Box-Office: Om Shanti Om Vs. Saawariya

Om Shanti Om v Saawariya:The battle begins-09/11/07 15.00 IST

The most hyped box office clash ever between two films started today. Never has anything been seen like it before with the media covering it like it was a national election but with this comes huge expectations from the two biggest (in terms of budget) films of the year.

The reports available as yet are from the two biggest centres Mumbai and Delhi city.

In Mumbai/Thane both films had a near 100% response at multiplexes and around 90% at single screens for the first two shows. Om Shanti Om had a release on 83 cinemas while Saawariya released on 73 cinemas.

In Delhi city the expected neck and neck clash did not happen as Om Shanti Om jumped out of the tracks to a bumper 100% opening in first two shows at multiplexes and single screens while Saawariya had to settle for 90% at multiplexes and 75% at single screens.

The Delhi city release sees Om Shanti Om occupying 35 cinemas while Saawariya occupies 26.

An all India report will be updated tomorrow.

http://www.boxofficeindia.com/ososaawariya1.htm

An intriguing Bollywood battle kicks off this weekend at U.K. theaters. This weekend marks Diwali, the Hindu festival, and sees Shah Rukh Khan starrer "Om Shanti Om" go head to head with A-list helmer Sanjay Leela Bhansali's "Saawariya."

Eros International saddles up "Om Shanti Om" on 51 and Sony put "Saawariya" out on 46 — both bullish releases for Bollywood product in the U.K. Bookers predict the former will win the B.O. duel largely thanks to the buzz generated by the splashy Nov. 8 world premiere in London and the pulling power of Khan, who concurs with U.K. exhibs in his typically self-confident manner: "I am India's giant and I have love on my side. Mine should be the bigger hit."

Both pics are expected to post openings comfortably north of $500,000.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117975675.html?categoryid= 13&cs=1

OSO has an edge over Saawariya

Shah Rukh Khan was right when he said 'Diwali is all mine'.

His film Om Shanti Om opened to packed houses on Friday along with the other big release, Saawariya this Diwali.

But while both films opened well on account of advanced bookings, (Saawariya [Images] opened well in advance as Om Shanti Om's distributors were negotiating the release of the film with multiplexes for a better price) the reports of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's [Images] Saawariya are not very encouraging.

Komal Nahta, a film trade analyst says, "Om Shanti Om has got an extraordinary opening and while Saawariya's opening is good too but the reports are bad."

Adds Vishal Anand, Vice President (Marketing), Fun Republic, "Om Shanti Om has an edge over Saawariya this weekend but Saawariya too has opened up well."

Therefore, bad reports do not mean Saawariya will not make money.

Says Vinod Mirani, film trade analyst, "Festival season is benefiting both the films, but eventually the better will sustain and Om Shanti Om is a better bet and mass appealing."

Sony has released 1034 prints worldwide for Saawariya out of which 754 are released in India and 280 are abroad.

Sony Pictures, Head of Publicity, Vikramjit Roy says, "This is a bumper Diwali for our films. Why are we not celebrating this fact? Why are we saying who is against whom at the box office?"

He further says, "I have reports with me that Saawariya has opened to full houses from Ernakulam to Jammu, or say, Gujarat for that matter, or even central India places like Madhya Pradesh."

"It is a record of sorts for two newcomers to get this big an opening at the box office. This has created a new benchmark and we are getting warm, positive reaction," added Roy.

However, the discouraging reviews the film is getting may result in losses later on, say trade analysts, and will eventually not rake in big moolah.

One of them, Taran Adarsh says, "Saawariya is overall disappointing in terms of content as well as business."

He further adds, "On the whole, Saawariya lacks soul. It is Bhansali's weakest film to date, in terms of writing. The cracks will start showing first at single screens and later at the big centres."

And whether this may happen, only the coming weeks will tell.

http://ia.rediff.com/movies/2007/nov/09box.htm

B.O. update: Big start for the biggies

The first day results are out! OM SHANTI OM has fetched a hurricane-like start everywhere. Multiplexes, single screens; big centres, towns, smaller centres; East, West, North, South, everywhere… the film has opened to huge numbers, setting new records on Day 1. The reports are extremely positive, with the youth as also the masses loving the film. As things stand today, the film will have an earth-shattering opening weekend as also Week 1.

SAAWARIYA too has opened to big numbers and the brand Sanjay Leela Bhansali coupled with the curiosity to watch the two star kids has resulted in the cineplexes as well as single screens opening to packed houses. The collections are expected to be great in the opening weekend, but the reports are negative and that will affect the film in days to come.

http://indiafm.com/trade/boxoffice_update/index.html

Komal about OSO & Saawariya

Komal said OSO was entertaining, a well written film.

BO: OSO got a fabulous bumper opening.

All records were broken on Friday.

says in the UK on Friday alone it made about 115,000 while SLB's film only made about 30-40 thousand.

He says Deepika has what it takes to be a star, she knows acting, looks good did her part with grace etc..

About Saawariya : he said he suffered it. everything is wrong with the film. the story & drama don't move, whats more the story isn't understood: where does the movie take place? why does Snam only wait for her lover at night? etc...

He says its a terrible film and its a shame SLB has made this film.

About audience reaction: they were part asleep during and walking out like zombies at the end

About the parents reaction: both Kapoors were devastated, he even said Anil was in a state of shock after the preview. Saawariya didn't turn out the way they expected at all

Om Shanti Om initial -10/11/07 14.00 IST

Om Shanti Om has opened to an earth shattering 95-100% response smashing records all over. The film was released on around 600 single screens and set new first day highs on nearly 500 of these 600 screens. The multiplexes saw near 100% collections but the grosses are not as high as last year biggies 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 may more records being crushed.

In Overseas the film managed to collect around 125,000 pounds yesterday in UK.

Saawariya : Very good opening. Poor reports.

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 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 this morning already with a 20-25% drop at places.

In Overseas the film collected around 40,000 pounds yesterday in UK

http://www.boxofficeindia.com/

U.K. update: 'O.S.O.' most-watched film in U.K.

By Taran Adarsh, November 10, 2007 - 14:54 IST

Shah Rukh Khan's OM SHANTI OM was the most-watched film on Friday in the entire U.K., if one goes by the screen average of all 150 films [English and non-English] running in the nation. The film collected 114,318 on 52 screens on Friday, with the average working out to 2,198. Extra-ordinary.

On the other hand, there's a wide gap between O.S.O. and SAAWARIYA in U.K. SAAWARIYA collected 38,254 on 46 screens, with the screen average working out to 832.

Here are the figures, at a glance:

FILM FRIDAY SCREENS AVERAGE
OM SHANTI OM 114,318 52 2,198
SAAWARIYA 38,254 46 832
AZHAGIYA TAMIL MAGAN [Tamil film] 21,558 18 1,198
KHUDA KE LIYE [Pakistani film] 3,709 9 412
JAB WE MET 3,139 19 165
LAAGA CHUNARI MEIN DAAG 337 6 56
BHOOL BHULAIYAA 162 2 81

http://www.indiafm.com/news/2007/11/10/10402/index.html

According to www.boxofficemojo.com OSO made $385,000 on friday alone in US. it's at #14.

Saawariya only made $140,000.

OSO one up on Saawariya?

11 Nov 2007, 0020 hrs IST,TNN

Om Shanti Om seems to have stolen a march on Sawaariya . (TOI Photo)

NEW DELHI: The build-up to the 'blockbuster' Diwali weekend began months ago. So now that the much-awaited Om Shanti Om — home production of superstar Shah Rukh Khan — and Saawariya , the launch vehicle of Ranbir Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor, have been released, how are they faring?

Trade experts caution that it's still too early to forecast the fates of both movies. But at least for now, OSO seems to have stolen a march. "The first round definitely goes to OSO but who will win the match is yet to be seen," says Delhi distributor Sanjay Mehta. "The real test will come when India plays Pakistan in Gwalior on Wednesday — that's when we will know how many people actually venture out to see either film," says Mehta.

What's known for sure is that this is easily the year's biggest opening weekend. "We have bulk advance booking for both films," says Gautam Dutta, CEO, Cine Media, a division of PVR Ltd. "But it seems expectations were higher than what has been delivered."

What both releases have proved, though, is that SRK is the undisputed badshah of Bollywood and Ranbir's got a bright future. " Saawariya is a showreel for a modern lover-boy and Ranbir has proved he's a star in the making," says Mehta. SRK fans are happy too, with King Khan in full form.

Says trade pundit Amod Mehra, "OSO is going to be the biggest hit of the year." He believes if this trend continues, it could go on to make at least Rs 70 crore gross in its first week.

Banker Karan Gulati, who's seen both movies, gives OSO a total thumbs up. "It's paisa vasool." He fears Saawariya may go the Refugee way: "Star kids, big banner, famous director but doesn't pack a punch."

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/OSO_one_up_on_Saawariya/a rticleshow/2532287.cms

wow OsO is better 😛 😛 😛