When Shah Rukh Khan returned to the silver screen after a five-year gap in 2023, he rewrote box office record books, first with Pathaan and then with Jawan. The records he set with the latter looked rather unbreakable. But their invincibility lasted all of 11 months when a low-budget film with no superstar broke them. In fact, this film even surpassed the collections of the biggest hits of the other two Khans. And it did all this with a woman lead.
The film that broke the Khans’ box office records
Horror comedy Stree 2 has been Bollywood’s biggest success of 2024. The film became the highest-grossing Hindi film of the year in its opening week itself and has since crossed the Rs 400-crore and Rs 500-crore marks very easily. In doing so, it has registered some stellar day-to-day collections, which are among the highest in Bollywood history. For instance, on its sixth day, a weekday, Stree 2 collected Rs 25.80 crore net in India. This is a huge figure, dwarfing the day 6 collections of Jawan (Rs 24 crore), Sultan (Rs 15.6 crore), and Dangal (Rs 21.4 crore). That these are the highest-grossing films of Shah Rukh, Salman, and Aamir’s careers show the monumental achievement of Stree 2.
Stree 2’s stellar run at the box office
Directed by Amar Kaushik, Stree 2 is the sequel to the 2018 hit Stree and part of the larger Maddock Horror Universe, which also includes Bhediya and Munjya. The film brings back the original cast of Shraddha Kapoor, Rajkummar Rao, Pankaj Tripathi, Abhishek Banerjee, and Aparshakti Khurana. As of Monday, Stree 2 has earned Rs 540 crore worldwide, including a Rs 384 crore net haul in India alone. Given its extremely strong Rs 93-crore second weekend, the film stands to easily cross Rs 500 crore in India, and Rs 750 crore worldwide. Made on a budget of just Rs 60 crore, it is already one of the most profitable films of the year.
All about Stree 2
While there has been considerable debate on who to credit for Stree 2’s success, it cannot be denied that the film lacks the star power of all other Rs 500-crore films Hindi cinema has seen. Rajkummar Rao, while a formidable actor. Has not always set the box office on fire. Shraddha Kapoor has been the film’s biggest name, and some say, she deserves to be called the lead. That would make Stree 2 one of the highest-grossing women-led films in Indian cinema history. But others have argued that the credit actually does not go to any star but the film’s story, treatment, and direction. Regardless, Stree 2’s run at the box office continues.
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