Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan is poised to set a major box office record. The Indian actor, who is frequently referred to by his initials SRK, has appeared in nearly 100 movies since his debut in 1992’s Deewana. SRK has been the lead in two major Indian action projects this year, Pathaan, which became the fifth highest-grossing Indian movie of all time worldwide after opening on January 25, and Jawan, which premiered in theaters on September 7.

Per Collider, the Jawan box office is about to cross a major box office milestone. The movie has currently earned roughly $96 million worldwide, meaning it is just a matter of time before it crosses the $100 million mark. Considering the fact that Pathaan earned $128.7 million worldwide, this will mark the first time that an Indian actor has ever led two movies that crossed the $100 million mark, let alone within the same year.

India’s Global Box Office Power Is Growing

Part of the reason that the Jawan and Pathaan box office results are so strong is the presence of SRK himself. The star has amassed a massive audience by showing off his range throughout his career, transitioning from villain to romantic lead to action hero with ease, in the meantime collecting 14 Filmfare Awards. However, the success of both of these movies is also indicative of a steadily increasing global interest in Indian cinema.

Especially in the domestic North American market, exposure to Indian and Bollywood cinema tropes has largely been limited to English-language projects such as Bride and Prejudice and Slumdog Millionaire. However, last year’s splashy action epic RRR made a huge impression on the box office and went on to win an Oscar and a Golden Globe, fully breaking open the floodgates that had been slowly weathered by other recent releases.

Indian cinema has now exploded on the global scene, with RRR, Jawan, and Pathaan all joining the list of the Top 10 highest-grossing Indian movies of all time. In fact, of the Top 10 Indian movies, 5 of them came out in either 2022 or 2023 (the list also includes K.G.F: Chapter 2 and Gadar 2). It is only fitting that Shah Rukh Khan should be the first to break this major record, but it seems likely that more and more Indian stars will follow in the coming years, should this trend keep up.

Source: Collider