First weekend performance of latest release

'Eklavya' was never meant to take a phenomenal start. This was something which was even pointed out in last week's column and hence when trade seemed to have panicked at a 50-70% opening, it came as a surprise. Yes, what was expected though was a consistency in collections for at least a fortnight, unlike other biggies that start showing a drop after the first weekend. Reason? The film was carrying excellent pre-release reports and boasted of great cinematic brilliance.

This is why it was quite expected to see 3/4/5 star rating by most of the critics across different mediums. But as per the indications, the film has erred where it mattered most i.e. clicking with the 'junta-janardhan' in general. The film, which was unanimously acclaimed in reviews hasn't performed in a similar manner when it comes to word of mouth. The film has been labeled as 'wow' to 'pakau' which clearly shows that the audience is divided.

Vidhu Vinod Chopra chose a novel subject and treated it differently as well but somehow that thriller feel that the movie promised was missing. Each of the actors was very good in the film which made the film a decent watch but in the end, there is nothing much that a viewer takes which would make him/her give the film a repeat viewing.

The film has opened to an above average to good response but at the moment it seems to be on a shaky ground w.r.t. a long run at the box office. A fall is very much on the cards and at the moment, the film appears to be en route to an overall run ranging from average to above average.

Last week's movies

It was a dull week for box office at Bollywood. Total collections at an all-India level for all the movies in the running was mere 11 crores which is one of the least witnessed in last few months.

Out of this total, 'Black Friday' contributed most with 3 crores. Now this kind of a total is quite good for a film that featured 'actors' rather than 'stars', was based on a dark chapter of Indian history and came virtually unannounced! Anurag Kashyap's labor has paid dividends finally and though the film may be settling down as an average runner, it is a WIN for everyone who contributed in making 'Black Friday' the film it is.

Mumbai had the best collections coming in (as expected) and got home an impressive 1 crore +. Bangalore followed next with a very good 35 lakhs and the city has proved that it appreciates good cinema in a big way - 'Guru' and now 'Black Friday' pretty much proves that. Delhi was decent at 30 lakhs. 'Black Friday' is indeed a masterpiece and is one classic that would be remembered for decades and register itself in golden letters in history of Indian cinema.

In spite of merits, 'Undertrial' has a poor first week, something which doesn't quite come as a surprise. As pointed out in last week's column, the subject is not everyone's cup of tea and certainly doesn't make family audiences flock the theaters. Opening at 40 lakhs and now looking down the barrel, the film has a defining performance by Rajpal Yadav which in all probability would now be appreciated on DVDs soon.

From the past

'Traffic Signal' hung on in second week and though it took a 60% fall (at least 10% more than industry standard), it saved itself from a crash. With further 2.25 crores coming in for a film with a distinct theme sans any star power, 'Traffic Signal' has now touched 8 crores. With Mumbai contributing most (70 lakhs), the film is now a comfortable average runner and in the terminology of Madhur Bhandarkar, already a 'superhit'. Reason? He believes that to even get back the money for a film based on beggars, eunuchs, 'pheriwalas' etc. is nothing but an achievement in itself. In totality, the film keeps Madhur's decent run at the box office intact after 'Page 3' and 'Corporate' and now marks an end to his Mumbai trilogy.

After a mighty 75% fall last week, 'Salaam E Ishq' continued to fall, this time with 60% in its 3rd week. At mere 1.75 crore coming in and collections expected to be relegated to lakhs from this week on, SEI is a flop at 23 crores and would struggle to even touch 25 crores. Throughout its run, the film has fared best in Mumbai (and pretty decent too) and last week was no exception as the city chipped in with another 40 lakhs. The silver lining though is Govinda and Akshaye Khanna gaining appreciation for one of the best performances of their career.

'Parzania' started making headlines but at the time when the film has already released and got off to a poor start. Running at a handful of cinemas (25), the film got home a mere 10 lakhs further to make its total reach 65 lakhs. The film may just about manage to recover costs but that's about it.

'Guru' has sustained itself in an amazing manner as it is rare to see a biggie seeing a decrease in fall in collections with every passing week. A 15% drop is a clear indication that the film has been accepted in a big way now and is garnering great word of mouth. With around 2.75 crore more added even as the film is in its 5th week, the film is now sitting quite close to 39 crores. The film is the biggest success story of 2007 so far and should remain to be same at least till the Quarter 1 of the year ends.

It is now almost a ritual to go gaga over the way 'Vivah' has been performing tremendously in the small towns and cities. In the week that brought the film in vicinity of a 100 days run, the film saw an upswing in collection as the film moved up by 7%. Unbelievable! At 60 lakhs more coming in, the film is now at a breathing distance of 30 crore and should be crossing the milestone next week. A true blockbuster for a film that didn't quite cost a fortune for Sooraj Barjatya.

One wonders if even Sooraj, Shahid and Amrita were expecting such a response to the film. If Barjatyas had a strategy for release and placed the film in the markets in such a manner that they already knew how the box office curve would look, then hats off to them because that would clearly demonstrate that they are the veterans in the business and know how to adapt to the market scenario.

In the future

At one point of time, there were as many as 6 films in fray for a February 23 release. The current number? One. The lucky film? 'Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd.' Aided by tremendous promotion by the makers and overseas distributors, this youth flick has caught on in a big way with the money paying 'junta', and should now take a good start at the ticket windows.

A caution here - Good start doesn't mean a 80-90% opening; that would be imagining a lot of things! But even if the film opens in a vicinity of 60-70% (which seems quite a probability), if one considers the fact that there are no 'stars' per se in the film, it would be quite an achievement and a win in itself.