Shah Rukh Khan’s Fan has taken a very good start at the Box Office. It was predicted in this column this week that the film would take an opening in the 20-25 crore range. This is how the numbers played too as the film collected 19.20 crore on Friday.

Considering the fact that Maneesh Sharma has made a slightly offbeat film here (when compared to the kind of work that Shah Rukh Khan is usually known for), these numbers have given a good platform for Fan to perform.

The film has now taken the biggest start for a non-holiday release, or when there is no national holiday in the entire Week One of release. This is how it stands in comparison with the rest:

Yeh Janwaai Hai Deewani – 19.45 crore

Fan – 19.20 crore

Ek Villain – 16.72 crore

When compared to the biggies in 2016, the film now enjoys the record for the highest Day One:

Fan – 19.20 crore

Airlift – 12.35 crore

The Jungle Book – 10.09 crore

However, Shahrukh Khan has seen bigger starts for his films:

Happy New Year – 44.97 crore

Chennai Express – 33.1 crore

Dilwale – 21.80 crore

Fan – 19.20 crore

Jab Tak Hai Jaan – 15 crore

While the critical acclaim for the film is generally positive with reviews ranging from good to very good, the audience word of mouth is decent to good too and better than Dilwale. Still, there have been a few who aren’t overtly pleased with the cinematic liberties taken and a wavering second half. It would have to be seen if that ends up making some impact to the kind of solid start that the film has taken.

Note: All collections as per production and distributor sources

Joginder Tuteja tweets @tutejajoginder