Even before the first show of NISHABD had commenced, it was crystal clear that the film won't take anything more than an average start. This was even mentioned in last week's column and it was a known fact that regardless of the actual credentials of the film, it was foolhardy to even expect people to be flocking the theaters in dozens. Hence a below average opening in the range of 20-30% was hardly surprising though some trade pundits have tried to term it as 'shocking' or 'disastrous'. What was disappointing [and again not shocking/surprising/disastrous] though was the fact that the film even failed to pick up once Day 1, 2 or 3 ended.

The film was well made with RGV targeting the film for a select audience. The trouble was that this 'select audience' itself was undecided on what to expect and hence folks didn't even turn up at the theaters. It wasn't the case of poor word of mouth. It was the case of no word of mouth at all. Result? A box office failure which may just about relive in its DVD version in months or years to come.

The other release of the week, NEHLLE PE DEHLLA, came virtually unsung and the opening was a testimony to that. Greeted with near empty houses, the film did manage to tickle the funny bone of those present in the auditorium but sadly these numbers could be counted on fingers. The film was never meant to be a classic in the making and it succeeded for most of its part to make you smile and laugh but the word was already out that the film was dated. Result was no one was not even interested in checking out what the film was all about and even a good act by Sanjay Dutt and especially Shakti Kapoor could not save the film from tanking on Day 1.

Last week's movies

Opening week collections of HONEYMOON TRAVELS PVT. LTD. can't really be stated as phenomenal but for a small film like this, 6 crores is a good way to begin. Even though the film was a multistarrer, the stars in there belonged to the mid and lower range from box office perspective which made HTPL an expenditure-light film. Though the promotion of the film promised a much better number in terms of collections, overall it has been a satisfying start for first time director Reema Kagti.

What is noticeable though is that more than 30% of the film's collections comes from Mumbai [2 crore] which tells the tale that it has been predominantly a metro-centric film. Delhi followed next with 80 lakhs which is again quite substantial looking at overall collections of 6 crores. An average earner, it is expected to fold up around 10 crores but should have an extended innings in DVD circuits

From the past

EKLAVYA has been a bigger disaster than SALAAM E ISHQ if one looks at the acceptance by the audience. Even though SEI was rejected, it at least had a good first week total to give it some breather. But in case of EKLAVYA, first the film started shaking in the middle of first week itself and by the time its second week got over, it was proved to be completely down and out. Taking a mighty fall of 75%, the film got in a mere 3.5 crore in week two. In Mumbai, the collections fell from 3 crores to 60 lakhs while Delhi too was on similar lines with only 35 lakhs coming in after a 1.3 crore opening week.

This proved once again that if not for the immense hype and hoopla that director Vidhu Vinod Chopra made around his film while proclaiming it to be an epic tale, the film would have fared even worse than this when it came to box office performance. At 18 crores and just about managing to crawl towards 20 crore mark, the film is one of the quickest biggies to get a flop tag for itself.

BLACK FRIDAY continued to find reasonable patronage even in its 3rd week even as its collections slid to 50 lakhs. For a film that was first in legal mess and then had an extended problem with its release, it is commendable to earn around 4.5 crore inspite of Nil promotion, actors who are not your typical star material, no songs and last but not the least a director at the helm who had been stupidly called as jinx by many from within the industry. This real life conversion to reel life drama has worked perfectly well with its target audience and in the end has now started making money for itself after recovering its costs. An average box office runner.

It could just be another week or two for TRAFFIC SIGNAL before the light turns red for the film at the theaters. Readying itself for a DVD release, TRAFFIC SIGNAL only added another 20 lakhs in its 4th week to now stand at 8.5 crores. If one compares at the box office numbers of TRAFFIC SIGNAL or even CORPORATE with PAGE 3, they are quite low in comparison but the fact still remains that Madhur Bhandarkar's films are made at low to medium budgets and hence ensure decent profit for one and all through theatrical run. Overall an average box office fare.

SALAAM E ISHQ has managed to hang on even after at the screens for 5 weeks now. While it seemed that the film would be a complete washout after the initial euphoria, it was still running at 100 odd cinemas in its 5th week which is some comforting sight at least. At 24 crore +, the film still remains to be a flop though one wonders that if only the film's opening would have been slightly better, it did have an outside chance of being a coverage film at least. All this brings one to a pertinent thought that the lesser duration of the film would have resulted in more number of shows and less negative word of mouth that would have only strengthened the film's box office prospects.

Meanwhile GURU doesn't worry itself with any such negativity around it as everything has only worked positively in film's favor. With 80 lakhs more coming in and the film continuing to do quite well, especially in multiplexes during weekend, it is 'dhoom dhadaaka' time for Mani, Abhi and Ash. At 41 crores, the film is gaining from strength to strength and it can be assured that it would be the biggest DVD of this season as and when it releases. Ditto for VIVAH which again saw just a 20% fall and still got home 40 lakhs more to read 30.5 crores.

In the future

There are 4 films releasing this Friday - RED, WATER, SARHAD PAAR, 1971 - and it is certainly not the case of more the merrier for the moviegoers. Reason? Except for RED to an extent, none of the other films have much box office clout. For all its Oscar nomination and short listing, the fact remains that WATER is hardly a kind of film that is expected to arouse the curiosity of many a moviegoers outside select multiplexes in major cities. In case of SARHAD PAAR, it is the case of a dated film coupled with a subject that hardly works today. Ditto for 1971 where a not-so-enterprising starcast too acts as a deterrent. Don't expect any fireworks in the week to follow.