Aamir Khan's 'Secret Superstar' Is Breaking Out Hugely In China On Superb Word-Of-Mouth

2016’s Dangal, took China and the world by storm and became the highest-grossing movie ever made in India. The family sports drama, in which Khan plays a father who makes up for his own frustrating wrestling career by living vicariously through his daughters, follows him as he trains and guiding Wasim's character to a world championship in the sport. The film, which was based on a true story, grossed nearly $200 million in China and raised Aamir Khan’s already sky-high profile in the Middle Kingdom into the stratosphere.

My sources indicate that by 3 pm on its opening day, Secret Superstar had already grossed a spectacular $3.3 million (₹21 crore) and that it should top the Zhang Ziyi-starring box office holdover hit Forever Young to win the weekend. In its opening frame last weekend, Forever Young grossed $23 million, and Secret Superstar may actually surpass that figure in its own debut.

Aamir Khan has publicly announced that his share of Secret Superstar's China grosses was set at 12.5 percent of the gross box office. If the film runs up its lifetime total to the 540 crore / $84 million mark that Maoyan.com projected, that would result in a 68 crore / $10.5 million payday for the Bollywood megastar in the Middle Kingdom alone.

I should note that early box office figures can be unreliable and subject to change, so I’ll follow up in the morning when the box office figures are more fully baked. But one thing looks like a near certainty: Secret Superstar should collect more revenue in its first China weekend than it did in its entire run in India.