Salman Khan's Dabangg 2 beats SRK's Don 2

Karan Johar was ecstatic when Agneepath's satellite rights were sold for a whopping Rs. 37 crores (approx.) and Shah Rukh and Farhan were on top of the world when Don 2's satellite rights were sold for an impressive Rs. 32 crores (approx.) !

News has it that the sequel of Dabangg has managed to beat both these movies, and that producer Arbaaz Khan is being offered about Rs. 45 crores for the satellite rights. Arbaaz, it is heard, had received some tempting offers previously as well, but the man was not ready to sell anything just yet. He preferred to hold on for some time, and the fruits seem to have paid of.

Arbaaz Khan wasn't reachable to confirm or deny the news, but sources inform us that the filmmaker isn't ready to sell yet! Well, the Khans are surely making hay while the sun is shining, as Sallu prepares to don his Dabangg garb all over again, this time with a slight difference.

‘Don 2’ raked in Rs 15 crores on opening day

Looks like it is going to be a good year for Bollywood. Shah Rukh Khan`s latest offering ‘Don 2’ raked in Rs 15 crores on its opening day with trade pundits predicting the figures to go up as it is a Christmas weekend.

The year has seen some astounding Box Office collection for several films. While Bodyguard is leading the pack by garnering approximately Rs 89 crores in the first five days, SRK’s other film ‘RA.One’ is fourth in the list with a collection of Rs 80.3 crores in first five days.

Speaking to a daily, Gautam Dutta, chief operating officer, PVR Cinemas said, "Average occupancy across shows was 85-90%. A good thing is that bulk bookings by corporates for the next two days are also very high."

The film witnessed a great opening in overseas too. In the UAE, it grossed $360,000, which is more than Khan`s My Name is Khan which had collected $240,000 on the first day.

In the UK, the movie, which opened on Wednesday with limited shows, has raked in £202,000.

Directed by Farhan Akhtar, the film is a sequel of ‘Don’ which was a remake of the70s classic by the same name. Even though critics have stated that the film borrows from several Hollywood classics, the film is being lauded for its action sequences and SRK’s performance. An independent distributor predicted that ‘Don 2’ would collect more than Rs 35 crore from the overseas market itself.

According to sources, Reliance Entertainment has spent a whopping Rs 25 crore on the publicity of the film.

Don 2 – Complete Review

While the first film had the burden of being labeled as a remake of an old classic, this film sheds such inhibitions and manages to surpass its prequel. The story is pretty simple. It takes off from where the first part ends when Don (Shah Rukh Khan) escapes from the police only to resurface in Thailand in the new film.

After some inexplicable things, he surrenders in front of the police and old flame Roma(Priyanka Chopra).
Don is then sent to a jail in Malaysia where he meets his old enemy Vardhan What follows is an elaborate planned out jail break and Don and Vardhan manage to escape. They land up in Berlin, where Don with some old and some new associates plans to rob a bank.

The film’s plot isn’t original. It borrows from some of the most classic Hollywood thrillers like Ocean’s Eleven, Mission Impossible and Die Hard. Written by Farhan Akhtar, Ameet Mehta, Amrish Shah, the plot lacks freshness and is weak. But where the story falters, mind blowing action sequences make up for the loss.

The film has some amazing stunts and chase sequences. The car chase between Priyanka and SRK is definitely a high point of the film and so is the sequence where Shah Rukh escapes the clutches of an assassin and jumps from a high rise building.

The film belongs to Shah Rukh. So much so that a stellar cast comprising of Priyanka Chopra, Kunal Kapoor, Boman Irani and Om Puri fade in the background. Shah Rukh gives Don a completely different avatar. He has his smirk in place, he is cocky and he is evil. It is definitely refreshing to watch SRK play a negative character after ages with such ease. Remember Baazigar? Yes, SRK in Don plays the negative character with the same conviction and makes it look like no big deal. He almost glorifies negativity.

Watch the film for some awesome action sequences. And watch it for the King. He is truly back.

Zee buys satellite rights of ‘Don 2’ for Rs 37 cr!

Adding one more feather to its cap, Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘Don 2’ has bagged a deal worth crores. News had it that Zee Entertainment Enterprises has acquired the satellite broadcast rights of ‘Don 2-The Chase Continues’ for an estimated Rs 37 crore!

Touted as the biggest satellite deal, the rights are said to have been acquired for seven year. Jayantilal Gada, head of the film acquisition business at the Zee Group, however did not reveal the size of the deal which insiders say is the biggest satellite contract signed by Zee for a film.

For Reliance Entertainment, which acquired the film from producers Ritiesh Sidhwani, Farhan Akhtar and Shah Rukh Khan, 2011 has been a bumper year, with their last two films (‘Bodyguard’ and ‘Singham’) crossing the Rs 100-crore mark in terms of collections.

"Satellite is an important revenue stream for all presenters and producers, including us," said Reliance Entertainment chief strategy officer Priti Shahani.

‘Don 2’, the last big Hindi film release of the year, which is also Khan`s first sequel in his two-decade old career, had wrapped up all pre-release contracts.

The film releases December 23rd December.