Moviegoers queue up to book tickets of Bhaag Milkha Bhaag at Mona in Patna on Friday. Picture by Ranjeet Kumar Dey

Farhan Akhtar sprinting in the tracks left a trillion-dollar Hollywood science fiction fantasy far behind in the race to box office glory on Friday.

Directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra of Delhi 6 and Rang De Basanti fame, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag — the story of the struggle and success of athlete Milkha Singh — drew large crowds on the day of its release.

Sources said it raked in more money (Rs 9.5 lakh) than other sports films like Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Chak De! India (2007) and Paan Singh Tomar (2010), which collected Rs 8.2 lakh and Rs 6.3 lakh on the first day, respectively.

With 14 shows at Cinepolis, Mona and Elphinstone, it was also the winner against Guillermo del Toro’s apocalyptic vision of a futuristic battle of humans against robots — Pacific Rim. With only five shows at Mona and Cinepolis, it scarcely attracted any viewers.

“Very few people came to see Pacific Rim. Even those who came for it, joined the queues in front of the Bhaag Milkha Bhaag counters,” said Cinepolis manager Abhishek Ranjan.

The duration of the film — a little more than three hours — was hardly a deterrent for lovers of Farhan Akhtar or Milkha Singh, whose lightning speed earned him the sobriquet “The Flying Sikh” from Pakistani dictator General Ayub Khan.

“The film has done exceptionally well. It would have done better if it were not the first Friday of the holy month of Ramazan,” said Ranjan, adding that he hoped for a greater response over the weekend.

Sports lovers and those indifferent to athletics were equally enthusiastic about the film that opened to full houses.

Bihar Players’ Association president Mritunjay Tiwari said: “The popularity of a film on the life of a sportsperson shows how much respect he or she commands. Not many people can follow the life and times of a sportsperson closely. A film like this gives them an opportunity to find out more and get inspired by the lives of legendary athletes like Milkha Singh.”

Tiwari caught the evening show of Bhaag Milkha Bhaag at Cinepolis. Like him, many others found the film an engaging mixture of entertainment and sports.