First weekend performance of latest release

After a flurry of entertaining films in weeks gone by, last Friday turned out to be pretty inconsequential last for Bollywood. To get it straight, the opening of MARIGOLD could well be on par with one of Salman's recent dud SHAADI KARKE PHAS GAYA YAAR! And that's one terrible comparison since while SKPGY opened to pathetic numbers due to it's release after being 6 years in the making, MARIGOLD didn't fare well either in spite of being touted as Salman's Hollywood project.

What could be the reason behind near to negligible opening collections for the film? A) It's thanda promotion. B) Zero hype about the film's theme C) Below average music. D) Unimpressive publicity material. E) Last but not the least, it's dated feel. There was hardly any attempt by the makers to showcase it as a fresh project.

So while these were the factors which contributed to zilch foot falls over the first weekend, an ever ending list of deltas in the basic product itself made sure that there was all around negativity about the film. Result? The film would go down as the biggest disasters ever for Salman.

Second release of the week, BUDDHA MAR GAYA, was always a dicey project to begin with. Such projects could go either ways - be a big success, just scrape through or struggle to recover investment. As things stand today, the film is on shaky grounds. Though situation isn't expected to improve with HEYY BABYY, RAM GOPAL VARMA KI AAG, DARLING and DHAMAAL coming in quick succession, makers may be hoping that in smaller centers, the film brings in moolah which could help it break even in a long run.

This Rahul Rawail film did bring in laughs but as the first show commenced, the news was out that this was not meant to be a film which could fetch universal acceptance. This was a step back to begin with for this below-the-belt-and-just-staying-there comedy. Also, in subsequent weeks, number of biggies are releasing one after another. For a family which at an average could afford to see one or maximum two movies a month, BUDDHA MAR GAYA was the one to let go!

Last week's movies

One can't remember any movie coming after RANG DE BASANTI which fetched such unanimous appreciation from all corners. While some sections of media had gone all out to paint a poor picture about the film throughout it's making, the audiences came up with a tight slap of it's own as they praised the film to the skies. By the time the Wednesday holiday of 15th August was through, the writing was clear on the wall.

Collecting more than 20 crores in the first week with A, B as well as C centers coming up with heartfelt collections, this offbeat yet thoroughly entertaining film is now en route to be a huge success. The film did tremendous in Mumbai which contributed with more than 5 crores. Delhi was terrific too with 2.5 crores + whereas NCR was tremendous with more than 1.75 crores coming in. Pune was superb with 1.25 crores + while Ahmedabad too came close to 1 crore mark, hence making CHAK DE INDIA an all around success. The way film is being patronized, expect a fall of only around 35% in the second week.

Shahrukh Khan did have a money spinner in KANK followed by a designated hit in DON but still certain sections of media preferred to paint an alternate picture. Thankfully with CHAK DE INDIA, there are no justifications for doing otherwise as the audience has come out in full force for the film. YRF too get one of their most 'respected' earners in the recent time while Shimit Amin finds himself to be recognized as a film maker who can direct an underworld film with as much panache as a sports based film.

KAAFILA has broken records when it comes to disasters. In it's first week release across 400+ screens, it has earned only around 3 crores, which is 1 crore lesser than Sunny’s own TESRI AANKH - THE HIDDEN CAMERA (2006)! The film has failed in totality, at least in India, though the makers are claiming good overseas collections.

A complete non starter, it first got a disastrous opening and later suffered from extremely bad word of mouth. While Mumbai was far more respectable with only 35 lakhs coming in, Delhi failed to touch 25 lakhs. This time around even loyal North belt fans of Sunny Deol gave KAAFILA a cold shoulder. While the film was more or less discontinued from majority of theaters after week one, there are not many chances for a third week running.

Third release of the week, THE BLUE UMBRELLA couldn't even make it to the Top-5 of the week. With a scant (and disinterested) release, the film was hardly seen by many and the 30 lakhs all India total more than proved the point. Looking at the kind of promotion by UTV and the box office fate, one strongly feels that the film would have served itself better had it seen a direct DVD release.

From the past

CASH has added on to the list of movies in recent past which have seen a good first week but poor word of mouth to completely crash in the second week. The film has taken more than 80% drop to collect merely 3 crores in the second week. At 20 crores, the film is a flop though good revenue coming from the first week means that the losses would be minimal. The promos too have been pulled off the air for last few days which means a disappointing fate for a film which tried to tell things differently.

It was quite clear last week itself that only miracle could have saved GANDHI MY FATHER to be a debacle that it has eventually turned out to be. Somehow producer Anil Kapoor was confident that his film would rope in audience with an extended stay at the theaters but exhibitioners didn't quite mirror his thoughts. There weren't many foot falls from audience as well which resulted in this well made film dropping by more than 70% and bring home mere 65 lakhs. At 3 crores, the film is a box office disaster.

NAYA DAUR too met with a similar fate and crashed completely in it's second week. With just 20 lakhs coming in after a 80% fall, the film has wrapped up after crossing 1 crore mark.

The only film that survived the CHAK DE INDIA onslaught and stayed on to be audience favorite was PARTNER. Collecting close to 4 crores after seeing a drop of only around 40% in it's 4th week, the film is standing at close to 58.5 crores and is all set to break the 60 crore barrier as the week comes to a close. Mumbai held on excellently with further contribution of 80 lakhs though Delhi fell from 65 lakhs to 30 lakhs.

In the future

A baby is all set to slaughter a young romantic lead this weekend as HEYY BABYY comes face to face with a small film called KAISE KAHE. HEYY BABYY has created immense hype around itself and is expected to take a very good start (70%-80%) all over. A family film, it would attract audience across all age groups. On the other hand the only hope KAISE KAHE has is a spill over audience, though even that isn't much of a possibility due to a show-an-hour release which HEYY BABYY is enjoying at the multiplexes!