It may be too early to say whether Yash Chopra's Dhoom:2 will be the year's biggest blockbuster. But from the way the advance ticket bookings are going, it will definitely give tough competition to the biggest hit so far, Krrish.
Hrithik Roshan's Krrish made Rs 150 crores, and has done the best business this year. It is followed by Rajkumar Hirani's Lage Raho Munna Bhai, Rakyesh Omprakash Mehra's Rang De Basanti and Kunal Kohli's Fanaa.
Trade analyst Taran Adarsh sounds hopeful for Dhoom:2. "It has the potential to be a blockbuster," he says. "There is a positive buzz and they will release 16 shows in many theatres to cater to the demand."
Rumours suggest that Dhoom:2 will release with 1,200 prints, the biggest ever opening for Hindi cinema. Only Don comes close with 1,000 prints.
Tushar Dhingra, Chief Operating Officer, Fame Adlabs, says, "We are getting a fabulous response for Dhoom:2. The bookings is unprecedented and there is a good opening in all the Adlabs theatres in India."
There are long queues outside theatres, as eager cinema goers hope to catch the film's first shows.
"When I went to buy a ticket at Thakur Cinema (in Kandivili, suburban Mumba) for Saturday, there was a long queue. I could not believe my eyes. The theatre has a 1,000 seating capacity but still there was a huge queue to see the film," says Rajiv Parekh, a college student. He adds, "I want to see the film because I think Hrithik is looking great in the promos. After Krrish, I cannot afford to miss this film in its first week."