OSO wins BO battle against Saawariya

Farah Khan directed OSO, took the year's biggest opening surpassing that of David Dhawan's Partner. Om Shanti Om has opened to an earth shattering 95-100% response smashing records all over. Released with a total number of 2000 prints (including digital prints), OSO was released in around 600 single screens and set new first day highs on nearly 500 of these 600 single screens. The multiplexes saw near 100% collections but the grosses are not as high as last year's biggie (Don) as it only managed to get 8-10-12 shows as against the 14-16-18 that other biggies have managed. This was due to the clash with Saawariya which took up a similar amount of screens at multiplexes. The reports are very positive from all parts of the country and the film will become a huge all India hit. The opening day in Delhi/UP, East Punjab, West Bengal, Rajasthan and Mysore was humungous as single screens went over capacity at places. The first week should see many more records being crushed. In the UK, the film managed to collect around 125,000 pounds on its opening day.

Saawariya has been written off but this seems to be because it lost the initial battle against Om Shanti Om. It may not have opened as well as Om Shanti Om but the opening is still amongst the best of 2007. The makers claim it has earned Rs 57 crores in its opening three days which is a record for any film starring a new pair in Hindi cinema history. The film had collections of 95-100% at multiplexes while single screens were around 80-85%. The reports are poor but if it can hold out through the week at multiplexes then it could recover costs or even make some money. Single screens are going to find it tough as cracks in collections can be seen on Monday morning already with a 20-25% drop at places. The film collected around 40,000 pounds on its opening day in UK.

OSO took a flying start in the US as well. It grossed $385,000 with per screen average of $3,377 on its opening day. It also debuted at No. 14 at the US Box Office on its first day of release. The King Khan film has managed this feat by releasing in only 114 screens. On the other hand, Saawariya collected $140,000 with per screen average of $1,647 on opening day by releasing in 85 screens.

With a strong word of mouth going against Saawariya, OSO has an open next week where it will continue to earn more crores and emerge as this year's biggest super hit.