First weekend performance of latest release

Why has there been so much brouhaha around the average opening of METRO? Who was actually expecting the film to open with an earth shattering response? Was the movie ever meant to begin with a bang and recover its investment in 3 days flat? Wasn't it always meant to be a movie that would pick up mainly on word of mouth if the product was indeed good? And pray, who expected it to be create serpentine queues at centres outside metros and other major cities?

All of this makes me surprised (yet again, after TA RA RUM PUM) to see obituaries been written about a film soon after the first show has commenced. Arrey, give the film a breather. At least wait for the first weekend for the film to get over! And especially for a film like METRO where a lot is dependent upon the first week to complete and at least a week more to follow, one needs to be a little more patient.

This is what exactly has worked for METRO....the patience factor. After an average opening, the word of mouth for the film (as expected, in the urban centres) has been quite good. Audience can be seen relating to the film's subject and recommending it to people around in a big way. As of now, the film is en route to turn out to be a decent first week earner and with reports looking positive, it should turn out to be a good success for Anurag Basu and UTV.

GOOD BOY BAD BOY was never meant to be a great cinema but even for people who like their cinema to be no-brainer-masala-entertainer, this Emraan Hashmi-Tusshar Kapoor film didn't turn out to be a satisfying affair. There were select set of audience and some pockets in the country where the film saw a sizeable chunk in the opening weekend, but the word of mouth wasn't quite happening. On shaky grounds, this comedy is currently struggling to stand on its feet. Controversies surrounding the entire production of the film with reported rift between the cast, crew and the maker is not helping the cause either.

Last week's movies

YATRA was the sole release of the week and it's stint at the theatres too was only for a sole week! Collecting 25 lakhs in the first week (even this amount sounds surprising as one would have expected way lower than this), the film has marched out of theatres and is barely in the running. A film which doesn't have much scope even in DVD or satellite circuits.

From the past

A 50% industry standard fall in the second week confirms that TA RA RUM PUM has turned out to be decent, if not blockbuster, at the box office. With 8.5 crores more coming in and the total moving to 26 crores, the film has done well at the box office and now gets into a comfort zone from where it starts earning profits.

The film did fall by more than 50% in Mumbai where it slid from 4.25 crore to 2 crore while even in Delhi the collections fell from 2.5 crore to 1 crore. Though one was apprehensive about SPIDERMAN 3 wave hitting it extremely hard, it hasn't quite happened and the film has managed to survive the scare. It's all about how well does this family entertainer manage to consolidate from hereon.

BIG BROTHER manages to live on for yet another week and gets 15 lakhs more in its kitty to bring it's total close to 7 crore. An earner in most circuits [barring Mumbai and a few more], the film has given an account of Sunny Deol's continued popularity amongst his loyal fans.

BHEJA FRY continues to rock the show as it elevates to Superhit status with yet another superb week. Bringing in another 80 lakhs with the total crossing 6.5 crore, it has proved to be the second highest earning movie of the week when it comes to Hindi films.

Meanwhile NAMASTEY LONDON continues to earn moolah and even in it's 7th week, it got home another 40 lakhs to inch closer to 37 crore mark. VIVAH, at 32.5 crores saw its collections on a lower side with 10 lakhs more coming in.

In the future

RAQEEB and EK CHALIS KI LAST LOCAL are the two thrillers of the week! Both of them see debutant directors (Anurag Singh, Sanjay Khanduri) trying to make their mark in the world of Bollywood. With decent promotion to support, the films are known amongst the audience though a lot will depend upon the word of mouth to pull them through. There is not much that one is looking from an opening point of view though it would be interesting to see how the final product eventually turns out to be.