First weekend performance of latest release

Just like last week, 25th November too saw two altogether distinct movies getting released - 'Deewane Huye Paagal' and 'The Film'. We had mentioned last week that the pre-release hype around DHP was good but not tremendous and that showed in the opening weekend collections that followed a similar trend. This meant that the collections weren't earth shattering and primarily hovered in an average to above average range. On the flip side, the good part is that the movie has sustained itself even after the dreaded Monday due to numerous factors - excellent word of mouth, mainly positive reviews and no-holds-bar publicity that has taken an altogether comic turn with a fresh set of promos on air. The movie should be able to make profits for everyone concerned but for that it would have to hold on for the rest of the week [that sounds quite possible because as the movie has an appeal for both single screen and multiplex audience].

In comparison, 'The Film' failed to kick off and though the reviews have been mixed, not many people ventured into the theatres. On Monday, collections were as low as 5% at places that tell the tale. Overall too, the movie too is average with nothing much that puts it in a 'must-watch' category. Chances are minimal that it would be able to survive for another week.

Last week's movies

Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena came near the 4 crore mark at the end of week one and though it is being marked as a failure by some, the fact remains that the movie's budget has been on the lower side. This means that EKEH may not have become another HIT for Fardeen Khan after 'No Entry' or a dream debut for director Suparn Verma, but it may still just about break even for the distributors. In 'multiplex' cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Hyderabad and Bangalore, the collections have been respectable to an extent. Movie's songs are still popular and the DVDs [when released] should catch a fancy amongst the urban crowds who may prefer to watch it in their living rooms.

Taj Mahal didn't find any takers in the first week and the way it is going in its second week, there is not much left to say about the movie's fortunes. The movie hardly saw any good collections in the first week as it came just near the 1 crore mark. Its only hopes are now in international market where the movie could be dubbed and released in different languages. One feels sad for Zulfi Syed as his good work may just have gone unnoticed. The actor deserves to get more opportunities from hereon.

Garam Masala added around 3 crore more to its tally and now stands close to the 25 crore mark. The movie is doing excellent business in multiplexes across the country and is quite good in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Ahemdabad, Gurgaon, Bangalore amongst others. In fact its collections in the third week at Mumbai, Ahemdabad, Bangalore and Chennai were even better than the first week collections of EKEH. Garam Masala seems to be heading towards a comfortable 28 crore finishing mark though it may be quite a stretch to touch 30 crores.

Just like the first 2 weeks, even 3rd week saw similar performance of both Kyon Ki and Shaadi No. 1. Drop was in the range of 70-80% of both the flicks that put the final stamp of 'Flop' on both of them. Collections after 3rd week stand around 12.5 crores for both the movies that is way below expectations considering the starcast, banner and above all the release timing [Diwali]. One can expect at maximum run of 2 or 3 more weeks for both the movies!

Hanuman continues to find takers with a decent show even in the fifth week, albeit a drop in collections [unlike the previous week when it actually showed a jump]. The animated flick has now crossed 5 crores at the BO and is on its way to be called a HIT. It would be worthy to see if just like 'horror' and 'sleaze' genre in the past, how many film makers actually start attempting the 'animation' genre. No Entry would be completing 100 days next week.

In the future

There is variety galore this December with the first Friday of the month bringing in as many as three flicks - Apaharan, Home Delivery and Mr Ya Miss. Out of the three, none of them are expected to be showing house full boards on the opening day. In terms of overall cinematic experience, Apaharan is expected to be the best, though its theme sounds too serious to be lapped up by the family audience. Revolving around the subject of kidnapping nexus, it would appeal tremendously to the connoisseurs of quality cinema and men folks in both cities as well as interiors should shown inclination to watch the flick. An average opening in the range of 50-60% is expected.

Home Delivery is a core multiplex movie and should show good collections in its opening weekend at Mumbai at least. In rest of the country, it is expected to open just about average but may pick up if the reviews are good and word of mouth positive. Director Sujoy Ghosh has a sweet little success with 'Jhankaar Beats' a few years back but then it also boasted of popular music. In the case of 'Home Delivery', the music has still not caught up which is definitely not a good sign.

Antara Mali's 'Mr Ya Miss' may well be the surprise package of the three as it may fetch the best opening out of the three releases, though again on the average side. The promos have done the trick and the low budget of the movie should ensure that 'Mr Ya Miss' is able to survive the onslaught of biggies that would begin next week onwards.