Aamir Khan's Dangal has earned $300 million at the box office and has replaced Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway's Through The Looking Glass to enter the top 30 hits of 2016. But despite its robust showing in China, Aamir Khan will earn only a small amount from Dangal's success.
Aamir Khan’s Dangal has been a phenomenon, whether it was its initial release in India or its release in China. The film was critically acclaimed and loved by fans. But it realised its true potential when it released at the China box office.
Within no time, Aamir Khan was a darling in China and even Chinese President Xi Jinping told PM Narendra Modi how he love the film. And now, Dangal has reached another landmark. The film has replaced Johnny Depp and Mia Wasikowska’s Alice Through The Looking Glass as the 30th biggest hit of 2016 and earned almost $300 million at the box office.
Trade analyst Ramesh Bala tweeted, “#Dangal with $301 M replaces #AliceThroughTheLookingGlass ‘s $299.5 M to become 2016 ‘s No. 30th movie and enters Top 30 2016 WW BO Club!”
#Dangal with $301 M replaces #AliceThroughTheLookingGlass 's $299.5 M to become 2016 's No. 30th movie and enters Top 30 2016 WW BO Club!
— Ramesh Bala (@rameshlaus) June 12, 2017
This is the first time a Hindi film has achieved this feat. Bala also wrote, “Dangal becomes the 1st Indian movie to do US$300 M at the WW BO.. #China – $179.41 M, #Taiwan – $6 M, RoW – $115.62 M, Total – $301.03 M.” With the film still plowing on at the box office, it will probably create the Rs 2000-crore club too, another first for an Indian film. The film has already earned over 1930 crore in total.
However, Aamir Khan will only reap limited monetary benefits from the phenomenal showing of Dangal in China. The reason for this are the rules that govern Chinese box office. The Chinese government gives only 25 per cent of the box-office revenue to foreign studios. This is a lot less than US which gives 50 percent and 40 percent in most other countries.
This means the studio UTV Disney will earn around Rs 275 crore, out of which Aamir will get a percentage. Only four Indian films are allowed to screen in China; Baahubali 2 will also release in the country soon.