First weekend performance of latest release

'Black Friday' released in the Friday gone by and didn't get a single 3 star rating anywhere, whether it was print, web or satellite media! But did that make Anurag Kashyap a sad man? Certainly not, since he is perhaps the first director ever in the current century whose film has been honored with not less than a 4 star or a 5 star rating across the board!

But was this the case only with critics? No, not at all! And that's because even those who watched the film have given it two thumbs up and hailed it to be in the same league as any other great movie revolving around a true incident deserves. The film has been hailed all over and has in it to be considered as an all-time classic in years to come.

In comparison, the box office has a different tale to tell. Arriving with near to zilch publicity, except for hardcore Bollywood fans (that too not in totality) not many were even aware about the film releasing at the theatres. Lack of any star value meant that whatever limited publicity the film had didn't attract too many eyeballs. Result? The film opened to below average response at the theatres over the weekend.

Now let's come to the good news - there is very good word of mouth all over and that promises further awareness about this masterpiece. Since 'Eklavya' is the only film arriving this weekend followed by 'Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd' a week after, even multiplexes are short of software. Hence they should be ideally showing confidence in the product and give it a sustained run across multiple screens, which it truly deserves.

'Undertrial' is the other film that released along with 'Black Friday' and though it is not as superior a film as the latter, it does have its own moments. The subject has been treated with sensitivity and Rajpal Yadav has come up with yet another bravura performance. Released at select cities/theatres across the country, its box office performance was no better than 'Black Friday' on the opening weekend. Sadly, the subject of the film is not of the kind that would make the film go an extra distance even with word of mouth since it is more of a DVD watch than being a big screen flick.

Last week's movies

The way 'Traffic Signal' performed on the opening weekend, it was clear that it would at least manage to recover its cost. That was exactly the case as the film netted 5.5 crore as the first week came to a close. For a film made at just 4 crore, this is a positive sign in itself. Also, the film was continued at most of centers even in the second week due to lack of any big releases and hence it is already in a profit making zone.

Sans any star power, the film has collected more than 1.75 crore in Mumbai which is quite good. Delhi was fair too with 40 lakhs while Hyderabad has been decent at around 20 lakhs. Brand Madhur Bhandarkar has done it again as just on the director's name, an unusual subject like 'Traffic Signal' has managed to perform reasonably well. The film has broken even and managed to get an average box office status for itself.

From the past

'Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall - Humpty Dumpty had a great fall' - This could be the most apt way to describe the box office fate of 'one-big-fat-film' - 'Salaam E Ishq'! The way it fell in its second week defies the performance of any other film of similar stature. There have been falls and there would be falls but 'Salaam E Ishq' dropping by as much as 75% clearly indicates that the film has been rejected all over. One talks about how 'Mangal Pandey' was rejected in its second week, but 'Salaam E Ishq' has fared even worse. Sad for Nikhil Advani who made a decent flick, but then he was chosen by destiny to see the evil side of box office!

Mumbai was the biggest looser with second week reading mere 75 lakhs after a decent 3.5 crore first week. Delhi too fell from 1.5 crore to 50 lakhs while Ahmedabad read 11 lakhs when compared to its 1st week total of 70 lakhs. With a mere 4.5 crore in its kitty (a crore less than first week of 'Traffic Signal'), the film's box office reads only 21.5 crore after 2 weeks with all indications of collections folding up at 25 crores. In nutshell, the film has flopped.

'Parzania' is giving a fight at the handful of cinemas it is playing in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Pune etc. and has sort of sustained its collections over the second week. Though the figures aren't enormous by any standards, a total of 50 lakhs over 2 weeks at 30 odd cinemas shows that the film is certainly being patronized by a certain set of audience.

All performances as stated above combined with the merits of the film mean that 'Guru' continues to shine strong even in its 4th week. Bringing home another 3 crores + and still counting, the film took a minimal fall of 35% and has now crossed the 35 crore mark. The film is holding on well all over and the irony is that the man who would be giving competition to Abhishek Bachchan at the box office is none other than Amitabh Bachchan whose 'Eklavya' releases this Friday!

'Vivah' is up for big time celebration as it completes its 100 days run this weekend. The film has been consistently playing at more than 200 cinemas since the day of its arrival and took a less than 20% fall last week. With it's 13th week collection reading 55 lakhs and overall the film netting over 29 crores, 'Vivah' has been enjoying one of the most consistent runs at the box office since the time of its release. The film has been taken across every nook and corner of the country with prints being dispatched at the farthest and almost unknown destinations and hence it could well be a record of sorts to see this blockbuster film complete a 100 day run at more than 200 cinemas.

In the future

'Eklavya - The Royal Guard' is the sole release of the week and is arriving with great pre-release hopes. The film spells quality all around and it would be a big surprise if it doesn't turn out to be a very good film. Since it is just 100 minutes in duration, multiplexes are bringing the film at as many as 16-18-20 shows a day, hence opening avenues for the film. Still the film may only take good though not a mind blowing start since the promotion hasn't been of a kind that would create a euphoric feel amongst people.

The film should remain consistent though rather than suffering a typical Monday fall or second weekend fall. If the film garners positive word of mouth (which is quite a possibility), it should continue to do well due to minimal competition over the weeks.