'Pyaar Ka Punchnama', '404' and 'Kashmakash' released last weekend. What also released alongside was 'Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides' which eventually turned out to be the biggest of them all. So much so that despite some good to very good reviews that 'Pyaar Ka Punchnama' and '404' fetched, it was the Hollywood flick which enjoyed the best footfalls.

'Pyaar Ka Punchnama' had a lot going for it. It had terrific promos, catchy music, fresh appeal and an unabashed declaration about the target audience - youth. It was expected that around 40%-50% opening was pretty much on the cards. The result though wasn't as per expectations as the film opened a lot lower and managed to fetch only a little over 3 crores in the first weekend.

Now if the film was bad, this could have been an acceptable total. However the fact that it was a good film and also critical response was positive too only leaves one puzzled about box office not showing a similar response. From this point on one can only hope that the positive word of mouth ensures a good enough stay for the film as the second weekend is wide open too with no major competition (from newer Bollywood flicks).

'404' has itself to blame for more than anyone else for its disastrous fate at the box office as it was just not promoted at all. For such a well made film which is pretty much an answer to Manoj Shyamalan's 'The Sixth Sense', it must be painful for director Prawaal Raman to see less than 10% footfalls over the opening weekend. One of the best films to have come out of Bollywood this year, the film saw terrific reviews but then it hardly reached out to audience. Rest assured, it will be quite popular on the satellite and home video but with mere 50 lakhs coming over the weekend, its theatrical stint will be abmysal.

As for 'Kashmakash', it was nothing more than a token release. An art house affair that was never meant to grab any audience whatsoever, the film saw near to negligible collections with a threat of being pulled off from theaters inside first week itself.