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Sultan has virtually come to the end of its box office collections run. Salman Khan has seen a number of new releases come and go without them really harming Sultan earnings in any noticeable manner. However, it is clear that not competition, but just the fact that it has been in cinemas now for over a fortnight has left very few people who are willing to make their way to the cinemas to watch him pump-up his muscles and smash his reel opponents to the ground in that majestic manner of his.
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With Sultan, not just the film lovers at large, Salman Khan has definitely won the hearts and minds of people living in states where wrestling is a mania – states like Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab in particular and the rest of the states in general. He has definitely brought back some of the lost glory of this imperial game back. It should be remembered that Salman Khan had chalked up another big success with this release – all movie critics had praised the movie, which is as surprising as it is rare.
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Be that as it may, box office collections have a bearing in reality and they cannot be cajoled up or down once a movie is past its sell-by date. In the same manner, the lifetime of the movie is fast running out. But what a ride it has been! Check these humongous figures out: An above Rs 30 crore take on each of the first four days since its release; Rs 280.10 crore in all till now (by day 17) and to cap it all off, Rs 534.13 crore worldwide – Friday (day 17), it had collected Rs 2.14 crore. On the same day, Rajinikanth's Kabali (it released on Friday) generated nearly Rs 4 crore in box office collections.
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So, Sultan is now the top movie of 2016 so far and it has thrown down the gauntlet to upcoming movies of actors like Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar and others. Also, with Rajinikanth's Kabali pulling off a string of amazing marketing coups, the script must be clear for all those who are following: You must move with the times. And that means inking merchandising deals, getting your face plastered across aeroplanes, putting up mammoth cut-outs across streets and outside cinemas and more. These will help generate so much hype that it will not only create an alternative revenue route for filmmakers but also pad up the box office collections. Imagine Salman Khan's face splashed across a gargantuan aircraft! The fans would love it, surely! It is time Salman Khan and the rest of the Bollywood brigade woke up to the power of India Inc.
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But will Bollywood do that? Barring a few examples like Hrithik Roshan's Krrish, few actors have sought to plug into this alternative form of business. In fact, merchandising deals themselves can, in certain cases, spin-off more money than can sometimes be generated by box office collections. Surely, it is a no brainer.
