Karan Johar's much-anticipated new film My Name is Khan broke the record for the largest opening weekend ever for a Hindi film in North America grossing an estimated $1.86 million in its first weekend, February 12-14. Starring Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, the Fox Searchlight release averaged a stellar $15,500 from 120 theaters across the United States and Canada. The previous record was held by Khan's musical extravaganza Om Shanti Om which grossed $1.76 million from 114 theaters when it was released over the Diwali holiday weekend in 2007.
My Name is Khan opened on Friday with $444,000, rose 65% to $734,000 on Saturday, and is estimated to dip 7% to $682,000 on Sunday, Valentine's Day. Monday's Presidents' Day holiday in the US will lead to a four-day debut of more than $2 million. MNIK also generated the highest per-theater average of any film in the Top 20 over the weekend.
