First weekend performance of latest release

The way Sajid Nadiadwala had gone all out in promoting HEYY BABYY, it was quite obvious by the time Friday arrived that the film would embark on a very good opening. The film looked good not just from the gloss perspective but even the story telling point of view. All one expected was the film to be a decent outing so that it would continue to keep box office flourishing after PARTNER and CHAK DE INDIA.

Well, as it has turned out, it is much more than just some flourish at the ticket counter as HEYY BABYY has went onto rake in great moolah in it's opening weekend itself with the word of mouth being by and large positive. Sajid Khan has made an entertaining flick which juggles well between comic and emotional moments to turn work well for the family audiences. As is the case with any film, whether good or bad, there have been some criticism coming for HEYY BABYY (when it comes to some of the jokes in the film) but that sounds more like vague quotes from those who probably haven't even watched the movie!

As is the scenario today, the film is en route to be a big success and would have Sajid Naidadwala smile again after the non-performance of JAAN-E-MANN at the box office. Akshay Kumar continues to be on a roll while Ritiesh Deshmukh proves yet again that he is such an important ingredient when it comes to a multi starrer. Fardeen Khan too gets his first big success after NO ENTRY.

Last week's movies

MARIGOLD has been a disaster with D capital! Barely managing to cross 75 lakhs after its first week came to a close, it is the biggest ever box office failure for Salman this decade. It is ironical though since just a few weeks back, Salman got his biggest ever success after HUM AAPKE HAIN KAUN and KARAN ARJUN in the form of PARTNER! MARIGOLD had pathetic collections all over with Mumbai throwing in hardly 6 lakhs and Delhi not looking pretty at all with 8 lakhs. A monumental failure, the film has been discontinued at majority of theaters in the second week while it's DVD viewing prospects aren't promising either.

BUDDHA MAR GAYA too is a flop at the box office with only 2.75 crore coming in the first week. Now for a small film like BUDDHA MAR GAYA, a total like this wouldn't have looked too bad if a) it wouldn't have seen such a wide release across as many as 350 cinemas and b) the word of mouth wasn't mostly negative with the film seeing a heavy fall over the second weekend.

Possibly a restricted release would have worked in it's favor, the way it has for a BHEJA FRY or a KHOSLA KA GHOSLA. No, I am not comparing BUDDHA MAR GAYA to these two films but what ties the three films together is the fact that each of them have been ensemble products with a black comedy theme to boost.

BUDDHA MAR GAYA can take consolation from the fact that it beat MARIGOLD at the box office but that's about it. In Mumbai the film earned around 60 lakhs though Delhi was poor at only 20 lakhs. The film is on it's way out in two weeks flat and it's DVD release should now be round the corner.

From the past

If one purely looks at audience appreciation, CHAK DE INDIA is easily the biggest success of the year. Otherwise how else can one explain a fall of hardly 25% in the second week when even the first week was quite impressive at 20 crores? Raking in another 15 crores, the film's hold at the box office proves yet again that a) audience has become more receptive of different kind of cinema and b) they are giving the Raj and Rahul in Shahrukh Khan a chance to explore different mediums.

Also, it is one of those rare films which is still awaiting a single soul to say anything negative about it. Word of mouth has been positive in a huge way and this is the reason why it is fetching repeat audience. This is well reflected from 3.5 crores from Mumbai, 2.25 crores from Delhi and 1.1. crores from Delhi NCR in the second week. The film is a big hit already, has been awarded a tax free status and is now en route to be called as a superhit.

After the sweet success of APNE, Sunny Deol is facing the box office disaster of KAAFILA as the film has dropped by more than 80% to bring home a mere 50 lakhs in the second week. The film has been discontinued all over in it's third week and at 3.5 crores, it is one of the poorest box office grossers of the year for a big budget film.

CASH has crashed completely in it's third week with it's collections matching those of KAAFILA i.e. 55 lakhs. A massive fall of more than 80% means the film has been by and large rejected by the audience. It is time for Anubhav Sinha to move on to his next project after his film has collected most of it's 20 crores in it's first week itself.

GANDHI MY FATHER has found respectability but that's about it. Another 60% fall in it's third week means that the film is looking at folding up around 3.5 crores. With only 30 lakhs coming in the week gone by, the film has been discontinued from majority of screens and is now eyeing a DVD release. One wonders though if a trip to the festival circuits followed by a theatrical release would have improved it's box office prospects?

Meanwhile PARTNER goes on and on though this would well be the last week when it's collections have crossed the 1 crore mark. Reason? HEYY BABYY has dominated screens across the country hence resulted in PARTNER running at far lesser number of shows. Also, coming week would see RGV KI AAG, VICTORIA NO. 203 and DHOKHA arriving which means further reduction of prints.

Coming back to the week gone by, PARNTER fell by close to 50% to add another 2 crores to it's kitty. Crossing the 60 crores barrier in 5 weeks flat, the film has achieved a blockbuster status for itself and is the biggest ever hit for David Dhawan after AANKHEN.

In the future

Whatever be the eventual fate of RAM GOPAL VARMA KI AAG, one thing is for sure that the film would take a good box office opening (60%-70%). It is the curiosity factor which should work in the film's favor, just as the way it did for Himesh Reshammiya's AAP KAA SURROOR. Ultimately it the word of mouth which will make or break the film but expect good turnaround over the first weekend.

The same cannot be said about VICTORIA NO. 203 which is expected to begin slowly over the weekend and hope for a go ahead from those who see the film. With it's late splurge in publicity, it has been noticed but that doesn't sound good enough for a film that deserved a lot better. Comparitively DHOKHA looks like a complete non starter with it's limited release hardly been complimented by poor promotion. This is clearly one of those rare Vishesh Films' that is not talked about at all!