First weekend performance of latest release

Sole release of the week, 'Alag', couldn't really strike a home run as it hardly resulted in any 'alag' results at the box office. Sandwiched between the super success of 'Fanaa' and 'Hera Pheri' and upcoming release of 'Krrish', the film never had much chance to do anything worthwhile at the box office and a poor first weekend just proved the theory. The film was seen by handful of folks and garnered mixed reviews from media and public alike. The only unanimous views about the film were its leading hero Akshay Kapoor who has come up with a notable performance and a genuinely 'alag' theme. But alas, just quality performance and a 'hatke' theme couldn't rise above the script!

Last week's movies

In a matter of fortnight, records were rewritten as 'Phir Hera Pheri' continued the euphoric mood of the industry set by the bumper success of 'Fanaa'. PHP added on to the success rate to emerge as second good hit in quick succession as it broke number of records at several centers across the country. Emerging as one of the top all time highest first week openers, it got home near 17 crore total that is the best ever for Akshay Kumar in his decade and a half old career. All the flak that he received for 'Humko Deewana Kar Gaye' [which eventually has turned out to be a coverage just from a theatrical run with DVD/satellite revenue still to be added to it] have been washed away as his antics with Paresh Rawal and Suneil Shetty have created wonders. While Mumbai was terrific with approx. 3.5 crores in collections, Delhi was comparatively light weight due to just around 1.25 crore, primarily because it couldn't get as many multiplex screens as 'Fanaa' that was still doing strong there. But across the country, whether it was A, B or C centers, from multiplexes to single screens, PHP has maintained a good first week with the second weekend too proving strong. Bringing good fortunes to the box office, second time director and well known writer Neeraj Vora can leave 'Khiladi 420' behind him and look forward to a successful outing in direction! After 'Aan' and 'Deewane Huye Paagal', Firoz Nadiadwala strikes back, and in style!

All the euphoria around PHP meant that 'Chup Chup Ke' was only second in the list of moviegoers. Though the movie has been well made with hilarious acts by Paresh Rawal and Rajpal Yadav and decent performances by its lead actors Shahid Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor and Neha Dhupia, it was sadly sidelined and could not even garner half of PHP collections. With Mumbai bringing in around 1.5 crore and Delhi a miserly 0.5 crore [poor], CCK saw a below average first week of around 7.5 crores. After an exciting '36 China Town', Shahid-Kareena are let down by the box office outcome of CCK which will eventually drag to coverage/below average mark but that's about it. The film should end its run between 12-13 crores and turn out to be a rare Priyadarshan comedy that didn't make its investors laugh all the way to the bank. Still, not all is lost for the film as it should do well in DVD sales and especially the satellite relays where it would warrant heavy family patronage. Expect re-runs of the movie on your telly 3 months from now!

From the past

Leave out 'Fanaa', 'Phir Hera Pheri' and 'Chup Chup Ke' and there was no single movie that could boast of worthwhile collections last week. Whether it is 'Love Ke Chakkar Mein', 'Men Not Allowed' or 'Sacred Evil, none of them has been able to touch even a 20 lakhs mark. In fact the original DVDs of 'Love Ke Chakkar Mein' are already out and the same should follow for the other two flicks as well. In nutshell, each of them have been box office disasters!

The movie that was impacted most by the dream opening of 'Phir Hera Pheri' was 'Fanaa'. While the first two weeks were fantabulous enough to bring 35 crores home, there was a spanner in the form of 'Phir Hera Pheri' that resulted in drop of collections by around 50%. And this brings a thought that how would have the third week of 'Fanaa' looked if there was no major competition like 'Phir Hera Pheri'? Becuase inspite of a 50% drop, the third week proudly read around 7.5 crore which is still superb by all means. Collections are now moving towards 50 crores and currently reading 43 crores. It should take 3-4 more weeks for the milestone to be reached since 'Krrish' arrives this Friday. By the look of things, 'Fanaa' should easily surpass the total of 'Rang De Basanti' and emerge as the biggest box office grosser for the year gone so far.

'Aparichit' is now heading home after a 4 week run that managed to get it a coverage status after 2 crores in its kitty. 'Ankahee' is already out after being labeled as a disaster while 'Tom Dick and Harry' hung around for one more week [its fifth] to get around a million more for its investors, hence taking it closer to 9.5 crore. 'Gangster' too should be out in a week as it completes a successful 50 days run that has managed a hit status for the film. '36 China Town' crossed 23 crore after 6 weeks at the box office and should now exit theatres after completing 50 days with a hit status.

In the future

Will 'Krrish' outdo 'Fanaa'? Thats the question that is buzzing in the trade after a super June with 'Fanaa' and 'Phir Hera Pheri' turning out to be big money spinners. With a 15 crore opening being a passé and 20 crore being set as a new first week parameter for a smash success, all eyes are on 'Krrish' to see if it can beat 'Fanaa'. While it comes with record prints and has Gujarat release as its trump card, 'Krrish' may just about fall short of 'Fanaa' since the hype element is marginally less, if not more. People are excited but not dying to see 'Krrish' as was in the case of 'Fanaa'. Still, a bumper start is something that is expected by default from this film by Roshan baap-beta combo and if the weekend ends on a positive note, then sky is the limit [pun intended] for Krrish, jadoo and gang!