As predicted in this column last week, 'Rowdy Rathore' is now officially the best opener ever for Akshay Kumar. The way film carried immense buzz and hype for itself, the film was always looking at a 45-50 crore opening for itself. The theatrical run went as per the script and resultantly the film has now managed over 48 crores for itself.

This Prabhudheva directed film has now turned out to be one of those rare instances in recent times when the word of mouth has been largely positive. It is above average for some, good for most and very good for quite a few as well. With no negative word of mouth whatsoever (except from a segment of critics who were perhaps expecting 'The Shawshank Redemption' from Sanjay Leela Bhansali here), the film has been lapped up in a major way by the masses.

The film's super success has proven once again that 'masala' has never really gone out of vogue and the trend is only going to continue for time to come. Of course the shape and format may change, what with a saturation point expected to be reached for the South Indian remakes. However with Salman Khan's 'Ek Tha Tiger' promising 'masala' as well without getting into the remake zone, expect several mass pleasing films in years ahead.

As for the man of the moment, Akshay Kumar, the film is now second consecutive biggie for him after 'Housefull 2'. With 'Rowdy Rathore' aiming for 100 crores inside two weeks, the next immediate target is 120 crores. 'Agneepath', the highest grosser of the year so far, has collected this amount for Hrithik Roshan and it should now be surpassed by Akshay Kumar. In the process his own 'Housefull 2', 'Ra. One' and 'Ghajini' should be left behind, all of which collected in the range of 115 crores.