' SRK beats Tom Cruise '

'king'dom come: Shah Rukh Khan in Om Shanti Om I concede defeat: Tom Cruise in Lions For Lambs

The two are superstars in their respective countries. Recently, Shah Rukh Khan and Tom Cruise clashed over garnering eyeballs for their releases Om Shanti Om (for SRK), and Lions for Lambs (for Cruise).

Trade reports indicate that OSO did 323672 business with 52 prints while Lions for Lambs took in 457348 with 404 prints, both in two days. The UK collections indicated that Saawariya did 105848 on the same weekend.
We spoke to trade experts who revealed the reasons why OSO fared better than the Tom Cruise starrer, and why it would emerge as the biggest box-office earner of 2007.

Indu Mirani

I have a feeling OSO will emerge as the blockbuster of the year. The fact that it has done better than a Tom Cruise film says a lot about how not just the NRI audience, but the locals as well have taken to the project. I also think that OSO will go down in history as one of Shah Rukh's biggest hits of all time. With no big competition coming its way, it will easily break box-office records.

Also with the audience rejecting Bhansali's Saawariya outright, the viewers are left with hardly any choice. I think the reason why OSO has fared so well is because it's a bright, festive, entertaining film. It isn't a no-brainer with some gags filled in to make the audience laugh. Farah has made a hardcore paisa-vasool movie that keeps you charmed for over two hours. Both OSO and Saawariya are based around fantasy worlds, but their presentation and technique are poles apart.

Amod Mehra

Om Shanti Om will easily emerge as the biggest hit of 2007. The film has immense recall value, and people are going back to watch it a second time. At the domestic box-office, the film has emerged as a clear-cut winner. OSO has no competition of any kind. What's worked for OSO is the paisa-vasool treatment. Also, in lot of single-screen theatres, the public love the Deewangi track featuring all the Bollywood actors. With no big film releasing in the coming weeks, OSO will be in huge demand. As for Shah Rukh, this may easily emerge as the fourth biggest hit of his career after DDLJ, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Kal Ho Na Ho.

Taran Adarsh

Om Shanti Om is the second biggest opening of all time for a film in UK. It's got a fantastic initial worldwide and is on its way to becoming one of the biggest hits of 2007. The reason why the audience is loving OSO is because it's a complete masala film. On the other hand, Saawariya isn't for the masses, its too dark and depressing. With no major release in the near future, OSO will have a field day raking in all the moolah.