First weekend performance of latest release

There was a mention in this column last week about RACE and WELCOME being the only two films which were under threat of their opening week record (35 crores) to be broken by the release of SINGH IS KINNG. However, even though this Anees Bazmee directed film was hot and a sure shot success in the making, it was a wait and watch situation before coming to conclusion around OM SHANTI OM record of 40 crores being broken.

However, the wait is over now and it is now going to be just a matter of days before SINGH IS KINNG would be crowned as the biggest ever Bollywood openers of all times. All set to surpass the 40 crores and do even better, the film has been minting money by crores with every passing show.

The film's 3 day collections read in an excess of 26 crores which means that getting 14 crores plus in the remaining 4 days of the week is going to be a matter of formality, hence ensuring that 40 crores first week record is broken by a wide margin. A time-pass affair, the film may not be an exceptional piece of cinema but for those looking at some breezy entertainment, SINGH IS KINNG packs in quite some fun for those 2 hours. With audience as well as critics response ranging from OK to decent to good, SINGH IS KINNG is bound to go down as the biggest success ever till date for every name associated with it.

Anees Bazmee has now given three huge hits in NO ENTRY, WELCOME and SINGH IS KINNG. Meanwhile Katrina too has made it 9 in a row with SARKAR, MAINE PYAAR KYUN KIYA, HUM KO DEEWANA KAR GAYE, NAMASTEY LONDON, APNE, PARTNER, WELCOME, RACE and now SINGH IS KINNG! Whew!! Meanwhile what can one say about Akshay Kumar? He is now standing next to Shah Rukh Khan in box office standing and it would be an interesting battle to look forward to with their CHANDNI CHOWK TO CHINA and RAB NE BANA DI JODI releasing within breathing distance of each other.

Meanwhile luck clearly ran out for GOOD LUCK with the film not even getting a decent theatrical release. Seems no one associated with the project as well was in a mood to talk about it and completely gave up. Disaster.

Last week's movies

What does a 7 crore first week total for a medium budget film say? Only one thing that if not for SINGH IS KIING following a week after, a larger number of audience would have definitely given it a dekko! UGLY AUR PAGLI was not a bad film and Mallika-Ranvir were looking good too. However, with all waiting to shell out money for SINGH IS KINNG, the opening wasn't as per the expectations for this PNC production.

The film crossed the 1 crore mark in both Mumbai and Delhi though a huge fall in the second week is very much on the cards (just like any other movie apart from SINGH IS KINNG running in the town). However, it would be wrong to call the film as a flop since it has been made on a reasonable budget. With the usual revenue coming from DVD, satellite rights and other avenues, UGLY AUR PAGLI would sail through smoothly in a long run.

From the past

A coverage run of UGLY AUR PAGLI can be pretty much gauged with the fact that MISSION ISTANBUL, a film with much bigger canvas, star cast and budget could also ended up making only similar kind of money and that too in a two week run. At 7.5 crores after a 85% fall resulting in less than 1 crore coming in, MISSION ISTANBUL is a huge flop. The film crashed all over with a mere 10 lakhs coming from Mumbai and Delhi being pathetic with 3.5 lakhs. A forgettable affair for everyone involved though one feels particularly sad for Zayed Khan and Nikiten Dheer who were banking heavily on this project.

However, one doesn't quite feel bad for anyone at all in case of MONEY HAI TO HONEY HAI since this seems to be a project where everyone lost interest within first 5 days of shooting. No one came forward to talk about the film before it's release; no one came forward to mourn after the film flopped. Net net, this was one of those inconsequential projects which seems to have been made primarily from the point of view of enhancing a production company portfolio more than anything else.

How else can one explain a film being so shoddy in treatment that audience gives it a complete cold shoulder treatment, hence resulting in a 90% fall in the second week? With a mere 50 lakhs more coming in and the total standing at 5 crores, it is second trade disaster in a row for Kumar Mangat.

KISMAT KONNECTION took yet another huge fall (70%) and earned only 1.5 crores more in the third week. At 27 crores, it is one of those films which follows the adage of 'make money in first 3 days and disappear pronto'. Great promotion, superb music and a cute Shahid brought in the audience. However, on their return they weren't too kind about the product. Result? It's a quick fire bye-bye time for the film from the theaters with an average box office status. What a pity since while VIVAH AND JAB WE MET grew from week to week, KISMAT KONNECTION fell day after day!

Even though most of the other films in the running met with a disastrous box office response, JAANE TU YA JAANE NAA continued to stand tall with yet another productive week. Taking a reasonable 40% fall, the film garnered close to 3 crores, hence touching 53 crores in 5 weeks flat. Imraan Khan meanwhile continues to stay in news ever since the first look of his KIDNAP has been out. By the look of things, his would be one of the most talked about performances again before the year ends.

In the future

On any given day, a film starring Amitabh Bachchan and Salman Khan in lead roles would have been clear favorite of the audience and stayed in the news for weeks at stretch. However, it is not really the same in case of GOD TUSSI GREAT HO which is just not creating enough excitement. The promos are giving an impression of the film being an okay affair (certainly not mind blowing), the look is a little jaded (shouldn't matter much though if the content is fine), the songs haven't really got popular while the overall buzz is clearly missing. Urban audience is anyways lost since the BRUCE ALMIGHTY 'inspiration' is pretty obvious. Expect an opening not more than 40%-50%.

BACHNA AE HASEENO should open a little better though because of it's frothy feel. Agreed that YASH RAJ FILMS are at their all time low in the current decade but Siddharth Anand promises to be the savior with this Ranbir, Bipasha, Deepika, Minissha film. The film is looking like a time pass romcom story in the offering and chartbuster music should ensure enough eye candy sequences. It would be a surprise (unlike a THODA PYAAR THODA MAGIC which looked like a dud from day one) if BACHNA AE HASEENO doesn't turn out to be a safe box office preposition.