Bollywood,” the actor has had a rather inconsistent post-pandemic run, with the underperformerShamshera, followed by the moderately successful superhero filmBrahmāstra: Part One – Shiva, and the romantic comedyTu Jhoothi Main Makkaar. He stars inAnimal, a hyper-violent saga about a murderous man’s quest for his father’s approval, alongside the veteranAnil Kapoor, and the heartthrobRashmika Mandanna.
‘Animal’ Is Already Facing Controversy
Already generating headlines for its abrasive storytelling, the movie is generating about as much buzz for its director. Vanga broke out with the Telugu-language hitArjun Reddy, which he remade a few years later asKabir Singhin Bollywood, to even bigger success. Both movies were criticized for their rampant misogyny and glorification oftoxic masculinity, ideas that Vanga seems to have doubled down on inAnimal.
The movie has been trashed by critics, and currently sits at a “rotten” 20% score on the aggregatorRotten Tomatoes. Its success will no doubt fuel heated debate about the state of mainstream Indian cinema, which stands in stark contrast to the considerably more progressive indie films that emerge out of the country. Also starringBobby Deolas the villain andTripti Dimriin a supporting role,Animalis playing in theaters. You can watch the film’s trailer below, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
