First weekend performance of latest release

Both MISSION ISTANBUL and MONEY HAI TOH HONEY HAI have failed at the box office. And such dull were the two movies till their release dates that hardly anyone is surprised/disappointed/bothered about the underperformance of the two films except for those who invested in them. Otherwise trade as well as a common man weren't excited about the films at all and though it seemed that MISSION ISTANBUL may manage to pull off due to it's look, that too didn't quite turn out to be the case.

While the film was being talked about for it's action, the fact is that the film's promos hardly created a tremendous/extra ordinary buzz about anything special in the stunts. On the other hand the comedy of MONEY HAI TO HONEY HAI failed to create any mirth due to lazy promos that didn't result in any excitement whatsoever from Day 1. Net net, both the films opened to dull houses and would disappear in a fortnight's time.

Last week's movies

KISMAT KONNECTION may have been an extremely average piece of cinema but the buck lies in the bottom-line. And the bottom-line here is that this Shahid Kapoor starrer went on to be his biggest ever opener ever since he made his debut with ISHQ VISHK. With a 20 crore first week, Shahid has done well in extending his market value. While Mumbai stood at 3.5 crores, Delhi was nice as well with 1.75 crores. NCR further contributed close to 1.25 crores while smaller centers had good moolah coming to, hence making KISMAT KONNECTION a universal success.

Yes, deep within his heart, Shahid would be aware that he has been lucky enough to see KISMAT KONNECTION pulling through at the box office. However, what one would look forward to is some good substance in his future projects. And if one has such expectations from him, it is only a positive sign for him to look at since his name now brings a brand value to the project. As for Vidya Balan, her lucky charm continues with yet another success under her belt!

CONTRACT has flopped and would end up doing less than 10% business of Ramu's last release SARKAR RAJ. At 2.25 crores, the film joins the league of a JAMES or a SHIVA or DARNA ZAROORI HAI, all of which had their collections at the lowest end of the spectrum. The film, which saw Mumbai bringing a mere 55 lakhs and Delhi less than half of that, has been almost pulled off from majority of centers in it's second week. With Ram Gopal Varma himself getting busy with PHOONK, writing is clear on the wall for this PVR production which has turned out to be a disappointing engagement for them.

From the past

It's time for the DVD release of MEHBOOBA sooner than expected. This heavily publicised film practically ran for just two days and after that went completely downhill. With a 90% fall and only 20 lakhs more coming in it's second week, the film is folding up at a little over 2 crores. A disaster.

On the other hand JAANE TU YA JAANE NAA had third straight marvelous week with as much as 8.5 crores coming in it's second week. Since MISSION ISTANBUL as well as MHTHH have both failed, it would only give JTYJN some more breathing space to enjoy. Coming back to the collections over the week gone by, the film had a great week in Mumbai (~2 crores) while Delhi was tremendous at 1.5 crores. The film has brought both Abbas Tyrewala and Imraan Khan in Super A league now and expectations would be huge from both on their next outings. While Imraan would be seen next in Sanjay Dutt starrer KIDNAP, Abbas has finalized his next project as a mature love story.

Unfortunately there aren't any announcements around what Harry Baweja would make next after LOVE STORY 2050. After having invested years and crores and a lot of sweat into this dream project, Baweja Senior is waiting for an apt subject. Harman has been busy though shooting for his upcoming projects which are aiding in him being occupied. Coming back to LOVE STORY 2050, the third week saw the film completely disappear from the arena with only 20 lakhs coming in. With a 90% fall and overall collections reading a mere 12.5 crores, LOVE STORY 2050 is a trade disaster.

After TASHAN, THODA PYAAR THODA MAGIC is a 'bada' failure for YRF and Kunal Kohli with most associated with the film too admitting that the Saif-Rani-Amisha starrer has just not performed well. 80% fall in collections mean that only 25 lakhs were added to the total which now reads a little less than 23 crores. It's time for the DVD release of the film though one wonders whether the sales would be any better than those of TASHAN.

In the future

MUKHBIIR was supposed to be released over this weekend but as things stand today, it looks highly improbable with further shift in the date expected. This means that UGLY AUR PAGLI would enjoy the status of being the sole release of the week. The film appears to be a safe bet since Mallika-Ranvir pairing is looking good while the songs are popular as well. The film has a naughty appeal to it and the weekend crowds should ensure that UGLY AUR PAGLI manages to pull through.