First weekend performance of latest release

What was it that drove people to watch PARTNER? Was it just the Dhawan-Govinda-Salman factor or was there more to it? I would say more! Agreed that the director and cast like this coming together was the film's USP. Still, if these names were enough to pull in audience, SHAADI NO. 1 [dir: Dhawan] , JAAN-E-MANN [Salman] and just-released-and-no-one-cared JAHAAN JAAYEGA HAMEIN PAAYEGA [Govinda] would have been massive hits. They weren't.

Even music alone can't do wonders for the film. Remember SALAAM E ISHQ and JHOOM BARABAR JHOOM? So what made PARTNER a massive success that it is today which resulted in such a huge opening across the length and breadth of the country? It's excellently designed promos!! From day one, the eye catching promos made sure that people stood up and took notice of the film. Song promos were mixed excellently with the talkie promos while the theater promos created an excellent buzz weeks back.

Through the promos, audience was shown the kind of Salman and Govinda they wanted to see. Whether it was Salman teaching Govinda how to woo a girl [Tu sabse pehle ladki mein kya dekhta hai?], Govinda encountering Katrina's gay friend Suresh Menon [Aapka cricket ke baare mein kya khayaal hai?] or Govinda asking Salman about kissing technique [Main Kiss Karte Samay Saans Andar Kheechun?] - each and every promo was a gem in itself.

All of the above may look like a review in itself but the fact is that everything fell into place, courtesy extensive promotional drive w.r.t both quality and quantity. Promos were on all the entertainment channels 24X7 while events were organized on almost daily basis to make PARTNER most awaited film of the season. While advance booking of the film was decent, word of mouth from show 1 made sure that the film was a sell out as days passed by. Expect the film to take the best opening of the year 2007!

Last week's movies

After a just-about-average weekend, NAQAAB ended it's first week run on a mere 'theek-thaak' response. A 12 crore opening week is not bad but then for a film coming on more than 500 prints, a much better box office outcome is expected. While Mumbai managed to cross 2 crores, Delhi wasn't too good with just 1 crore coming in. The trouble for NAQAAB here is that there hasn't been any pick up in collections with zero hype currently. To add to it's woes, PARTNER is doing phenomenal which means around 70% fall for NAQAAB is round the corner.

Even if the film would have followed a 50% fall every week, it could have managed to scrape through but it doesn't seem like a probability today. Proves that sometimes good films under perform too due to sheer ill luck! Any gains? One for sure - Bobby Deol. Whether it is SHAKALAKA BOOM BOOM, JHOOM BARABAR JHOOM, APNE and now NAQAAB, Bobby has only been appreciated for his performances. Also, industry gets a new heroine in the form of Urvashi Sharma.

From the past

BOMBAY TO GOA (expectedly) fell by 70% but those who had invested in the film won't have many complains. They made money in the first week itself and now with 50 lakhs more coming in, the film has crossed 2.5 crore. It may be an end of the journey for the film at theaters in metros but it would surely be traveling into interiors of India from hereon. A sweet little success for the horde of comedians in the film, BOMBAY TO GOA is a surprise success of the year with the film managing to reach the coverage mark at the least.

MY FRIEND GANESHA is now on it's way out with just a handful of multiplexes screening the film. The film took a reasonable fall of 50% and 30 lakhs more coming in means that 2 week total would stand at 1 crore. Since the film was made on a shoestring budget with minimal spends on promotion, the losses would only be minimal.

After doing wonders in the opening week and holding on well into the second week, AAP KAA SURROOR eventually saw a considerable fall as the collections went down by 70%. Collecting 1.75 crores at the box office in it's 3rd week, AKS has now reached 18 crore mark and would comfortably end up as a 20 crore film. Commendable for a film which just didn't seem like being a success as it is today. The film continues to earn moolah from B and C centers of the country even though from cities like Mumbai and Delhi, the figures received were far from flattering. Nevertheless, an actor is born and Himesh Reshammiya has promised that he would do 3 movies a year as an actor. Here is looking forward to what next is in the offering.

Meanwhile APNE is quite strong as it continues the 50% fall week after week and gains 3.5 crores more in the third week. At 25 crores and still doing good, it is a good win for Anil Sharma and the Deols. For the first time in his career, Bobby sees two of his films occupying the top slots (collections wise) with NAQAAB and APNE. Though Mumbai was decent at 25 lakhs, Delhi was quite good with 45 lakhs coming in. NCR with 20 lakhs made the point loud and clear that Deols have a stranglehold in North. Even though PARTNER is expected to spoil the party to an extent, it should still not be a 'crash' situation for APNE in the fourth week. The film should manage to stretch towards a 30 crore final mark.

AWARAPAN managed to touch 8 crore with 80 lakhs more coming in but there aren't many hopes of a longer run ahead. In the week gone by, the film made most of it's money in Mumbai [25 lakhs] and is now eyeing at it's DVD release. Ironically the film's songs are doing better than ever today and currently hold the top spot at the charts. Sadly, this happened a bit too late though Emraan Hashmi can count a few more chartbuster songs for his stage performances.

In it's 5th week, JHOOM BARABAR JHOOM made lesser money [5 lakhs] than what LIFE IN METRO has made in it's 10th week [7 lakhs]. This pretty much conveys the picture. Closing at 26 crores, the film should now be out on DVDs soon.

In the future

With CASH moving to next week, there are no notable releases this week. An offbeat film called BOW BARRACKS FOREVER may release though at select theaters. An open week translates into further fortune minting for PARTNER which should gain further moolah at the box office now.