Pre-sales of Animal overseas saw a significant spike before the release. International sales of the Ranbir Kapoor film, which also starred Bobby Deol and Anil Kapoor, have exceeded USD 2.50 million. Including USD 800,000 for previews in North America, USD 1.90 million is allocated for the first day of business. After Jawan and Pathaan, which both had pre-sales of nearly USD 6 million, this movie has the third-best sales of any Bollywood film ever, both historically and in the present era. Animal’s final pre-sales are expected to exceed USD 3 million with ease.
With its Thursday previews earning USD 650K so far, Animal has surpassed Jawan and Pathaan in the US. It was able to outsell Jawan in Australia. With important locations playing at capacity, it could have achieved the same in Canada as well, but the showcasing problems made it impossible. Films starring Ranbir Kapoor typically do well in these three markets; however, this time around, Sandeep Reddy, the director, has an extra advantage because he has strong influence among the Telugu diaspora, which is already well-represented in the first two markets.
Nevertheless, great progress has been made even in the Middle East, which is usually slow for movies besides those starring Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan. Tiger 3’s first-day sales in the UAE are comparable, but they have far more momentum, so it should advance today. Due to National Day holidays, the UAE will also have an extended weekend that ends on Monday.
Strong advance sales serve as a preamble to the movie’s spectacular premiere. Opening day totals, including previews, should surpass USD 4.50 million in North America, where they will exceed USD 1.25 million. From there, if business continues as usual, it should bring in close to USD 12 million by Sunday, making it the biggest opening for a non-SRK movie in Bollywood history, surpassing both Dhoom 3 and Padmaavat.
