India, Feb. 9 -- It was in 2017 that Aamir Khan's Dangal got its belated release in China and Hong Kong. Over the next six weeks, the sports drama rewrote the record books as it became the most successful overseas release in the country and set new box-office collection standards for Bollywood. Dangal had earned a little over Rs.600 crore worldwide prior to its release in China. After that, it ended its run with Rs.2070 crore, becoming the highest-grossing Indian film ever, a record it holds to this day.

In the nine years since, only a few films like Baahubali 2 and Pushpa 2 have come close to the Rs.2000-crore mark. Even with inflation and rising ticket prices, no film has managed to out-earn Dangal. But that is set to change, feels fil...