First weekend performance of latest release:

All talks revolved around CHAK DE INDIA in the weekend gone by. And no, for a change (thankfully), there weren't mixed reports that were making the rounds around the town. No one stood up and said that 'maza nahi aaya'! In fact it was heartening to see that both industry as well as audience was unanimous in hailing it as a landmark film for everyone involved.

And no, it wasn't just a case of only critics giving it a 4 star rating and audience appreciating it just for an 'effort'. Instead the film has proved to be a wholesome massy entertainer with even commoners accepting it wholeheartedly with feedback ranging from very good to excellent.

The film opened to a positive note and by the time Friday dawned, the word of mouth had spread like a wild fire. As the nation woke up on Saturday morning, the SMSs and calls were the order of the day as everyone acknowledged the fact that Shimit Amin and Jaideep Sahni had done which other film makers had mainly tried in the past when it came to making a film for the house of Yash Raj Films.

They ensured that a film was made which stayed rooted to it's theme without being trapped in the world of glitz and glamour. A win for Shimit, Jaideep and of course Shahrukh Khan without whom CHAK DE INDIA wouldn't have been what it is today, the film has proved to be a surprise of the season and is poised to be a big hit in the coming weeks.

The kind of product KAAFILA is, it wouldn't have met with a different fate even if it came as a sole release of the month, let aside a week. A film that came with a unique theme, it was hampered by substandard execution which proved to be it's undoing. The film's USP, Sunny Deol, was conspicuous by his lack of prominent presence in the film's publicity while his late entry in the film too didn't quite amuse his fans. The result was that a) film took a poor opening and b) it is garnering bad word of mouth that doesn't promise a rosy picture for the film's prospects.

While CHAK DE INDIA was talked about for it's high quality and KAAFILA for the lack of it, THE BLUE UMBRELLA wasn't talked about at all. Now this is a scenario of the worst kind since it means that a) audience hadn't even heard about it's release and b) they were just not interested in giving it a dekko. Result? A near to negligible opening for this Vishal Bhardwaj film that could see it coming on home video sooner than expected.

Last week's movies:

When CASH opened last Friday, many talked about the film as being disaster of the year. It was always a good idea to at least wait for the film's first week and as things stand today, a 17 crore first week total isn't what disasters are made of. While Mumbai saw an excess of 2.5 crores coming in, Delhi was good too at 1.5 crores + with NCR bringing in another 75 lakhs. A high print count coupled with a good opening weekend has ensured that the film scrapes through to being coverage at the least.

Sadly, at the moment it seems that 'coverage' is the box office status with which it would have to content itself since CHAK DE INDIA has opened to a tremendous response with all other movies in the running getting impacted in the big way. Anubhav Sinha should now quickly move to his next venture and forget the CASH making experience as a bad dream!

Miracle, and only a miracle can save GANDHI MY FATHER from being a box office failure that it may turn out eventually. Opening to a poor response and garnering more of appreciation than good box office prospects, this Anil Kapoor production has just not picked up at the box office. In spite of very good performances, the film's collections were only in the tune of 2.25 crores with Mumbai being foremost at 75 lakhs. Delhi came second with 30 lakhs but that's about it. Even in the second week, there aren't many who are patronizing the film which means that the film would be remembered for it's class but would now have to search for an audience in the home video circuits.

Releasing in a 'naya daur', i.e. 21st century, NAYA DAUR failed to entice audience to the theaters and couldn't even touch the 1 crore mark. At 90 lakhs and a slashed print count in it's second week, NAYA DAUR couldn't come remotely close to the kind of box office performance that MUGHAL E AZAM boasted of when re-released two years back. An unexciting promotion is the biggest reason for the film hardly creating a buzz. Also, the film hardly had a grandeur appeal which could have excited the audience to visit this film coming from the 50s.

From the past:

In spite of being in the running for third week and CASH proving to be a competition, PARTNER boasted of another 7 crores coming in. When compared to the week gone by, it may appear to be a 60% fall but if one looks at yet another great week bringing in the kind of collections that number of films bring in their first week, PARTNER is nothing short of a blockbuster already.

While Mumbai enjoyed yet another 1 crore + week, Delhi had 65 lakhs to boast with NCR bringing in 25 lakhs more. At 55 crores and all set to cross the 60 crore mark, PARTNER would go down as one of those films that arrive as a hurricane, make a big mark, create a sensation all over and register themselves firmly in the history books. PARTNER would go down as a surprise blockbuster of the decade so far!

The only other film that managed to record some good collections amidst all the competition in the week gone by was APNE. The film has been doing quite steady business even in it's 6th week with 30 lakhs more added to it's total. At 27 crores, the film is now looking at ending it's theatrical run. Still, for weeks to come the film would be seen by audience all over as it's DVDs have been out on the stands for around a fortnight and have been doing wonderfully well.

In the future:

On any given day, a Salman Khan film would have created more hype than the one starring Rakhi Sawant. Well, this Friday the trend may just change as BUDDHA MAR GAYA clearly seems to be in a much comfortable state than MARIGOLD. While BUDDHAR MAR GAYA has benefited from it's limited but good publicity of just three weeks, MARIGOLD has suffered due to being in the news for so long that it almost seems like a dated product.

As of today, the film is carrying near to negligible buzz with hardly the kind of promotion which befits a Salman Khan starrer. Expect a poor box office start for the film. On the other hand BUDDHA MAR GAYA should open decent as the comedy featuring Anupam Kher, Paresh Rawal and Om Puri has managed to attract good eyeballs.