Will Dhoom 3 Break Records Set by Chennai Express and Krrish 3?

Aamir Khan and Katrina Kaif starrer Dhoom 3 has raked in a record $9.5m (£5.8m) worldwide on its opening day, reports Variety.

According to company sources, the action thriller hit $6.1m in India and a further $3.44m in the rest of the world which includes $1.28m from the Middle East, which producer YRF claims is a record, and $1.1m from North America, which is again an all-new record for a Bollywood film.

In Pakistan, where authorities have recently tried to impose a ban on Indian films, Dhoom 3 scored $210,000, which YRF says, is the highest first day ever for any film.

One of the most eagerly awaited films, Dhoom 3 brings Katrina Kaif and Aamir Khan together for the first time.

In Dhoom 3, Aamir Khan plays the antagonist who is an accomplished acrobat and thief. He has Kaif as Aaliya, the acrobat diva for company and the series regular Bachchan Jr and Uday Chopra appear as diligent lawmen.

The film opened to mixed reviews by critics, some even calling it a dumbed-down version of the 2006 Hollywood film, The Prestige. The absence of logic and forced comedy are some of the other reasons cited by critics who believe that the film does not really live up to its expectations.

However, all these factors seem to bear no significance for the average moviegoers who are lapping up this holiday season entertainment fare with gusto. The film, in a way, sticks to conventional Bollywood norms with lots of heavy duty song and dance, melodrama, action and scintillating item numbers.

With a record breaking opening, it is only a matter of time before the film's success rivals (or surpasses) Shahrukh Khan's Chennai Express and Hrithik Roshan's Krrish 3 – 2013's two highest grossing Bollywood films.