Will Akshay Kumar's Joker enter Rs. 100 crore club?

This year, he has delivered two back-to-back blockbusters — Housefull 2 and Rowdy Rathore (RR). And though Akshay Kumar waltzed into the Rs.100-crore club with these two films, the bar’s been set low for his next, Joker.The film has been sold for a mere Rs.40 crore to distributors UTV Motion Pictures.


And with a major part of the money already recovered through satellite and overseas rights, they need to make only a little more from the theatre collections to make profits. UTV partnered with Akshay to produce RR, and this seems to be the actor’s way of showing gratitude. Joker is produced by Akshay’s Hari Om Entertainment along with.

Three’s Company (owned by Farah Khan and Shirish Kunder), and made on a budget that’s reportedly between Rs.35 to Rs.40 crore. So, the film has essentially been sold to UTV at par. “Since Joker will attract the kids (the story involves aliens and has a lot of special effects), the film is sure to do well. With plenty of buzz around it already, the distribution company shouldn’t have any problems recovering the money,” says a source close to the film.

However, even before its release, the film is believed to have made around Rs.30 crore from different avenues, including satellite, home video and overseas rights. Insiders believe that satellite rights alone brought in around Rs.25 crore. “UTV has to make only a fraction of the money from theatrical revenues. And Akshay is happy because he doesn’t want anyone to lose money on Joker,” adds the source.

Insiders feel that the move was to ensure that Joker doesn’t have to make Rs.100 crore to become a blockbuster. “Since it has been sold for around Rs.40 crore, it can become a big hit,” informs the source.Joker also features the same lead pair as RR, that of Akshay and Sonkashi Sinha. “We are happy if people like our pair,” says Akshay, adding, “Joker is a special film since it deals with completely new.