Box Office Analysis

First weekend performance of latest release

For some reasons 'Malamaal Weekly' wasn't really considered hot when it released this Friday. This was surprising because the movie brought together the hit pairing of Priyadarshan and Paresh Rawal together; so what if except for Riteish Deshmukh there was no hero per se in the movie! Even the reviews surprised one and all as they ranged from calling the movie 'pathetic' to 'hilarious entertainer'. Now how diverse can it get more than this? In the end, audience took a final call and results were there for everyone to be seen as the movie took an above average (as predicted by us) to a good start. The movie reminds of the box office success of 'Hera Pheri' which also gained strength to strength as days progressed inspite of taking an ordinary start. All said and done, Priyadarshan is on way to yet another comic success. The other release of the week, 'Jigyaasa', was a non-starter all around and the movie should finally put a stone over the grave of titillating films that have flopped consistently over last year and a half!

Last week's movies

'Teesri Aankh - The Hidden Camera' didn't get many eyes as it opened to a poor response all over. Even in North India, which is considered to be haven for Sunny Deol, the opening was way below the mark with Delhi garnering just around 25 lakhs. Mumbai was just a little better with 40 lakhs but that still isn't any consolation. Overall all-India collections just about managed to touch 4 crores, which is even below Sunny's last big flop 'Jo Bole So Nihal'. The movie has been rejected all over with no chances of survival whatsoever. The theme and the title of the movie are such that one can't expect much from the DVD circuits too!

From the past

For a second week in succession, audience preferred to ride in 'Taxi No. 9211' as the movie continued to claim the number one spot with even mighty 'Rang De Basanti' below it. The movie took an industry standard 50% second week fall and managed to add another 5 crores approximately to make it a 14 crore total. The movie topped the 1 crore in Mumbai for yet another week while Delhi, Ahemdabad, Kolkata, Bangalore and Gurgaon continued to register big numbers. In the hindsight, it appears that with an open month ahead, it was indeed a smart strategy by the producers to have released the movie at just the opportune time.

'Humko Tumse Pyaar Hai' proved to be a one week runner as the collections in the second week were embarrassingly low (around 15 lakhs). The movie's overall collections till date stand at just around 70 lakhs and now HTPH has a dubious distinction of being the biggest flop ever for Bobby Deol, Arjun Rampal and Amisha Patel. 'Sun Zarra' ends its run at 6 lakhs and is now the biggest disaster of 2006. It may really require some miracle for any other movie with decent credentials to break this record.

'Fight Club' lost its fight at the box office by the time it was through its 3rd week and barely managed to cross 6 crores. The way it has been falling rapidly with the run restricted to the B and C centers, it should fade away in a couple of week's time with a final total of 6.5 crores. Result? A flop, though with minimal losses!

'Chingaari' is out as well with just around 1 crore in its kitty and the original DVD/VCD is out in the market. Having said that, it is hardly a kind of movie that people may want to buy and watch at home! 'Mixed Doubles' too has ended its run with exactly the same total as 'Chingaari'. In comparison, it was surprising to see 'Aksar' holding well even in its 5th week as it retained its place in the Top 5 charts. The movie added in another quarter of a crore to take its total to 8.5 crore. By the time it is March end and time for biggies to strike, it should manage to make a handsome 9 crores.

While 'Rang De Basanti' is on its way to complete 50 days run at the box office, it is still earning in crores every week and now has come pretty close to 45 crores. Now it is certainly on way to topple the 45 crore total of 'No Entry' last year and is amongst the biggest grosser of this decade after 'Gadar - Ek Prem Katha', 'Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham', 'Koi Mil Gaya' and 'Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai'. In a week's time, it should cross the KNPH total of 46 crores while with some luck it may even topple the 49 crore total of 'Koi Mil Gaya'.

In the future

Two small films 'Umar' and 'Banana Brothers' release this Friday. Though 'Umar' has a good subject, it suffers from lack of publicity, banner and star value. The movie made some news till about a month back but a month's delay has resulted in the publicity drying out completely. There are little or no hopes that the movie may survive at the box office and only good reviews and some decent word of mouth may manage to save it to an extent. 'Banana Brothers' may just release and go completely unnoticed due to zero publicity and zilch awareness.