MUMBAI: The pre-Diwali period, considered to be dullest ever at the box office, used to be the exhibitor’s nightmare. The running time was fed with dubbed films or re-run films. The idea was to just minimise the loss.
Come corporate era, no period is considered dull. This Friday, 30 October saw numerous releases; unheard of films with no promotion worth its name. Of course, all to disastrous results.
Among all releases of the week, Main Aur Charles was the most publicised, boasted of known faces in the cast and also went on to bag favourable reviews. Yet, it was the best example of a mis-timed release. A film, which would have ended its opening day with over Rs 3 crore to improve on days to follow, managed barely a crore. Nothing better came its way on Saturday and Sunday that followed. The film ended its opening weekend with approximately Rs 3.65 crore.
On the other hand, Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2 is enjoying an excellent run at the box office, on its own merit as well as some help from poor new releases. The film is a favourite with the youth. It has had an impressive second week with figures of Rs 14.1 crore taking its two week total to Rs 51.9 crore.
Guddu Ki Gun, a curious kind of film, which tries to create comedy out of a silly idea about a young man’s vitals turning to gold, falls flat. The only use the film will have is for future producers troubled by the Film Certification Board, to cite it as a precedent. The film managed about Rs 1.7 crore for the opening weekend.
Despite critical reviews and a strong word of mouth from the industry, Dibakar Bennerjee’s home production, Titli, is a disaster.
Other nondescript adventures like Love Exchange, Once Upon A Time In Bihar, Mere Sai Ram and The Last Horror fail to find audience.
Shaandaar collections go on a free fall in its first week after an indifferent opening weekend. The film suffers many cancelled shows due to lack of audience as the week progresses. A sheer waste of good star cast and ample funding thanks to a juvenile script and an unimaginative making. The film, which did its best in its four day opening weekend, managed to add a meagre Rs 6.1 crore for the four days after the weekend to show a poor Rs 36.9 crore for its first week. The film may add a crore or so at best for the rest of its run.
Jazbaa collects Rs 20 lakh in its third week to take its three week total to Rs 23.9 crore.
Singh Is Bliing adds Rs 10 lakh in its fourth week taking its four week total to Rs 74.05 crore.
Talvar collects about a crore in its fourth week taking its four week total to Rs 30.55 crore.
