India's 'Dhoom 3' targets 2,000 Chinese cinema screens

Action film "Dhoom: 3" is Bollywood's biggest hit of all time, and from July 25 we will find out how Chinese audiences respond to the domestic blockbuster. The heist movie, set in Chicago, USA, has series mainstays Jai Dixit and Uday Chopra on the case of an acrobatic bank robber. Khan is the orphan son of a circus owner who, having pledged to revenge his father's death, sets about relieving a Chicago banking institution of its funds in a series of daring heists. Abhishek Bachchan and Uday Chopra play the police force buddies tasked with catching the elusive thief, while Hong Kong-born Katrina Kaif plays Khan's circus aide; British actor Andrew Bicknell steps in as the Chicago bank's chief and the man who made Khan's character what he is today. Made on a budget of INR1.50 billion (US$24.9m), it recouped INR5.33 billion ($88.7m) at the box office following a December 2013 release for "Dhoom: 3," Indian cinema's domestic all-time high. And Bollywood superstar Khan already has a level of recognition among Chinese cinemagoers, notes The Hollywood Reporter, as 2011 saw "3 Idiots" accrue nearly US$3 million after inclusion in China's foreign film quota for the year. Originally produced in Hindi, "Dhoom: 3" (lit. "Blast 3") will be shown with a Mandarin voice dub for Chinese audiences in over 400 cities from July 25.