First weekend performance of latest release
There was absolutely no surprise when 'Kudiyon Ka Hai Zamaana' came on Friday and opened to miserable houses. A stuck project with minimal publicity and practically zero awareness, the film marks a disastrous beginning to 2007. The film doesn't stand a run beyond one week at the theaters. There was another small time film called 'Game' [starring Sameer Dharmadhikari, Sherlyn Chopra] that released at select theatres but met with a similar fate at the box office on its opening weekend.
Last week's movies
'I See You' came as a dampener at the very end of a highly successful 2006. If the opening was miserable, the following days too didn't see any footfalls to cheer about. Releasing at select theatres across the country, the film couldn't even cross 1 crore mark as it wrapped up its first week at a shade above 75 lakhs. In an age when a solitary B center with decent credentials can generate as much revenue in an opening week, it was highly disappointing to see Arjun Rampal's debut production sinking without a trace.
Both Mumbai and Pune came up with approximate 11.5 lakhs while Delhi couldn't even cross 10 lakhs. One feels sorry for the leading actress Vipasha who was off the press before the film's release and now is hardly talked about due to massive blow taken by the film at the box office.
From the past
'Bhagam Bhag' is the sole movie that is running across India with decent collections to show. After a 21 crore first week, the film took a little less than 50% fall to end at 12 crores. This has proved that the film has held itself well due to sheer appreciation from the paying public. Never mind the critics backlash it got on it's release; just like 'Malamaal Weekly', 'Bhagam Bhag's is yet another audience hit for director Priyadarshan.
Standing at 33 crores, the film is now hit at the box office and marks a positive comeback for Govinda. Meanwhile Akshay Kumar has only consolidated his superstar position with the film doing very good business in A centers like Mumbai [around 2.5 crores] & Delhi [1.25 crores] and even other B and C centers. Suniel Shetty now has reasons to smile since he has first hit to his credit as a producer after the downfall of 'Khel' and 'Rakht'.
With zero competition from the new releases, 'Kabul Express' held on well in the 3rd week by dropping less than 50% from the second week. The film collected around 1.5 crores and has now crossed 11 crores to be categorized as an average success. The film's biggest success zone is Mumbai from where it generated more than 50 lakhs. On the other hand Delhi surprised as it moved up from 3 lakhs to around 7 lakhs. One wonders if the collections revealed from the city last week were accurate and came from all the theatres.
Another surprise that is baffling many is that while Arshad Warsi was clearly the film's lead with John in a supporting role, it is being assumed/termed otherwise in numerous sections of media. Not fair!
With even Salman Khan coming and accepting 'Baabul' to be an all India flop, there is absolutely no debate left about the film's performance at the Indian box office. The film continued to sink to lower depths as it collected just about 65 lakhs in it's 4th week. After barely crossing 17 crores, the film should be only dealing in a few lakhs or so to end below 17.5 crores. A rare failure for a film starring Amitabh Bachchan and Rani Mukherjee together in principal roles. The film may just about manage to do well on the satellite medium once it is premiered on the small screen.
Meanwhile 'Dhoom 2' continued to add to its tally with more than 2.5 crores being added to its 80 crore total of last week. At 82 crores, the film should manage to touch 85 crore mark in its final run. In fact the film was most consistent at Mumbai [50 lakhs] and Delhi [45 lakhs] where it slid down just marginally from 65 lakhs and 57 lakhs respectively.
It is 50 days for Shahid Kapoor and Amrita Rao as their 'Vivah' showed a jump from its 6th week total of 1.5 crore to 1.8 crores. A rare happening in the world of Hindi cinema, especially in today's market. At 25 crores, the film is a Superhit all over the country. Now would that prompt Sooraj Barjatya to continue making family films for his banner or would he be diversifying into different genres? As a film lover, one would want him to opt for the latter and surprise the audience!
In the future
First big release for 2007 comes in the form of 'Guru' and all eyes are set on the film to see if it turns out to be a worthy follow-up to many a superhit films that 2006 has given to audience. Mani Ratnam may not have tasted success at Hindi movies box office but while 'Dil Se' is now almost considered as a classic with re-runs on satellite medium and 'Yuva' being a case study for cinema students, the tables have turned around for the director! This proves that his films were probably way ahead of their times but boasted of high quality nevertheless.
If one looks from sheer commercial point of view, 'Guru' seems to be a much more comfortable box office bet than the two aforementioned films. The delay has only helped in film's publicity picking up in a big way and the star power and hit music should ensure that film takes a good 70-80% opening.
Other release of the week is 'Anwar' and though its postponement from December to January has helped in creating awareness about it, it still is not the kind of film that many would love to flock on the day of its release. The film looks promising with good performances and story telling but a dark/disturbing theme coupled with lack of star factor would go against a safe opening.