First weekend performance of latest release
There was absolutely no surprise in which the three releases of the Friday gone by - BIG BROTHER, LIFE MEIN KABHIE KABHIIE and BHEJA FRY - behaved. Though some heads turned in surprise to see BIG BROTHER meeting with a good response up North; it was mentioned in this very column last week that the film did have its chances in the circuit. What surprised though was to see the film doing quite well not just in Punjab and UP [Sunny's hot territories] but even Bihar, Rajasthan and Gujarat.
The film saw a good opening in the entire North India belt and though Mumbai was quite dull, film maker Guddu Dhanoa would still be smiling to see his long delayed film fetching a decent initial in rest of the country. Nevertheless, in order to be called a neat success, the film needs to sustain itself beyond a good opening weekend and once the collections are disclosed for the first week, the picture would become clearer for final box office outcome of BIG BROTHER.
LIFE MEIN KABHIE KABHIEE opened to a very poor response and no one but the team that looked at the promotional campaign of the film needs to be blamed. What were they trying to sell the film on? A campus fun caper? Love story? Musical? Yet another film relying on an ensemble set up? What exactly was the film's USP? This is something that wasn't disclosed whereas the fact was the film's USP lied in its rich dramatic content and a story that kept you engrossed in the proceedings!
Agreed that Vikram Bhatt had a string of box office disappointments behind him but still why such a half hearted effort in film's publicity? Result was for everyone to see as the audience didn't even walk into the theaters, let alone spreading any word of mouth. A complete non-starter, it would be an unlucky venture for Bhatt as he extracted some real fine performances from his entire team.
Small/new age cinema has worked yet again. After BEING CYRUS, KHOSLA KA GHOSLA and THE NAMESAKE, add BHEJA FRY to the list of films that have been accepted by the audience in spite of a plot that breaks the norm with a narrative that is clearly experimental. A film that completely lied on the shoulders of Vinay Pathak, BHEJA FRY has taken a positive opening and the way opening weekend has looked, it would clearly cover its investment at the least.
Last week's movies
Regarding box office outcome of SLBB, it was mentioned last week that "if the film's trending doesn't move towards stability soon, it would turn out to be a loosing venture for everyone involved." Sadly, the worst fear has come true as the film only dipped down as the days progressed and by the time the first week was through, writing was clear on the wall. Surprisingly there wasn't even a revival effort by those associated with the film as SLBB continued to move downhill.
Released at over 400 cinemas, the film's collections stood at only 6 crores with only Mumbai managing to cross 1 crore mark. Delhi was second best with merely 50 lakhs that clearly indicates that the film has not caught the fancy of audience. Due to its low prices, SLBB may eventually scrape through to be coverage at the least though even that would be quite a task for the film. While Suneel Darshan may be left wondering about his switch of genres by making a multiplex film after a string of single screen successes, the only person who seems to have benefited most is Upen Patel who got to play his first ever full fledged role.
PROVOKED failed to create any ripple and is en route to folding up after an unimpressive first week. Releasing without any hype and on verge of disappearing in a matter of fortnight, this Aishwarya Rai starrer just managed to reach the 1.25 crore mark. Both Mumbai and Delhi had poor collections in the vicinity of 10 lakhs each and with a big fall expected in the second week, it is not the ideal pre-wedding gift that Ash would have expected from the box office.
From the past
DELHII HEIGHTS, KHANNA & IYER and SAY SALAAM INDIA are absolute disasters and have wrapped up in a matter of a fortnight. Collections of each of the three films were negligible in the third week as they were hardly in the running at any theaters. It's time now for the films' DVDs to be out on stands.
Yet again, NAMASTEY LONDON took less than an industry standard fall of 50%. While the second week saw only 40% drop, even third week was good as the film witnessed only 45% fall. With further 5 crores coming in, the film clearly shows that Akshay Kumar continues to be the darling of the masses and is one of the most consistent (and successful) star-actors around as the film has turned out to be a clear HIT.
In a matter of 3 weeks, NAMASTEY LONDON has crossed the 30 crore mark and continues to be patronized due to ever increasing word of mouth. A (minor) segment of audience may have ignored it in the beginning due to a loud feel that the film gave but even they are now giving the film a dekko. The film is doing good in Mumbai [85 lakhs] and Delhi [50 lakhs] while even smaller centers are adding on to film's collections.
In the times when biggest of films with massive promotional campaign/star power behind them are falling like nine pins at the box office, Mira Nair's THE NAMESAKE continues its dream run in not just overseas (its target audience) but even India.
After a lukewarm start, the film went on to register good numbers in the first week and the trend has repeated in the third week as the film has sustained amazingly with mere 25% fall. Registering yet another 1 crore plus week, the film is now a very good box office winner and has crossed the 3.5 crore mark.
Shahid Kapoor's honeymoon is now into its 23rd week as VIVAH boasts of yet another consistent week with 15 lakhs more being added on. Further 15 lakhs away from crossing 32 crore, the feat should be achieved in a week's time.
In the future
One medium budget film and 3 really small films arrive this Friday. While KYA LOVE STORY HAI comes with a massive promotional drive, MY BOLLYWOOD BRIDE, PAPPU PAAS HO GAYA and PANGAA NA LO aren't even known to many. These three films hardly stand a chance and have disasters written all over.
While MBB comes 3 years late and has Kashmira Shah as USP, PPHG too is a delayed product that stars Kashmira with Jackie Shroff's presence in the project indicating a sorry tale. PNL is a comedy and if only it was promoted and placed better, this Om Puri-Satish Shah film may have sprung a surprise.
All of this makes Shahid Kapoor-Ayesha Takia starrer as the first choice of cinegoers this week and is expected to open in the vicinity of 40%. Good part about KLSH is that it has been publicized heavily with the promos giving a clear indication of what it is all about. Also the soundtrack by Pritam is popular with 'It's Rocking' literally rocking the charts.
On the flipside the film gives an impression of deja vu with KLSH sounding like yet another teen romance/drama with hardly any twists. Moreover it has just a week to prove itself since the coming weekend sees the arrival of TA RA RUM PUM which is going to invade screens all over in a big way.