Shah Rukh Khan’s King, scheduled to be released in theatres on December 24 this year, has reportedly sold its overseas theatrical rights for Rs 175 crore. This sets a new record for Indian cinema. Phars Films bought the rights for this massive amount.
Needs to be bigger than Jawan
The deal, going by a report by a leading website, shows huge confidence from distributors. The Christmas release needs to make between $37-40 million internationally just to break even. It has to go beyond the gross earnings of SRK’s biggest films, Pathaan and Jawan.
If a distributor has paid, say, Rs 100 to acquire rights, for him to be break-even, the film needs to make Rs 200. Given this, King should earn about Rs 350 crore at the very least in foreign markets. Dhurandhar 2’s Rs 460 crore, for example, goes to show what kind of a staggering figure King will have to rake in.
Global stardom, blockbuster track record
SRK’s films enjoy remarkable popularity overseas, establishing him as Bollywood’s foremost global star. Since the mid-1990s, movies like Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge enjoyed appeal among the Indian diaspora in the US, UK, Middle East, Canada, and Australia. His portrayals of romance, identity, and emotion resonate widely. He has fans in markets such as Germany, where audiences have queued ahead of Hollywood stars. Recent blockbusters Pathaan and Jawan each grossed nearly $47–48 million abroad. Rajkumar Hirani-directed Dunki added further success, making 2023 a landmark year with over $100 million combined. Khan has topped the annual highest-grossing Hindi film overseas list a record 15 times.
Directed by Siddharth Anand, the action movie releases on December 24. It stars Shah Rukh Khan and also features his daughter Suhana Khan alongside other well-known actors. King features an ensemble cast that includes Suhana Khan, Deepika Padukone, Abhishek Bachchan, Rani Mukerji, Anil Kapoor, Jaideep Ahlawat, Abhay Verma, Arshad Warsi and Raghav Juyal, among others. The background score is composed by Anirudh Ravichander.
