American fantasy drama "The Jungle Book" had a super strong second Friday at the Indian box office. The film accumulated Rs. 8.02 crore on its eighth day, which made "The Jungle Book" the second highest grosser of 2016.
"The Jungle Book," starring New York-born 12-year-old Neel Sethi, earned Rs. 82.65 crore in its eight-day box office run. The film has shattered the records of Sonam Kapoor's "Neerja," which was the second biggest earner of 2016. "Neerja" minted Rs. 75 crore from its box office run, while "The Jungle Book" has accumulated over Rs. 82 crore.
Despite the release of "Fan," the fantasy drama maintained a strong hold at the box office on its second Friday. Looking at this trend, it is certain that the film will earn Rs. 100 crore, a benchmark now used to measure the success of the film in India, by its second weekend. "The Jungle Book" will be the first Hollywood film and the second film of this year to surpass Rs. 100 crore mark.
"Looking at the current trends, #TheJungleBook is expected to cross ₹ 100 cr nett biz in its Weekend 2 itself. India biz. #TheJungleBook maintains a STRONG GRIP. [Week 2] Fri 8.02 cr. Total: ₹ 82.65 cr nett. India biz. FANTASTIC!" trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted.
If the film continues to have a strong grip, then it will possibly shatter the record of Akshay Kumar's "Airlift" to become the highest grosser. Akshay's "Airlift" is the biggest grosser with over Rs. 128 crore box office collection.
Directed by Jon Favreau, "The Jungle Book" is based on author Rudyard Kipling's eponymous novel. The film, which was released in the home country this week, collected a whopping $4.2 million just from Thursday's previews. The film is set for a $25 million opening day on Friday, according to Variety.
[1 lakh = 100,000 | 1 crore = 10 million | 100 crore = 1 billion]
