Record opening for 'Agneepath', earns Rs.25 crore

The magic of Vijay Dinanath Chauhan seems to have worked once again. Karan Johar's "Agneepath(2012)" has had a record opening day collection minting Rs.25 crore on the first day and surpassing the collections of recent blockbusters like "Bodyguard and "Ra.One".

While Salman Khan's "Bodyguard" earned Rs.22 crore, superstar Shah Rukh Khan's mega-budget "Ra.One" made Rs.18 crore on the opening day. But the Hrithik Roshan and Sanjay Dutt-starrer remake of the 1990 film of the same name, which released Thursday, has gone beyond.

Hrithik, who stepped into the shoes of megastar Amitabh Bachchan as Vijay, is excited that his hard work has paid off.

"WOW!!!! THANK u THANK u THANK YOU!!!!!!!!! Agneepath 1st day - 25cr!!!! My damaged bodyparts suddenly feel ALIVE, I feel like I can FLY now!!! Thank u people, I have the fuel now to make KRRISH EXPLODE!!!!" Hrithik wrote on his Twitter page.

Sanjay Dutt and the film's lead actress Priyanka Chopra, are equally delighted with the positive response, and have thanked fans for the amazing response to the film.

"'Agneepath' has redefined the power of Indian box office for all of us. It's heartening to see the strength of the Indian cinema audiences growing like this. We all were very confident of the film but for this kind of success and unprecedented number that it has posted on day one we must thank our audience," said Priyanka.

Sanjay took to Twitter after a year, to share his sentiments about the appreciation towards the movie, and his role as the villain, Kancha Cheena.

"I am overwhelmed with the response and support of everyone. Thank you for loving me so much," he wrote.

Since "Agneepath" was a Republic Day release, the theatres witnessed 90-95 percent occupancy.

"The film has had an excellent opening. The occupancy was around 95 percent. It was the most eagerly awaited and would be one of the biggest blockbuster," said Anant Verma, director and business head, DT Cinemas.

However, he says it would be unfair to compare the new "Agneepath" with the original as they have been given a completely different treatment.

"You can't compare the two films as they are shot differently and have different characters also. There is no connection between the two other than just the name," he added.

Yogesh Raizada of Waves Cinema adds that all the characters have done complete justice to their characters.

"The response to the film has been rocking on first day. We have had 90 percent occupancy. All the actors have done complete justice to their characters whether it is Rishi Kapoor as Rauf Lala, Hrithik as Vijay or Sanjay as Kancha Cheena," said Raizada.

The film, directed by debutant Karan Malhotra, and produced by Karan Johar, is expected to have a successful run at the box office in the coming days.

"Since there is no big movie releasing in the coming weeks, the film will work well," he added.