Pathaan has taken a bumper opening of around 60% on average and its the second bumper opening post the pandemic after KGF 2. The occupancy of the film is a little less than KGF 2 but it has a wider release and higher capacity than that film. 

The crucial noon show at single screens saw a huge response with housefull shows in many of the smaller centres be it UP, MP or Rajasthan. There are places in the Hindi circuits where the initial is not to the level of a War or KGF 2 but that is mainly because it is a Wednesday release and its not a holiday. Both War and KGF 2 saw holiday releases and for War it was a national holiday. If we take into account it is a Wednesday release and a non holiday then with these factors its an extraordinary response in mass centres and they will improve for the national holiday tomorrow.

The Hindi version will see new records in South India circuits with Nizam / Andhra leading the way but that holiday factor will probably keep it below KGF 2 in most of the Hindi circuits though it will challenge the national holiday releases like War and Thugs Of Hindostan. The initial of the film is a huge boost to the struggling film industry and coming outside a holiday shows the potential out there for business when the product is correct.

The film will be seen as the comeback of Shahrukh Khan but that is not really the case as the stardom always remained intact and it was about the right film and Pathaan ticked the right boxes as numbers were going to be hard with the traditional Shahrukh Khan genre of romance or the more lighter film at least teh initial numbers. It would have been great had he done this type of film in the 2010-2020 decade but it was not be. There were the Don films earlier but those films go more to towards the thriller zone rather than action.

Shahrukh Khan has had many bumper openings and record openings before but the three films which stand out for the first day craze are Karan Arjun, Koyla and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham and now Pathaan is up there with those films. If it was a national holiday then Pathaan would have probably stood alone at the top as today that holiday factor make a difference as compared to the days of those other films above. The releases are huge as compared to earlier and Pathaan is the biggest ever and on a holiday there are more people out there to watch a film which pushes a film further.