'Dangal' on its way to breach the Rs 5 billion mark in box office collections

2016 was a great year for Bollywood sports movies, or more specifically, for sports biopics.

As many as five such films hit the theaters, of which two went on to become mammoth successes, recording over Rs 3 billion ($44 million) each in box office collections.

But the year's first Rs 5 billion grosser ($73.4 million) might just be around the corner.

Superstar Aamir Khan's Dangal which released during the Christmas weekend has already collected Rs 4 billion ($58.7 million) in domestic and worldwide box office.

Currently, it trails only Salman Khan's Sultan in India collections, but is likely to surpass the film in the next few days, given the free run it is enjoying in the theaters in the absence of any other major release.

A Bollywood trade analyst tweeted about the film's surging collections.

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Dangal and Sultan are both stories that revolve around wrestling, a hugely popular sport in the northern Indian state of Haryana — where the films are set.

Both projects are headlined by two of India's biggest stars who underwent a much talked about body transformation for their respective roles.

While Sultan made most of the mid-year Eid weekend, Dangal came in at the end of the season and turned out to be the biggest money-spinner for Bollywood that churns out hundreds of films every year, even more than Hollywood.

The films' combined success has not only given the industry a much-needed impetus in terms of commercials, but also dismissed all existing notions about sports biopics not working in India.

And interestingly, both films came in the year India won its first Olympic medal in women's wrestling.

Sweet coincidences, then!