Bharat Box Office collection: Salman Khan-starrer gets bumper opening

The Salman Khan-Katrina Kaif starrer managed to pull the crowd into theatres despite facing competition from India vs South Africa World Cup match.

New Delhi: Salman Khan's much-awaited period-drama 'Bharat', which faced tough competition from India vs South Africa World Cup match on its release day, has emerged as a blockbuster at the Box Office. Released on the occasion of Eid, the film has struck gold and as expected witnessed a grand opening day. 

The film, which opened in theatres on June 5, earned Rs 42.3 crore on its first day, thus smashing the first-day collection records of Salman's previous films, 'Prem Ratan Dhan Payo', 'Tiger Zinda Hai' and 'Sultan'. 

Noted trade analyst Taran Adarsh shared the first-day collection of the film in a series of tweets, writing, "#Bharat sets the BO on... East, West, North, South... Multiplexes, single screens... Metros, non-metros... Day 1 biz was mind boggling across the board, despite tough opposition from the crucial and much-hyped cricket match [#IndvSA #CWC19]." 

#Bharat sets the BO on ___... East, West, North, South... Multiplexes, single screens... Metros, non-metros... Day 1 biz was mind boggling across the board, despite tough opposition from the crucial and much-hyped cricket match [#IndvSA #CWC19]. — taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) June 6, 2019

"#Bharat hits the ball out of the park on Day 1...Emerges Salman’s biggest #Eid opener, surpassing *Day 1* biz of #Sultan [₹ 36.54 cr]. Emerges Salman’s *biggest opener ever*, surpassing *Day 1* biz of #PremRatanDhanPayo [ 40.35 cr]," he said in another tweet. 

#Bharat hits the ball out of the park on Day 1...
__ Emerges Salman's biggest #Eid opener, surpassing *Day 1* biz of #Sultan [_ 36.54 cr].
__ Emerges Salman's *biggest opener ever*, surpassing *Day 1* biz of #PremRatanDhanPayo [_ 40.35 cr]. — taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) June 6, 2019

In another tweet, Adrash said that Salman has once again proved to his contemporaries that he is the biggest crowd-puller in the Hindi film industry. 

"More #Salmania grips the nation... #Bharat storms the BO... Proves *yet again* Salman Khan is the biggest crowd puller... #Bharat opens much bigger than Salman - Ali Abbas Zafar’s #TigerZindaHai [₹ 34.10 cr] and #Sultan [₹ 36.54 cr]... Wed ₹ 42.30 cr. India biz," he wrote. 

#Salmania grips the nation... #Bharat storms the BO... Proves *yet again* Salman Khan is the biggest crowd puller... #Bharat opens much bigger than Salman - Ali Abbas Zafar's #TigerZindaHai [_ 34.10 cr] and #Sultan [_ 36.54 cr]... Wed _ 42.30 cr. India biz. — taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) June 6, 2019

The film received mixed reviews from critics, with praise directed at Salman and Katrina's performance, while Zafar's adaptation and screenplay received criticism.

'Bharat' is written and directed by Ali Abbas Zafar and is jointly produced by Atul Agnihotri, Alvira Khan Agnihotri, Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Nikhil Namit and Salman Khan under the banners Reel Life Productions, Salman Khan Films and T-Series.

The film features an ensemble star cast of Salman, Katrina Kaif, Disha Patani, Nora Fatehi, Jackie Shroff, Tabu, Sunil Grover and Aashif Sheikh among others.