First weekend performance of latest release

Madhur Bhandarkar couldn't have asked for a better week as his 'Corporate' was the sole release of the week. Sole release because Rajpal Yadav's poorly publicized, under-released, hardly reviewed and negligibly seen movie 'Ladies Tailor' is unworthy to be mentioned.

A metro-centric film, something which the director has willfully acknowledged, 'Corporate' has taken a decent start at the multiplexes. This 4 crore film should turn out to be a profitable venture for everyone involved since word of mouth has been mainly positive by those who have seen it, though a few, who are not really attached to the corporate world, have found the initial reels of the film a bit cumbersome to understand.

Also, not everyone has supported the game of 'paisa, power and politics' shown in the film though most have taken the proceedings with a pinch of salt and hailed the director's effort. Though it would be seen over the period of time if the film sustains itself, nothing can be taken away from the fact that 'Corporate' is one of the best from the stable of Bhandarkar, something which is even better than 'Page 3', and is a well researched hard hitting drama that is a must watch for those looking for meaningful yet entertaining cinema.

Last week's movies

It was an open week for the earlier films to consolidate with no films releasing in the wake of super successes like 'Krrish', 'Phir Hera Pheri' and 'Fanaa'. 'Chup Chup Ke' too occupied a decent share of screens hence making it virtually impossible for any other film to barge in!

From the past

Second week of 'Krrish' was amazing in more ways than one! Firstly, it's drop was less than the industry standard of 50% i.e. even in the second week, the film's collections fell only by 40%. Secondly the collections of first week were so huge that even a 40% drop meant that the film's collections were richer by 15+ crores! Now this is a superb figure since the biggest of films in recent times have enjoyed a 15 crore FIRST WEEK and have been labeled as a big success.

All this means that now 'Krrish' stands at 42 crore, this too in just a 2 week timeframe, and is now aiming for a super fast 50 crore in 3 week flat, even if the film falls further by 50%! With a light weight 'Corporate' being the sole release of this week, it is quite probable that the feat should be accomplished.

Records continued to break for 'Krrish' as record prints [500+] were in circulation [even in its second week]. With Mumbai coming close to 3+ crores and Delhi nearing the 2 crore mark, the film continued to add in moolah from big cities. Contribution from Ahmedabad [70 lakhs], Kolkata [65 lakhs], Chennai (Hindi+Tamil) [60 lakhs] Lucknow [27 lakhs] and Gurgaon [26 lakhs] were superb as well while B and C centers too were on a record breaking spree.

For a second week in succession, inspite of the 'Krrish' wave, 'Phir Hera Pheri' continued to be a good option for moviegoers as the film fell by mere 30%. Occupying the second highest number of screens, 'Phir Hera Pheri' collected around 3.5 crore in its 4th week, hence bringing the total to 37 crores. While last week it looked improbable for the film to break through the 40 crore barrier, due to an excellent 4th week it seems like a good possibility now! 2-3 weeks more and the film should be first Akshay Kumar starrer to top the 40 crore mark. Superhit and still counting!

'Chup Chup Ke' continues to amaze after being written off in the first weekend of its release. It has silently chugged along to cross the 14 crore mark by adding on further 75 lakhs in the 4th week. This may seem small when compared to other flicks but the scale of the film has been equally small too. An average flick that should turn out to be above average once it crosses the 15 crore milestone!

'Fanaa' hung on quite well in its 6th week when it seemed that the film would crash due to 'Krrish' mania. The film saw a low drop of around 25% [which is pleasantly surprising] and added on 1.5 crore more hence bringing the movie on the right side of 50 crores. Now the film's collections read 51 crore, which means that 'Fanaa' should cross 52 crore, something that seemed improbable last week.

In the future

Coming weekend is a time for celebration for 'Golmaal' because of the open week factor. While 'Husn - Love and Betrayal' continues to be postponed and looks unlikely to be released along with 'Golmaal', this Rohit Shetty film seems set for a promising start.

Though one may not expect houseful boards all over the country on the opening day, there is high possibility that the opening would range in 70-80% and only improve over the weekend once word of mouth catches up. The promos have been exciting, the feel good factor is visible, storyline seems to be indeed 'fun unlimited' while the music has been popular.

Now it all depends upon how has Shetty presented this 'bhelpuri' of confusion, masti and mazaa in a manner that would click with the audience!