First weekend performance of latest release

If there was anything consistent about Friday's release 'Umar', it was the utterly negative reviews it received. It was hard to find any good word about this movie about senior citizens and constant comparison with 'Baghban' further resulted in a difficult outing for this Karan Razdan flick. There was no opening at all to talk about and the movie is on its way to die down in a week's time. Jimmy Shergill again finds himself in a situation where he gets appreciation for his work but box office success continues to play hide and seek with him. Still, he has 'Tom Dick and Harry' to look forward to that is carrying highly positive reports.

'Banana Brothers'? Well, there wasn't any release worth calling out in the first place; hence there is no question of any box office outcome! Released with minimal prints in few territories with zero publicity, it is one of the films that get released and done away with in a matter of days and not even weeks! It would be a miracle of sorts if the all India collections read even 10 lakhs at the end of first week!

Last week's movies

One look at the box office results of 'Malamaal Weekly' and one can't help but exclaim - "That's Bollywood for you!" The movie boasted of limited publicity while the setting was in a village [hence seemingly unfit for multiplex audiences, as claimed by some industry experts!] But this Priyadarshan, Paresh Rawal, Om Puri combo did wonders throughout its first week from Friday till next Thursday with consistent collections across the country and not just any particular territory or centers. The film's title has proved to be true for its producers as this low budget movie crossed its investment by a big margin in the first week itself after totaling a staggering 10 crores. After a multi crore 'Rang De Basanti', this small film now boasts of the second biggest first week grosser of the year 2006! 'Malamaal Weekly' has crossed the 1 crore barrier in both Mumbai [1.6 crores] and Delhi [1.1 crores] while in Ahemdabad it has been phenomenal with 75 lakhs collections.

'Jigyaasa' saw a limited release and even limited collections as it merely managed to cross 10 lakhs total. The movie is a complete washout and now out of theatres at most places after one week itself.

From the past

'Teesri Aankh - The Hidden Camera' had a miserable show towards the end of second week as the collections were near to negligible at all centers across the country. With just around 70 lakhs added to its first week's total of 4 crores, the writing is clear on the wall for the film. A 'masala' flick that was completely outdated in today's times, the audience gave it a cold shoulder even before its release and the negative vibes coupled with lackluster product made it a forgettable venture for Harry Baweja. A big loser for everyone involved, as the movie would at maximum be able to sustain at some centers for a couple of weeks!

Arrival of 'Malamaal Weekly was the only reason for 'Taxi No. 9211' to slid to the second position as the film is still going strong at number of centers, especially Mumbai where it has managed to total 70 lakhs + even in its third week. Even at other centers, big or small, it is doing decent business inspite of an urban setting and is now one of the biggest grossers for John Abraham and Nana Patekar. The movie has now reached around 16.5 crore and should come quite close to 20 crore mark, hence making it a comfortable hit!

'Fight Club' is virtually out of the rings now with negligible collections coming in 4 weeks after the film's release. This multistarrer that promised a decent outing has ended its run with around 6.5 crore in its kitty while a relatively unknown 'Mixed Doubles' too breathes its last at 1.25 crore mark! Emraan Hashmi's magic continues to get some money for the producers in an extended run of 'Aksar' as the total inches towards the 9 crore mark. At one point of time it seemed that the movie would just about stretch towards 8-8.5 crores, but its performance over last couple of weeks [though in small amounts] has helped the collections to be consolidated.

'Rang De Basanti' takes an extremely marginal fall in its seventh week [just around 15%] that is simply phenomenal. Collections continue to read in crores as the film continues to do superbly all over. Further 2 crores came in from cities like Delhi [35 lakhs] and Mumbai [26 lakhs], which means that now the film has crossed the 46 crore mark. Now it has dislodged last year's biggest success 'No Entry' from the Top 5 biggest grossers of the year while being just a few lakhs away from 'Kaho Na Pyaar Hai' that holds the 4th position!

In the future

Though three movies are slated for release this Friday, Being Cyrus, Eight Shani and Souten - The Other Woman, ironically it is the English film 'Being Cyrus' that is being most sought after, though in relative terms. Earlier titled 'Akoori', 'Being Cyrus' has been ready for quite some time but is now being released. An urban multiplex film, its special due to Saif Ali Khan, who is being said to be highly menacing and unpredictable in the film. The curiosity factor should get it a decent initial [in the range of 50%] but lack of any other notable release for one more week to come should help 'Being Cyrus' recover its costs.

After 'Umar', Karan Razdan has two more releases this Friday - 'Eight Shani' and 'Souten - The Other Woman'. While the former is about supernatural and has seen patchy publicity, the latter is a social drama that looks a little dated. None of the two movies really give out much positive vibes w.r.t. their box office outing, though 'Souten' should read better collections.