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First weekend performance of latest release Box office is known to throw a surprise or two every now and then. On the face value, it always seemed that JOHNNY GADDAAR would have an edge over DIL DOSTI ETC. in the opening weekend, even though on the lower side. None of the two films were expected to make much waves on their release and all depended upon the actual credentials and word of mouth. What actually transpired was just the opposite. Though both JOHNNY GADDAAR and DIL DOSTI ETC. opened to a sub 50% response, the latter had an edge. First timer Manish Tiwary's well made take on youth in a campus setting saw a greater foot fall than JOHNNY GADDAAR at number of centers. Though the film saw mixed reviews coming it's way, a low budget DIL DOSTI ETC. at the minimum is en route to recovering it's cost and also make some profit. On the other hand JOHNNY GADDAAR is one of the best films to have come out this year and is easily an intelligently made piece of cinema by director Sriram Raghavan. The film didn't quite open on a heartening note but the word of mouth has been terrific all over with everyone from audience to critics to industry folks coming up with wholehearted appreciation. If exhibitors show courage to give it another fortnight's run, JOHNNY GADDAAR has in it to make an impression at the box office. Last week's movies It is hardly 'surprising' any more when Priyadarshan films turn out to be so-called 'surprise successes'. It happened with MALAMAAL WEEKLY and later BHAGAM BHAG, none of which got any favor from the critics but turned out to be huge audience hits. DHOL is now following the same path too and has turned out to be yet another earner for the director who may be accused of making similar films but is still finding favor from the audience. A 10 crore opening in the week when India was at it's peak in 20-20 cricket is no mean achievement. With Mumbai fetching more than 1.5 crores, Delhi too crossing the 1 crore mark and Delhi NCR at 60 lakhs, the film needs just one more good week to be termed as a hit. This medium budget film emphasizes the point once again that Tusshar Kapoor's safest bet is a comedy and consolidates the fact that Rajpal Yadav is the best comic actor on the scene today. Sharman gets yet another multi starrer success while Kunal Khemu now has three consecutive earners [KALYUG, TRAFFIC SIGNAL, DHOL] to his name! MANORAMA SIX FEET UNDER is the biggest box office disaster for Abhay Deol ever since he started his career. No wonder, he is expected to be at his wits end since he came up with a very good act in a well made film but is let down to all around combination of horrible publicity, poor marketing, bad product placement and strange release strategy. Nevertheless, debutant director Navdeep Singh can take heart from the fact that his work has been noticed and now he has a released film behind him even though the business reads just about 30 lakhs from across the country. From the past AGGAR could well be termed as a box office disaster of the year. With a 95% fall in it's second week and near to negligible collections to show, this decent thriller only managed to shock everyone associated with it. The film has done less than what Mahadevan's recent release VICTORIA NO, 203 earned and has folded up at a mere 95 lakhs. NANHE JAISALMER too shared the same fate and has failed to cross even 35 lakhs from across the country after two weeks. DARLING is another massive box office failure as yet another 80% + fall in the third week means that the film would fall short of touching 2.5 crores. No wonder, the DVDs are out on stands this weekend for this Ram Gopal Varma film, which ironically is his best effort since SARKAR. This takes me to DHAMAAL. After a shaky opening, the film settled down after the opening weekend and went on to do decent first week business. It was particularly good in it's second week when the fall was less than 40% while third week has held on reasonably well too in spite of 20-20 and another comic release DHOL. With less than 60% fall and 3.5 crores more coming in, DHAMAAL has crossed the 25 crore mark to be termed as a Semi-Hit. While Mumbai got home 70 lakhs, Delhi stood at 30 lakhs. The film still would continue for some more time at the box office since continued revenue is expected as it moves deeper into B and C centers. The film's prospects are not just restricted to multiplexes and would make inroads into single screens too. HEYY BABYY fell by 70% in the 5th week but not before turning out to be Akshay Kumar's first 50 crore earner. Earning 80 lakhs more, the film is a superhit all over the country and is now getting ready for it's DVD release. A good family film which is bound to be a massive success on both home video and television circuits too! Meanwhile CHAK DE INDIA is simply relentless and in the week when it completed it's 50 days, it stayed as one of the Top-3 preferred movies and went on to net close to 2 crores more. Fabulous. With mere 35% in the week when only DHOL and to an extent DHAMAAL worked, the film has now crossed 60 crores at the box office. If one doesn't take inflation into account, CHAK DE INDIA is Shahrukh Khan's biggest box office earner ever as it has now crossed the 58 crores total of DDLJ while leaving KUCH KUCH HOTA HAI'S 50 crores way behind. In the future Till about a couple of years back, there used to be a big lull in film releases before Id, Dussehra and Diwali. It is no more the same now with multiple releases every week, courtesy multiplexes. This Friday too sees 4 movies arriving at the theaters, though each of them is a low budget flick. CHHODON NAA YAAR, GO, ITS BREAKING NEWS and 50 LAKH are the four movies arriving in the town and each of them have taken their own time in hitting the marquee. Both ITS BREAKING NEWS and 50 LAKH are seeing restricted releases and are hardly expected to make a dent at the box office. On the other hand neither CHHODON NAA YAAR nor GO are the flicks which would make crowds throng the theaters in dozens. The only film that may eventually survive to stay in the running opposite BHOOL BHULAIYAA and LAAGA CHUNARI MEIN DAAG (both releasing a week after) would be the one with the merits!
Box office analysis-September 28 , 2007
First weekend performance of latest release While CHHODON NAA YAAR saw some last moment release reshuffle pushing it all the way to the month of October (a good decision), the other three releases of the week followed exactly the same pattern as predicted in this column last week. It was mentioned that "DHOL is expected to fetch a barely decent start (40%-50%) with potential to grow further...". This is exactly the range in which the film opened though Saturday and Monday shows were ghastly due to crucial cricket matches with Australia and Pakistan. The film is just about decent fair form Priyadarshan and nowhere near some of his more popular work. Still, with no major release till 12th October when BHOOL BHULAIYAA and LAAGA CHUNARI MEIN DAAG strike, DHOL may just about manage to stay on to be the first choice of cine-goers when it comes to mass entertainers. Don't expect DHOL to do MALAMAAL WEEKLY at the box office which made consistent revenue for around 5-7 weeks and turned into a big hit! There were chances that LOINS OF PUNJAB PRESENTS followed the same route as BHEJA FRY. Though it is far from doing a 7-8 crores business which BHEJA FRY did, it would still end up covering it's costs at the least since it is being patronized by urban crowds, it's target audience. A near 40-50% opening for a film like this is certainly not bad and some of the big wigs of the industry have taken notice of writer-director-actor Manish Acharya's debut effort and are queuing up to have a dekko at what he has offered. MANORAMA SIX FEET UNDER suffered most at the box office in spite of good reviews from most. First and foremost it's promotion was one of the worst ever for Abhay Deol, probably even worse than that of AHISTA AHISTA. Secondly, the release came unannounced. Thirdly, the film was screened at show timings which were the most odd in the day (early morning, late night). If only these things could have been taken care of, this unique film would have managed some eyeballs at the least. No one is claiming that MANORAMA SIX FEET UNDER was THE blockbuster in the offering but an opportunity given to it's target audience would have at least ensured that debutant director Navdeep Singh gets his due. As of now, the film is a barely two week runner. Last week's movies Add AGGAR and NANHE JAISALMER to be two of the biggest box office disasters of the year so far. In fact AGGAR could well take the crown since it released at a huge number of cinemas(350+) and couldn't even cross the 1 crore mark. This one stands as the poorest opener of the year so far with such a huge print count. At 90 lakhs, the film would be fortunate to reach 1 crore mark as near negligible collections are expected in week 2. In fact the film couldn't even touch 10 lakhs mark in either Mumbai or Delhi, the biggest territories. Expect it's DVD to be out in a fortnight's time. On the other hand makers of NANHE JAISALMER would have been tempted to release the film's DVDs the moment first show commenced. Standing at an all India total of 30 lakhs, the film is the biggest ever trade disaster between Bobby Deol and Sunny Deol. 2007 may have brought some good reviews for Bobby Deol [SHAKALAKA BOOM BOOM, JHOOM BARABAR JHOOM, NAQAAB, APNE, NANHE JAISALMER] but except for APNE, box office continues to be unkind for him. From the past It has been horrendous time for Bollywood currently with most of the films failing to sustain beyond two weeks at the box office. Add DARLING to the list. The film has folded up loud and clear as it fell by close to 90% in the second week and got home mere 30 lakhs. At close to 2.5 crores, the film is a 'gham' for Fardeen Khan after some 'khushi' for him in HEYY BABYY. Ram Gopal Varma gets his 4th consecutive box office failure after SHIVA, NISHABD and RAM GOPAL VARMA whereas Esha Deol, who was banking heavily on DARLING would now have to look elsewhere. Sad, because released at any other time of the year, this well made film could have been an average grosser at the least. DHAMAAL has held on quite well in the second week in spite of huge competition from 20-20 cricket. In fact, if one looks at the collections of the week gone by, it was the only film to have notched up good numbers. At 8 crores (very good) and falling down by just 40% in the second week, DHAMAAL is now en route to be at least a semi-hit with 21.5 crores in it's kitty. The film was quite good in Mumbai with 1.6 crores coming in (compared to 2.5 crores last week) whereas Delhi was unbelievably superb with 95 lakhs against last week's total of 1.25 crores. A good success for everyone involved with the film and a shot in the arm for Indra Kumar and Ashok Thakeria who can now forget PYAARE MOHAN behind them. RAM GOPAL VARMA KI AAG is gone; simply gone as it has folded up at 8 crores. Period. On the other hand VICTORIA NO. 203 and DHOKHA were not even in the radar in their third week. After a 60% thumping last week, HEYY BABYY recovered decently to see less than 55% fall. With more than 2.5 crores coming in and the film's total finally crossing 50 crores, it is celebration time for Akshay Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh and Fardeen Khan who get their first 50 crores superhit. Sajid Khan has struck hard with his first ever major directorial effort while Sajid Nadiadwala too would consider JAAN-E-MANN has a dream forgotten. In it's 6th week, CHAK DE INDIA has now overtaken what HEYY BABYY earned in it's 4th week. The film is rock steady with mere 30% fall in collections (simply superb!). Cricket and CHAK DE are working in conjunction with each other as the film has earned further 3 crores in the week gone by. At 58 crores, the film is a blockbuster. In the future Two young films - JOHNNY GADDAAR and DIL DOSTI ETC. - release this weekend. Out of the two, JOHNNY GADDAAR is expected to do fair business and an opening of 50% would be considered quite decent. Last fortnight has seen a splurge in the film's promotion and a 'unique' feel to it is expected to get an initial audience which should translate into enhanced word of mouth. A word of caution though - in the very first week of the film, there are two one day international cricket matches (Sat, Tue) between India and Australia. On the other hand DIL DOSTI ETC. looks like an interesting film but has been promoted poorly. It is expected to be a well made film but doesn't look promising at the box office.
Box office analysis-September 20 , 2007
First weekend performance of latest release "20-20 Cricket sab movies ko kha gayi" [20-20 Cricket ate up the business of all films in the running] This was the most frequent statement which I heard in the week gone by! Otherwise how else can one explain collections ranging from 5% to barely 30%-40% for most of the movies in the running, whether good or bad, old or new, English or Hindi? Even while writing this piece last week, I was sure about the fact that AGGAR won't open more than 30%-40%. Still, a revival was always on the cards if only the film was genuinely good and the word of mouth was strong. But how can a film grow on word of mouth when the collections are barely 20% odd and 20-20 cricket is on full steam throughout the weekend? Result? After VICTORIA NO. 203, AGGAR seems all set to be yet another trade flop in a row for Ananth Mahadevan who ironically has come up with his most polished work till date. NANHE JAISALMER was even worse with collections lesser than those of AGGAR. Unexciting promotion, dated feel, unconventional plot, zero hype and general negativity around the product meant that this decent film (which warrants for a comfortable DVD watch) would be termed as a box office disaster in one week plot. Indeed a sad weekend for Bollywood! Last week's movies At any other point of the year or released with some other's director's name attached to the project, the least DARLING would have managed is a coverage status. Alas, it came a week after RGV saw his biggest professional setback with AAG. Result? An out and out audience rejection to the film as they chose not to venture into the theaters at all. Mere 2 crores in collections from across the country more than proves that. Mumbai fared best with 60 lakhs and Delhi standing at 20 lakhs. The film has more or less been discontinued from the theaters in the second week and a fall of more than 80% in the second week is definitely on the cards. DHAMAAL was always being seen as a safe film. In the end, this is the best status it would end up earning eventually since a below average opening followed by a crucial 20-20 Cricket match for India translates into a 13.5 crores opening for the movie. Average at best, though it deserved a far better fare, DHAMAAL has turned out to be the GOLMAAL of 2007. This Ajay Devgan starrer from last year had also opened slow though it had consolidated over the period of time to be termed as a semi-hit. DHAMAAL is not looking at a 30 crore total though if it manages to hold on well over the coming 3-4 weeks before BHOOL BHULAIYAA strikes, it could at least attain a semi-hit box office status. In it's first week, DHAMAAL was best in Mumbai at over 2.5 crores with Delhi crossing the 1.25 crores mark. Ahmedabad was good at 80 lakhs though. From the past After dozens of gigabytes being exhausted on RAM GOPAL VARMA KI AAG, it doesn't seem to be news anymore when the film finds it's way out of theaters in two weeks flat in spite of releasing at close to 600 cinemas. With greater than 95% fall in the second week (something which is possibly unparalleled in the history of Hindi cinema), the film managed to net barely 35 lakhs more and is all but folded at 8 crores. The film is clearly the mother of all box office disasters and it would require a real bad film to overtake it's fate! VICTORIA NO. 203 hardly added 5 lakhs to it's last week's total and has folded up at 1 crore. A certified box office disaster. Ditto for DHOKHA which is the biggest box office failure in the decade gone by for the Bhatts. The film has not even managed to reach anywhere near 1 crore and is closing at 70 lakhs. One wonders where is the movie being shown after all the news around it being made tax free! It should be a week's time before Akshay Kumar, Fardeen Khan, Riteish Deshmukh and Vidya Balan can start celebrating their 50 crores super hit! With 5.5 crores more coming in the 4th week, HEYY BABYY may have taken a 60% fall but has still netted 47.5 crores. Though Mumbai saw a substantial fall from 2.75 crores to 80 lakhs and Delhi too earning only 70 lakhs compared to 1.75 crores last week, HEYY BABYY is all in all a super-success and expected to rock further on the DVDs. Comparatively CHAK DE INDIA has seen better box office outcome with the lowest fall in collections. With a mere 40% fall, the film has earned another 4.5 crores and has now crossed the 55 crores mark. Exciting times are expected ahead to ascertain if the 60 crores milestone would be eventually met by CHAK DE INDIA in the long run! Mumbai continues to be excellent with 90 lakhs coming in while Delhi is superb as well with 70 lakhs. In the future Filmi-mela begins with horde of releases every weekend. DHOL, LOINS OF PUNJAB PRESENTS, MANORAMA SIX FEET UNDER and CHHODON NAA YAAR are the four films in the running this time around. Out of the four, while DHOL is expected to fetch a barely decent start (40%-50%) with potential to grow further if assisted by good word of mouth, LOINS OF PUNJAB PRESENTS may just do a BHEJA FRY in the metros. While CHHODON NAA YAAR is a non-starter with a patchy release not helping it's case either, one feels pity for Abhay Deol starrer MANORAMA SIX FEET UNDER to be releasing in the fashion it is. With industry insiders insisting a path-breaking cinema here, one wonders why the film arrives sans any active promotion? Only word of mouth can save this film from a crash since even a decent opening seems like a distant dream for the moment.
Jimmy Sheirgill talks about his next adventure thriller
Barely has VICTORIA NO. 203 released and promotion of Jimmy's next film CHHODON NAA YAAR has already begun. Talking about the film, it's leading man Jimmy Sheirgill says, "It is a fun adventure thriller. I play a documentary film maker in CHHODON NAA YAAR who wants to make a different kind of film. While many of his colleagues and friends feel that it would be a good idea to make a film on prostitution or poverty to gain mileage or gain critical acclaim, he wants to make something different." He adds, "It is that endeavor of his which takes him along with some friends to a forest. This is where his friends get lost and the plot gets thicker." Touted to be an adventure thriller, 'Chhodon Naa Yaar' stars Kabir Sadanand and Farid Amri along with Kim Sharma as the female lead. Produced by Sameer Gaikwad (who was also the co-producer of award winning Marathi feature film 'Dombivali Fast), the film marks the directorial debut of Dilip Sood.