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The Salman Khan film’s 12-day box office collections in India and overseas reveal that it’s crossed Rs 200 crore. But we wonder how that huge sum was actually collected

Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif’s romantic thriller Ek Tha Tiger - produced by Yash Raj Films - has reportedly collected Rs 214 crore nett in its 12-day run in Indian and overseas cinema theatres (Rs 175 crore and Rs 39 crore respectively). With this figure, the film is just behind Aamir Khan’s blockbuster 3 Idiots that stands at an all-time high of Rs 385 crore (India Rs 202 crore) at the box office. Trade experts believe ETT might soon cross that benchmark and go down in Indian cinema’s history as the film with highest collections.

But the question is, how are these Bollywood movies making so much money? And why are so many Rs 100-crore flicks popping up all of a sudden? Is it that people didn’t watch so many films earlier? Unlikely in a movie-crazy nation like India, and the fan frenzy of the Diaspora.

But it seems Salman himself has the answer to this. He said last week in an interview that earning Rs 100 crore was not a big deal, as there are so many theatres and screens to run the films. According to him, Rs 100 crore will soon be like Rs 10 crore (in value). We agree. The biggest stars of B-town make sure that when their film is releasing, multiplexes and even single screens are filled with shows from 9am to almost midnight with only that one film. Audiences have no choice but to watch the weekend’s biggie. Small films releasing simultaneously are brutally killed. How fair is that? Considering the number of prints running and the high multiplex ticket prices, isn’t it easier to reach the coveted three-figure crore club?

But then, multiplex owners also do not run as many shows of big films if they’re not sure of the star power and the hype surrounding the production. So that brings us back to the question: Is Ek Tha Tiger’s Rs 214 crore well earned?