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Aamir Khan's 'Dangal' Becomes The 5th Highest-Grossing Non-English Film In Cinema History

A recent-release in China gave it a multi-million boost.
VCG via Getty Images

Aamir Khan's wrestling-drama, directed by Nitesh Tiwari, has become the 5th highest-grossing non-English film of all time, according to a report in Forbes magazine.

Thanks to a recent Chinese release, Dangal amassed a whooping $179.8 million, more than double of what it grossed in India.

It's global total, till June 11, 2017, stands at $301 million or Rs. 1,930 crore, as far as its global ticket sales are concerned. This figure doesn't account for the money producers Aamir Khan and Disney made via other means: music, satellite, and streaming rights, which would be a significant amount in itself.

Since the film is still running in theaters, Forbes estimates that it'll easily gross yet another $10 - $15 million, and could topple the current film at the 4th spot (Japan's Your Name).

So far China's The Mermaid enjoys the top honor, with a global estimate of $553 million while the French comedy The Intouchables sits at the No. 2 spot with a cool $427 million. Monster Hunt (China) and Your Name (Japan) round off the top 4 with $386 million and $354 million respectively.

Dangal is currently at No. 5.

The film, for which Aamir went through a strenuous physical transformation, is a dramatic retelling of wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat's life, who challenged patriarchal norms by training his two daughters in wrestling.

The daughters, Geeta and Babita, (played by Fatima Sana Shaikh and Sanya Malhotra) went on to win gold medals at the Commonwealth Games, a feat that Phogat himself couldn't achieve, due to his circumstances.

It released to universal critical acclaim in India last Christmas and shattered all box-office numbers to become the highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time.

UPDATE: This article has been updated to reflect that Geeta and Babita won gold medals at the Commonwealth Games and not the Olympics as was previously stated.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.