Don to be only a Semi Hit in India-Rediff

A still from Don

Shah Rukh Khan beat Salman Khan this Diwali/Eid.

Don got twice as good an opening as Jaan-E-Mann in India -- Don made Rs 14.68 crore and Jaan-E-Mann made Rs 7.63 crore in the first week -- and great collections in the US and UK.

But beating Salman isn't enough. Compared to traditional Diwali blockbusters, Don couldn't really bring in the crowds -- the film can only be declared a semi-hit. Farhan Akhtar's film got a great opening but reviews and word of mouth criticism made sure collections dipped sharply after the first few days.

Last Diwali was also bad for Salman as his Kyon Ki flopped, but Akshay has been having a blast during the festival season with Aitraaz and Garam Masala topping the charts over the last two years.

Jaan-E-Mann reuinited producer Sajid Nadiadwala with Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar, but Shirish Kunder's directorial debut couldn't repeat the magic of David Dhawan's Mujhse Shaadi Karogi.

"One of the films had to take a good start and it proved to be Don and not Jaan-E-Mann," says film trade analyst, Vinod Mirani.

The curiosity factor worked for SRK as audiences wondered how he'd measure up to Amitabh Bachchan in the 1978 classic. As a result, masses queued outside theatres for Don leaving Jaan-E-Mann tickets up for grabs.

"The problem came because Jaan-e-Mann was a very family film and Don was for masses and youngsters," explains Mirani. "The family crowd preferred to keep indoors and celebrate Diwali whereas masses opted for Don."

Both films also faced trouble as the month of Ramzan was not over, and it was only after four days -- on October 24 and 25 -- when Eid was celebrated that many Muslims came out to see the film, most of the community staying indoors during the holy month.

After Eid, Jaan-e-Mann picked up but it was too late. "Unfortunately here too, Jaan-e-Mann didn't sustain for long and could do good business only for a day or two and then it dropped badly," added Mehra.