A lot of film pundits are burning the midnight oil on the question ‘Which is the biggest Hit at the box office Ek Tha Tiger or 3 Idiots?’ Question is interesting since, 3 Idiots might be the biggest grosser in India and every one will say 3 Idiots is the biggest Hit. But ETT has got the highest returns from theaters and Distributor Share determines film success, rather than Nett Gross.

Generally a film Distributor Share is more when Nett Gross is more. But in case of 3 idiots and ETT its inverse. 3 idiots Nett Gross is more, whereas ETT Distributor Share is more. Reason, ETT performed better in single screens and single screens return is higher than multiplexes where 3 Idiots did better business. Confusing right, we Addatoday Team tried to solve this box office puzzle with a little bit of simple mathematics.

Ek Tha Tiger (2012) - 198 crore nett (Expected). Distributor Share (Minus Theater Rentals from Nett Gross) is about 113 crores.

3 Idiots (2009 Dec/2010 Jan) - 202.5 crore nett. Distrbutor Share (Minus Theater Rentals from Nett Gross) is 99.02 crores. Since, 3 Idiots run in theaters in Dec 2009 & Jan 2010, its ticket prices were lower than ETT. If we consider an average ticket hike of 12.5% in last two years (15% in multiplexes and 10% in Single Screens). Going, by this 3 Idiots would have collected around 227.8 crore nett all India in the present time. Taking is distributor share* to around 112 crores.

So, if we now compare ETT Distributor share (113 crore expected) and 3 Idiots tickets ratesadjusted Distributor share (112 crore adjusted to present date) it is neck and neck.

Verdict - 3 Idiots and ETT are on same level of Hit and both are All Time Blockbuster. One can say 3 Idiots grossed around 4 crore more Nett at the box office or inversely one can say ETT grossed 1 crore more Distributor Share.3 Idiots performed better in multiplexes, whereas Ek Tha Tiger in single screens. Footfall for 3 Idiots is better in multiplexes, whereas single screens it was ETT ruling. Both performed exceptionally in both genre, be it multiplexes or single screens. Both are all India (each circuit) Hit. Overall footfall for both films is nearly same. ETT got bigger, wider opening than 3 Idiots. It registered better footfall than 3 idiots in Opening Week. But, in lifetime 3 Idiots trended better than ETT and hence, footfalls are more or less same. So, its every where, be it Distributor Share or Footfall it is neck and neck.

Since, it is really difficult to separate both these films by Box Office comparison, let’s be philosophical. We have a gut feeling that if 3 idiots would have released in Today’s times, it would have collected around 250 crore nett, going by the viewership growth. Still, can’t take anything away from ETT as it has broken all records of 3 Idiots, except Nett Gross all India. Shining days for Bollywood!

*Distributor share percentage is less for mutliplexes than single screens.