First weekend performance of latest release

In last week's column, there were three things clearly mentioned regarding the fate of NAMASTEY LONDON at the box office.

a) The film would open well on Friday (though not excellent which means 80% above) and then take a dip in the evening shows when India/Sri Lanka match commences b) Saturday and Sunday would touch 70% c) Overall the film would be a safe bet

This has indeed turned out to be true on all 3 counts as NAMASTEY LONDON is saying 'namaste' to one and all as it has been showing a heartening response at the box office. But hold on; don't start expecting a super-duper hit here. That's certainly not the case. Unlike Akshay's big hits like PHIR HERA PHERI and BHAGAM BHAG, it may not really turn out to be a 40 crore plus film, but yes, it would sail through comfortably and make decent profits.

Still one can't help but rejoice at the opening of the film since post GURU there hasn't been a single biggie that has worked at the box office. Except for mid-budget flicks HONEYMOON TRAVELS PVT. LTD., TRAFFIC SIGNAL and BLACK FRIDAY, the box office has been seeing only 'red' this year. That's the reason why when a biggie comes and opens well to indicate good box office returns, it is but obvious to be joyous about the money flowing in at the box office.

Word of mouth of the film has been fair to good though the reviews have been mostly on the brighter side. Amongst audience, the reactions have stayed in the middle range with the verdict being a 'time pass' to 'decent watch'. No one has fallen in love with the film, none have hated it either. Period!

UTV came up with its second film in as many weeks but the box office response to THE NAMESAKE has been poor to say the least. The film went through its rounds of previews and promotion but that didn't quite translate much into 'aam junta' giving it a dekko. Yes, the film has been much acclaimed internationally while Indian reviewers too have been mostly generous. But let's face it, the film should not have been expected to find much audience in India. The performances were mainly superb but the subject is not the kind that would touch many apart from those who are literary inclined.

Last week's movies

The gamble hasn't paid off for Milan Luthria and UTV. Their dream of showing a feel good film with cricket as a backdrop has sunk like a titanic as neither the film took a good opening nor has India's exit from the Cup have helped it's cause. Disappointing to the core, HAT TRICK's box office performance just doesn't justify the good work done by cast and crew of the film.

After an ordinary to below average opening on the first weekend, the film didn't quite show much improvement over the rest of the week and that resulted in it's poor first week total of under 4 crore. Releasing at near 300 cinemas, much healthier box office returns were expected, especially with Nana Patekar and Paresh Rawal in the credits, but sadly that didn't quite happen at all. Lukewarm promotion followed by audience's general lack of interest meant that not many even ventured into the theater.

This is why even in a city like Mumbai; the collections were a mere 90 lakhs while Delhi wasn't impressive either with only 40 lakhs. In fact the film hasn't done well in any parts of the country hence indicating that the World Cup fever was at it's peak in the week of film's release. With India making a World Cup exit and even the film's promotion coming to a near stop, a massive fall is on the cards for HAT TRICK in it's second week. A box office failure.

Second release of the week gone by had even poorer box office response as the film neither got critical acclaim nor found an audience for itself. With just 3.25 crores in its kitty and nowhere to go in the second week, this 'honeymoon' film may hopefully be last of it's kinds for this year at the least. There was just no interest amongst the audience to watch the film even though the promotion began 3 months back. Worse, the film arrived in such an unannounced manner that other than hardcore movie buffs, no one has been even aware about the film's release. Even JUST MARRIED had only 90 lakhs coming from Mumbai though Delhi was even bad with 30 lakhs. Add the film to the tally of box office flops in year 2007.

From the past

Both 1971 and SARHAD PAAR had their collections summing up to a few thousands in the second week, which tells the scale of the colossal flops the two have been. Expect the movies' DVDs to be out soon. RED is in clear 'red' for its makers as the film all but vanished in the second week. With a 90% fall, it could be Aftab Shivdasani's biggest flop ever from his current crop of films. A pity since the young man yet again performed well but without much dividends. The film would end it's run at 3.5 crores.

In comparison WATER won't even reach there as the film took a 70% fall to barely cross the 1.25 crore mark. That should in fact be the maximum distance the film would travel. And no, let's not blame John Abraham here as it was hardly his movie. He was there in an extended guest appearance if one looks at the length of his role and hence can afford to maintain a safe distance from the box office disappointment.

On the other hand, NISHABD is indeed an Amitabh Bachchan-RGV combo failure as the film further crashed by over 60% to get home a mere 35 lakhs. After a decent start of 5 crores, the film has all but wrapped up at a shade over 6 crore, which clearly indicates the way film has been rejected all over. No hopes are lost still since one can expect two powerhouse films coming from the combo in the form of RGV KE SHOLAY and SARKAR 2. Yes, we are waiting for them!

The film which is benefiting most due to disappointing films all around it is HONEYMOON TRAVELS PVT. LTD. Even in it's fourth week, the film has managed to get another 1 crore for itself hence bringing it's tally to 11.5 crore. Ek decent si success story, HTPL has proved to be a good outing for everyone associated with the film. Also, it has done a world of good for actors like Abhay Deol and Raima Sen who have got their first major box office success. On the other hand bad run of Ameesha Patel too has ended as she finally has a success to her name.

In it's 10th week, GURU has collected another 10 lakhs and though the numbers may look on a lower side now when compared to its overall total of 41.5 crores +, the fact cannot be denied that after VIVAH it is only GURU that has worked so consistently at the box office over the weeks. The biggest success of 2007 so far, it's total collections would only be challenged by Saif Ali Khan-Rani Mukherjee starrer TA RA RUM PUM which releases late April. From last week's total of 25 lakhs, VIVAH has moved down only by a couple of lakhs which shows a remarkable hold that the film continues to have in the 100 odd cinemas where it is still playing, in spite of entering into it's 20th week. At 31 crores plus, the film is a massive success.

In the future

Three medium to small budget films release this Friday - DELHII HEIGHTS, KHANNA & IYER and SAY SALAAM INDIA. Out of the three, only DELHII HEIGHTS has seen some decent promotion happening. On the other hand though KHANNA & IYER and SAY SALAAM INDIA come from contrasting production background [former comes from the house of Subhash Ghai while latter has independent producers at the helm], promotion of both have left much to be desired.

In fact that there are hardly many aware tha