By: Sima Malhotra

Kambakht Ishq made sure the Yash Raj Films’ stay at the top was as short-lived as possible.

Earning nearly $4 million on opening day alone, the Akshay Kumar joint Bollywood-Hollywood film topped New York as the best three-day opening ever, as Kambakht Ishq played in near-full theaters all across India, despite mixed reviews both at home and abroad.

The opening day box office revenue is a Bollywood record.

A rare joint project between Bollywood and Hollywood, Kambakht Ishq was filmed at Universal Studios in Hollywood and several other areas on the west side of Los Angeles. The film was one of the most anticipated films of the year, due to a star-studded cast of both Bollywood and Hollywood A-listers, including Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor from India, and Sylvester Stallone, Denise Richards and Brandon Routh representing American cinema.

With such a loaded cast, including some of Hollywood’s biggest names, Kambakht Ishq was a natural draw for audiences throughout India. The film sold out all preview screenings showing in 62 theaters throughout Mumbai, while late-night showings were reportedly at least 95% full.

“Audience reactions are very positive,” trade analyst Taran Adarsh told the Indian media, saying the movie may be a bigger box-office draw than last year’s Ghajini, which also had a remarkably high opening weekend. “It has shattered all records.”

While final numbers are not confirmed yet, the $4 million opening-day box office mark almost ensures the film will top the $8.4 million record set by New York last week.

A remake of Kamal Haassan’s 2002 Tamil hit, Pammal K. Sambandam, Kambakht Ishq, is a film featuring a battle-of-the-sexes-type theme. Kumar plays a stunt double who is a bit of a womanizer and lives life in the fast lane, while Kapoor is a model-turned-medical-doctor who does not believe in falling in love and thinks all men are dogs. Both characters are “united” in opposing the marriage of two people very close to them, mostly because it means Kumar and Kapoor have to deal with each other more often — a not-so-welcoming thought for both characters. However, the story finds a way to ultimately bring them both together in the oddest way possible.

With the big-bang box office performance of Kambakht Ishq, this is the second consecutive week a blockbuster film set a three-day opening-week record. Last week, New York was the second flick to establish an opening weekend box office mark for Yash Raj Films in the past six months. Previously, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, which opened on 956 screens nationwide, earned $8.4 million on its opening-day weekend in December 2008. The film is currently the highest-grossing opening three-day weekend release in Bollywood history.

Prior to Kambakht Ishq, only two other three-day releases have earned more than New York. In August 2008, Singh is Kinng, which starred Akshay Kumar, opened to a tune of just over $7.9 million. A few months earlier, Om Shanti Om earned about $7.3 million.

Released in more than 900 screens worldwide, New York also had an impressive opening in Australia, where it reportedly finished third among the country’s film charts last weekend. Also, British media outlets are reporting the film finished tenth among movies opening last weekend in the United Kingdom. A press release publicized by Yash Raj Films stated New York was also a top-ten earner in the United Arab Emirates. The movie opened on 60 screens in the United States, 40 in Britain and 30 in UAE, according to Yash Raj Films.

Both Kambakht Ishq and New York were scheduled to be released earlier this year; however, a revenue-sharing dispute between producers and movie theater owners halted the release of all new productions after April 4th. Both sides finally reached a resolution in early June, opening the door for both films to hit theaters worldwide.

Thanks to this week’s performance of Kambakht Ishq, Yash Raj’s New York will not have a chance to dethrone Coolie as the longest-running movie atop the box office revenue list. Released in December 1983, Coolie spent a record 173 consecutive weeks atop the charts, according to figures compiled by Box Office India. A distant second is the 2001 mega-hit Kabhi Kushi Kabhi Ghum, which was No. 1 on the charts for 124 consecutive weeks. Last year’s hit, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, only spent two weeks as top earner, while New York lasted merely one week as the box office champion.