!*~*R...RAJKUMAR : BO & Reviews : Critics vs Audience*~*! - Page 87

Shahid gets a relief with 'R...Rajkumar'

As expected, 'R... Rajkumar' opened well at the box office. In fact the footfalls as well as the collections were pretty much as per the plan, what with around 50% opening resulting in a little over 10 crore coming on the first day. Now this is the highest opening that a Shahid Kapoor film has ever taken and second highest ever for Prabhu Dheva after 'Rowdy Rathore'.

Such collections were always on the cards, considering the songs (Gandi Baat, Saree Ke Fall Sa) had done the trick while the promos were accepted too. Oh yes, there were spoilers in the party though, what with majority of critics panning the film with some of the worst reviews of the year reserved for it. There were a handful of average and good reviews too but largely, there wasn't any chance given to the film. However, audience had a choice of its own and this was reflected in some consistent numbers that the film gained over the weekend.

As a result, over 30 crores came over the weekend for 'R... Rajkumar' which has given the film a good chance to fight it out during the weekdays. Solo release as well as absence of any competition whatsoever has helped the film's prospects and since there is hardly any competition in the coming week, 'R... Rajkumar' should continue to find audience, especially in the single screens. This must indeed be good news for Shahid Kapoor and Sonakshi Sinha who were hunting for a good earner this year.

Other release of the week, 'Club 60' got good reviews and sparse release, hence resulting in hardly any collections coming its way. It would soon be hunting for audience in the home video circuit.