Salman Khan's Bodyguard sets record for first-day box office collections of Rs 20 crore

It has been a very happy Eid for Salman Khan three years in a row. After Dabangg in 2010 and Wanted in 2009, his latest movie, Bodyguard, released on Wednesday, has set a new record for first day's box-office collections. It netted an estimated Rs 20 crore, beating the Rs 14.5-crore opening of Dabangg (last Eid), and the Rs 13.5 crore collected by his friend and rival Aamir Khan's 3 Idiots in 2009.

With several full-house shows and strong advance bookings even for weekdays, Bodyguard could even emerge as one of the biggest grossers of all time, cementing Salman's position as Bollywood's biggest boxoffice draw more than 20 years after he made his debut in Maine Pyaar Kiyain 1989.

Over the last two years, in terms of box-office collections, Khan's movies have also been beating high-decibel releases of Tamil superstar Rajinikanth. But a reason for that could be the wider reach that Khan's Hindi movies get across the country, whereas Rajinikanth's Tamil movies are released primarily in theatres in the south, an exception being Robot, which had a Hindi version.

Long queues reminiscent of the openings of Amitabh Bachchan's movies in the 1970s and 1980s were reported from cities and towns. "Our theatres in Gorakhpur, Patiala and Bijnor are witnessing a deluge of Salman fans. We are sold out for the next few days," said Tinku Singh of SRS Cinemas, which has theatres across UP, Haryana and Punjab.

At Anurag Cinema in Meerut, shows of Bodyguard are sold out for a few days, said head booking clerk Bharat Kumar. "The crowds have gone mad. There is commotion all around here."

The movie's co-producer, Reliance Big Pictures, which spent Rs 22 crore on marketing, says it will raise thatamount through Day 1 collections alone. "We estimate the first day's business can touch Rs 20 crore net, which will be unprecedented," said Sanjeev Lamba, chief executive officer of Reliance Entertainment.

Bollywood trade analyst Komal Nahata said the movie would have garnered Rs 18-19 crore in collections. "This looks like the biggest opening weekend ever.

Salman Khan has achieved superstardom," he said. "Bodyguard has monstrous, earth-shattering, mindboggling opening," tweeted Taran Adarsh, another trade analyst.