Box office analysis - Joginder Tuteja, IndiaGlitz [Saturday, February 02, 2008]

Box office analysis-Joginder Tuteja, IndiaGlitz [Saturday, February 02, 2008]

First weekend performance of latest release

Box office 2008 is certainly throwing up surprises. After a disappointing run of HALLA BOL, even SUNDAY opened to a below par response. While a 70%-80% seemed to be very much on the cards, close to 50% opening came as a bit of surprise. Not that all is lost though for SUNDAY (Rohit Shetty’s films are known for opening around average mark and becoming money spinners as days progress - as witnessed in ZAMEEN and GOLMAAL) but a speedy revival is an absolute must.

What didn’t work for the film? It’s lukewarm climax. For any thriller to work, it’s culmination is of utmost importance, howsoever solid the 2 hour built up may have been. In case of SUNDAY, it carried on quite well up to the last reel but the climax turned out to be an anticlimax. Still, if one looks at the film in entirety, it’s narrative is far more original and novel than one has witnessed in many a comic thrillers. Arshad Warsi’s comedy is the strength of the film along with Irrfan Khan’s antics and some jaw dropping stunts. Music works extremely well for the film and one expects all these factors to work together and help the film sail through past the safety mark.

Last week’s movies

BOMBAY TO BANGKOK has flopped. With mere 1.5 crores coming in the first week, it is a battle which the film has lost even before it could announce it’s arrival in the field. This Nagesh Kukunoor film didn’t arouse curiosity at all to make people excited. And those who did enter the theaters didn’t have positive things to say about this comedy which was quite ‘feeka’ in appeal. Result was that after 50 lakhs from Mumbai (hence accounting for more than 30% of the total revenue) and 20 lakhs from Delhi, the film is already getting ready for a DVD release.

Has this seriously impacted Shreyas Talpade’s sole hero dreams? Too early to say that, considering he was one of the best things to have happened in last year’s release AGGAR. Given a good script and a solid role, he can make a mark.

From the past

HALLA BOL is now breathing it’s last. One expected some revival with BOMBAY TO BANGKOK being a weak competition in the second week of this Rajkumar Santoshi film but that didn’t quite happen after a below average first week. Suffering a 70% fall and only 3.5 crores more, HALLA BOL now stands at 15 crores with little chances of any further money inflow. With Mumbai getting 40 lakhs and Delhi another 35 lakhs, the film has seen a sharp drop everywhere. Could Sunny Deol in Pankaj Kapoor’s role have salvaged the film? Probably yes, but for that a Santoshi-Deol reconcilation has to happen first!

MY NAME IS ANTHONY GONSALVES is 2008’s first official disaster. The film was nowhere in the picture in the second week, as can be seen from an astonishing 97% fall. Frankly, even the worst of the detractors wouldn’t have bargained for such sorry state of this film which has folded up at 65 lakhs. While certain C grade films make this kind of money, an E Niwas film backed by entities like Sahara and Red Chillies experiencing such a terrible fate is nothing short of heartbreaking. So what went wrong? It’s promotion which never told the audience about what they were getting into. Result? No one bothered to check that this out themselves at the cost of their hard earned money.

TAARE ZAMEEN PAR is the most stunning box office story that I have witnessed in my 8 years of film journalism career. IF VIVAAH shook me up a year ago, TAARE ZAMEEN PAR has made me jump out of my seat week after week. Maintaining exceedingly well even in it’s fifth week with yet another <25%>

WELCOME isn’t letting it go either. In spite of a huge fortnight, the film hasn’t taken a fall that the biggest of blockbusters take after an early moolah inflow and has dropped by only 40%. With the 5th week bringing in 2.5 crores, the film now stands at 73 crores plus. All set to touch the 75 crores mark, the film has now done more business than the sum total of all Anees Bazmee directed films combined together.

In the future

This week RAMA RAMA KYA HAI DRAMAAA opens after lingering around for close to 3 months. Yet another comedy of the month, this Rajpal Yadav & Neha Dhupia starrer doesn’t have much going in it’s favor. Dated look and tacky production values mean that the producers would have to show some faith in ‘Lord Rama’ to do any decent business.