First weekend performance of latest release

There was no new notable films release last weekend.

Last week's movies

Though initial reports indicated a washout status for BLACK & WHITE, the first week numbers do not quite compliment the horror stories. The medium budget film eventually did manage to earn close to 3.5 crores which means it is far away from being called a trade disaster. However, the film's collections do not make BLACK & WHITE a safe preposition, nor do they promise a coverage status. The film couldn't touch the 1 crore mark anywhere, something which is a must for any film worth it's salt, and stopped at 75 lakhs in Mumbai and 40 lakhs in Delhi. Delhi NCR got another 22 lakhs odd though.

Yes, the film is a flop hence making it three in a row for Subhash Ghai (YAADEIN, KISNA and now BLACK & WHITE) but his production house still has a hope of recovering money through DVD and satellite rights. There is absolutely no hope for the film in it's second week in spite of no competition while from third week on, it is expected to be totally out of circulation with RACE leading the charge.

Silver lining though is that if Anurag Sinha takes his next steps carefully, he has a good future ahead of him in a star/actor starved industry which currently is relying on 7-8 big male leads.

From the past

JODHAA AKBAR has completed one month at the box office and even though it had BLACK & WHITE for competition in the week gone by, it has managed to not just sustain quite well but also record impressive collections.

In the week gone by, just from it's Hindi version, the film collected another 5 crores at theatres across the country. The film fell by less than 50% when compared to 9 crores odd that it earned in it's third week. This means that the film has now crossed the 53 crores mark and has brought together one and all in agreement with film's HIT box office standing. The film has been excellent in Mumbai where it has earned 1 crore more while Delhi NCR too is in the excess of 1 crore.

With one more open week to be enjoyed for JODHAA AKBAR, 55 crores milestone being crossed is a given. As for Hrithik and Ash, it is yet another big success for them together after DHOOM 2!

MITHYA continues to hang on and sees a standard 50% fall in it's 5th week. With 20 lakhs more coming in, this Rajat Kapoor film now stands at 5.5 crores. The film's theatrical run is looking at an end as it completes 50 days in a fortnight but on satellite medium, this Ranvir Shorey starrer is all set to enjoy a repeat viewing. Meanwhile SUNDAY is bowing out in the week where it completes 50 days at the box office. With less than a million added to it's total, this Rohit Shetty film is an average success at 22.5 crores.

TAARE ZAMEEN PAR continues to earn mega bucks and sustains itself amongst the Top-3 money spinners of the week. With a mere 25% fall and showing immense sustaining power at the box office, the film saw another 40 lakhs coming in. With 60 crores milestone being crossed, Aamir Khan would now be looking at his GHAJINI remake to surpass these collections by a big margin. The actor has already started the film's publicity, courtesy his semi-bald look which he revealed in RACE premier!

Meanwhile WELCOME is now more or less out of circulation with only 8 lakhs more coming in. A blockbuster success at 76 crores with DVD sales ruling from the top!

In the future

After a string of comedies in 2007, it has started raining action flicks this year with Abbas Mustan turning to some serious action with RACE. A high adrenalin ride which comes with actors jumping from 20 floors, fast moving cars tumbling on highways, aerial stunts being the order of the day and one lover boy (Saif Ali Khan) getting an image makeover, RACE is already carrying great reports.

With hot bods like Bipasha Basu, Katrina Kaif and Sameera Reddy going all out to soar temperatures, RACE is creating some heat already en route to it's release this Friday. The film is all set to take a mega start and is looking comfortably placed amongst the Top-5 box office openers of all times!