B.O. update: 'Badmaash Company' starts off very well

- By Taran Adarsh,
After HOUSE FULL opened to an excellent start last week, it was the turn of BADMAASH COMPANY to open to a heartening start at the box-office. Shahid Kapoor's last major release CHANCE PE DANCE [not counting PAATHSHAALA] had fetched a below average start, so it was imperative that BADMAASH COMPANY fetch a good start at the ticket window. The opening numbers of BADMAASH COMPANY were an impressive 80% to 90% at places, while at places it ranged from 45% to 75%, which only improved towards the evening shows.

The opening weekend of BADMAASH COMPANY is expected to be better, given the fact that the film has tremendous youth appeal and that in turn should witness an escalation in business. Overall, the film should have a very good weekend, which reinforces Yash Raj and Shahid's pull at the ticket window. 

(Bollywood Hungama)

Why DIL BOLE HADIPPA is a safe bet for Yash Raj!

It is by now clear that the Eid battle between WANTED and DIL BOLE HADIPPA is slowly but surely moving in favour of the Boney Kapoor produced WANTED. While DIL BOLE HADIPPA is having an edge in the multiplexes of North India (Delhi-NCR and East Punjab), at an all India level, it is WANTED that is being lapped up, more so at mass oriented centres.

However, it is not over by any means for DIL BOLE HADIPPA, as it's quite a low budget of 14-15 crore will ensure that the Rani-Shahid starrer is sure to be a profitable venture for Yash Raj Films, who are also the worldwide distributors. In the Overseas, the film is not exactly setting the box-office on fire, but is fairing much better than the Salman-Ayesha starrer, WANTED.

In a nutshell, while DIL BOLE HADIPPA will be a safe bet for its makers, by the second weekend, the 34-35 crore WANTED will need to do much more than a couple of weeks run to become a plus fare!

(Glamsham)

‘Rab Ne…’ hits bull’s eye, breaks Yash Raj’s jinx

(IANS) Yash Raj Films’ “Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi” that hit the screens Dec 12 has proven to be a breather for the production house breaking its jinx of delivering duds this year. The banner’s earlier releases this year, “Roadside Romeo”, “Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic” and “Tashan” were cold-shouldered by the audience despite major pre-release promotion though Ranbir Kapoor starrer “Bachna Ae Haseeno” managed to do average business at the box office.

However, “Rab Ne…” has given Yash Raj Films a new lease of life.

It was believed in the trade circles that the production house was releasing the film at a wrong time - when global economic slump was on and soon after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.

Directed by dormant filmmaker Aditya Chopra, the film is Shah Rukh Khan’s first release of the year and the first Shah Rukh-Aditya Chopra collaboration in over eight years after post “Mohabbatein” (2000).

The film has broken all earlier opening weekend collection records for Yash Raj Films grossing approximately Rs.600 million worldwide on its opening weekend.

“It’s after a long time that a good movie has came out of the Yash Raj camp and that too with Aditya Chopra and Shah Rukh coming together after eight years,” Joginder Mahajan, a Delhi-based distributor, told IANS.

“Though the collections for the movie have not been cent percent, they have been beyond expectations so far. It is the first big release after ‘Dostana’ and has no competition till the next two weeks until ‘Ghajini’ releases Dec 25. So it has full chances of reaping the benefit,” he added.

Set in Amritsar, “Rab Ne…” is the story of a mismatched couple played by Shah Rukh and debutante Anushka Sharma and how the pair explores love in the backdrop of a dance competition.

According to a statement released by Yash Raj Films Monday, the light-hearted romantic comedy has crossed boundaries and even set records in the Middle East.

The film has also received a grand opening across all overseas markets, including Britain, the US, Australia, Europe, Africa, and other territories in Asia.

Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic Manages Decent Weekend

Thoda Pyaar Thoda magic managed to do 10.25 crore nett business over the weekend. Business in multiplexes of big cities was fairly good but single screens in B and C centres were poor.

Monday saw a drop in collections to around 30-35% (Sunday hit 85% at places) at multiplexes and the weekdays do not look like giving good collections. The first week business should be in the 16 crore region. The second weekend will decide the fate of the film.

Overseas : Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic opened poorly with 1.10 crore in UK, 75 lakhs in North America and 1 crore in the rest of the world. The 3 day overseas total is 2.85 crore.

(Box Office India)

Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic Could Emerge Surprise Success

Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic opened to poor response of 35-40%. There were single screens at around 20-25% but some multiplexes were 50% and this was not great but better than many had expected as the film has come with virtually no publicity and music has not done well.

It had seemed that the film would go unnoticed prior to release but that has not happened. The collections for the early shows today have improved with 60%+ at multiplexes though single screens are same as yesterday.


The reports are fair and it looks like the film may actually succeed where the more hyped films like Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, Laaga Chunari Mein Daag, Aaja Nachley and Tashan have failed for Yash Raj Films. Although universal success will be difficult due to very poor start at single screens the film may emerge an earner on the strength of multiplexes especially in the bigger cities. It is quite likely that multiplexes will hit 75% today and tomorrow should be 90% and decent follow through on Monday will mean the film will sustain and success for Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic. The makers have also cleverly kept release costs low as they probably knew the initial response was going to be lukewarm. Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic has had a fairly small release for a 20 crore film as multiplexes are giving it 6-8 shows and the all India release is around 600 prints going to 525+ cinemas.

(Box office india)

Tashan Opens To Below Average Response in overseas

Tashan is not upto the mark in the international markets. It has done poor business in North America and below average in other markets. The first three days business was 1.50 crore in UK, 1.25 crore in North America and the rest of the world added another 1.75 crore taking its total to 4.50 crore. Overall Tashan is well below expectations and is likely to do around 8-9 crores from overseas markets.

(Box office India)

Tashan Struggles At The Box Office

Tashan managed to do nett gross business of 7.75 crore in its first two days. At this rate even a 20 crore opening nett total is looking a tough ask. The business over the first two days was around 70-80%.

Tashan's no show at the biggest multiplex chains like PVR, Fun, Cinemax, Inox, Fame and Adlabs has hit the film hard. There was hope that by Saturday it would be in the multiplexes like most of the other films that had similar problems but it was not to be and still the problem has not been sorted out.


Tashan needs the multiplex release to save it self being a losing fare, if the multiplexes and producers can sort out the problem and Tashan can get in the multiplexes from Friday it will show steady second week business if it does not happen then the expected blockbuster will actually emerge a flop.

The multiplex problem has hit business hard in Mumbai, Delhi-NCR and Bengal circuits with these circuits losing more than 50% business, other circuits have lost about 20-30%.

(Box office India)

Tashan Opens Well

Tashan opens well at 75-80% but well short of the expected bumper opening. The multiplex revenue sharing problem cropped up again giving the film more problems. The film has been trashed by critics but public reports are not as bad. Tashan will not emerge the expected blockbuster but still could emerge a hit if it does not crash on Monday and the multiplex problem is sorted as quick as possible.

(Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network)

AAJA NACHLE holds in the Overseas

Contrary to the initial predictions, Yash Raj's Madhuri Dixit starrer, AAJA NACHLE has managed to hold rather well, especially in the Overseas.

While the Anil Mehta directed film has grossed a so-so $425,488 in the US, it has a rather satisfactory $660,238 to show from the UK. Even in Australia, the movie has managed to gross a decent Aus. $ 93,793. What is interesting to note is that AAJA NACHLE has had an allowable fall of 46 - 56 percent from the first to the second weekend, and this range is considered quite normal in trade parlance.

Well, we have to admit that the 'dhak dhak' girl still has a lot of fire power left in her and that is reason enough for the fans of the dancing queen, Madhuri Dixit, to go 'balle balle'!

Even Madhuri can't save Aaja Nachle

She came, she danced and she returned.
That's right. Madhuri Dixit [Images] has gone back to her family in Denver, the United States, after her comeback vehicle Aaja Nachle released over the weekend.
Though Madhuri's acting was brilliant, there were not many takers for the movie.
Some multiplexes recorded 30 percent ticket sales while the scene in single-screen theatres was even more discouraging.
And this despite no other major competition. The only other release last week was the low budget film Gauri.
"Madhuri danced and acted well but she chose a wrong script," said trade analyst Komal Nahta. "The film was anti-modernisation and therefore did not click."
Comparing the film to John Mathan Matthew's movie starring Ajay Devgan [Images] and Shahid Kapoor [Images], Nahta said, "Aaja Nachle was on the lines of Shikhar and therefore it did not appeal to masses. The content was poor."
Adding to Aaja Nachle's woes was the controversy over the lyrics of a song. UP Chief Minister Mayawati, while banning the film, termed the lyrics of the title track as casteist. Punjab and Haryana followed suit, but soon revoked the ban following producers Yash Raj Films' apology and the deleting of the objectionable words.
Though the ban did not amount to huge losses, the damage is already done.
"The theme of saving a dancing school was not good enough. Except for Madhuri, the film had nothing to woo the audience," said trade analyst Vinod Mirani.
"Moreover, to the new generation of cinegoers, Madhuri's name does not mean anything so all the talk of a comeback did not make much sense. There was curiosity among the people for Madhuri but when they saw the promos and got to hear about the script, the curiosity was killed," Mirani added.
Aaja Nachle was not produced at a very high cost, and the only star attraction was Madhuri. The producers, hence, are not likely to suffer heavy losses. One analyst, on condition of anonymity, pegged the "maximum loss" at "Rs 5 crores (Rs 50 million) and not more than that."
But it is a big setback for the country's biggest banner, as Aaja Nachle is its fourth flop of the year, after Ta Ra Rum Pum, Jhoom Bara Bar Jhoom and Laaga Chunari Mein Daag.
The only film that did well for Yash Raj this year was the Shah Rukh Khan [Images] starrer Chak De! India.

Chak De India scores a hit for Yashraj Films

After the the below expectation results of Ta Ra Rum Pum and the debacle of Jhoom Barabar Joom, Yashraj Films are back and have resumed dishing out hits with Chak De India.

Chak De India got an average opening but it was clear by the Friday evening shows that the film would do well and the collections on Saturday just confirmed that. The all India average opening on Friday stood at around 60% but on Saturday and Sunday the collections were 90-100% at major centres. The smaller centres did not zoom up but still did well enough to hold their collections. The film has been released on approx 400 cinemas all over India with a major chunk of the screenings in metroes and A centres.

The film held rock steady on the dreaded Monday with collections of 60-70%. There is expectation of the collections to rise over the weekend again as there is appreciation for the film from the public.

Chak De India will emerge a hit or better in Mumbai, Delhi/UP(UP is only fair but Delhi/NCR is strong), East Punjab, CI, Nizam and Mysore. The other circuits will depend on how well they sustain collections from here on. But it's unlikely to have a losing circuit as even Bihar may notch up 18-20 lakhs from the 7 prints sent to the circuit.

On an all India basis the first week nett business should come in the region of 17-19 crore. The approx breakdown of collections are Friday-2.35 crore, Saturday-3.40 crore and Sunday-3.75 crore giving it a 9.50 crore nett gross for the first three days.

Overseas the film has disappointed with its start but the makers expect it to hold its collection well into the second week.

Chak de India Box Office Update

The film opened to a mixed response. The multiplexes opened to a 60% response but the evening shows hit 80-85%. The single screens were lower at 40-50%. Overall the reports are encouraging from major centres and the film should emerge a success in most circuits. Circuits dominated by single screens like Bihar and CP Berar may struggle.


(Source : Box office India)

Waiting for a winning formula

After delivering two damp squibs back to back, Ta Ra Rum Pum and Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, Yash Chopra has made a cautious move with his third offering for the year, the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Chak De India. Yash Raj Films, Chopra’s flagship, has released only 400 prints of the film, which is way below the 500-660 prints for its earlier releases.

Released on August 10, the Rs 24-crore film has got good reviews and is expected to rake in over Rs 15 crore from the domestic box office collections in the first three days. The collections, however, would be lower than the Salman Khan-Govinda starrer Partner, which raked in Rs 16 crore in the first three days.

Multiplex owners were a little disappointed when the advance bookings, that opened on August 4, did not meet a good response. But now they are a happy lot as the weekend saw a full house.

“The film has not had a huge opening that a Yash Raj Films and a Shah Rukh Khan film usually get. But, since the reviews have been good, we got over 80 per cent occupancy for the weekend,” said Devang Sampat, vice-president (marketing and programming), Cinemax India. Added Saurabh Varma, vice-president (programming and distribution), Inox Leisure: “We are expecting to earn close to Rs 1.5 crore in the first three days.”

One reason why the film may not set the cash registers ringing for Yash Raj Films is that it is not showing in a few territories. Industry sources said that in the Bengal territory, out of six multiplexes only one is screening the movie. Also in North Kolkatta and Darjeeling, single-screen theatres have chosen to stay out.

The earlier film from Yash Raj, Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, proved to be a disaster and resulted in the production house giving a rebate of 5 per cent on the revenue share with multiplexes.

Chak De India, Shah Rukh Khan’s first release this year, is a crucial movie for Chopra considering that his first two films this year didn’t live up to the mark. Theatre chain owners believe that the film will do favourable business overseas. Also, “The additional holiday on August 15 will boost footfalls,” said Gautam Datta, chief of marketing, PVR Cinemas. Whether King Khan will surpass Salman Khan and Govinda starrer Partner is still to be seen.

(Source : Business Standard)

The expected saviour flops

The year has not seen any big success at the box office but all was expected to change with the saviour being Jhoom Baranar Jhoom but it was not to be.

The writing was on the wall over the weekend. Normally a film improves collections on Saturday and Sunday over Friday especially when a biggie registers sub par collections on day one.
A not so great opening coupled with no improvement over the weekend and then collections crashing on Monday means the film is going to be the first losing film for Yashraj films since 2002 even when taking all the revenues into account.

The 600 approx cinemas with multiple shows at multiplexes gave it a nett gross capacity of around 40 crore but the film will only get around 50% of that which is around 20 crore in the first week. The average collections from Fri-Sun was 65-70% while from Monday onwards collections have been around 30-35%.

The multiplexes in big cities will keep the film at 6-8 shows in week 2 as there is no major release but they do not hold any hope for a turnaround. The prints are coming back from many small centres after a one week run as it faces complete rejection there especially in the Eastern and Central parts of India. The producers took the same risk of excessive prints with their November release Dhoom 2 but it paid of handsomely then but this time the extra cost has meant extra losses.

As for the circuit business. The film has only done decent business in two markets and those are UK and Punjab and even in Punjab it was only due to the great opening

The Overseas market did not do much better than India as only UK showed good collections while USA and Middle East were poor.

The Tamil film Sivaji has become the first real regional success (not dubbed) in the hindi film market. The film has held near 100% collections on limited prints in Mumbai and Delhi/NCR all week and the prints are being increased in week two.

In its own markets in the South the film has broken all records and this also made a dent into Jhoom Baranar Jhoom's collections in cities like Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai.

(source : Box office India)

Jhoom Barabar Jhoom : Opening Box Office

Jhoom Barabar Jhoom coming from the all conquering Yashraj banner was expected to take the country by storm but instead it has left the industry in shock. The opening is not bad and it still may notch up the highest first week billing of 2007 but the hype generated especially by the superhit music could not translate into the expected bumper opening. The film did get the bumper 90%+ opening at some stations of Punjab and Haryana, this could be because that the music had a major punjabi feel or the Deol name which works in the circuit initially even for rank bad films like Big Brother and Shaka Laka Boom Boom.

If the opening was not upto the mark then the reports were even worse and this started to tell at places like Gwalior and Patna as collections started to drop further. The reports suggest it will find it very hard to hold up even in Punjab and Haryana where the opening was strong.

As far as opening is concerned it was best in East Punjab followed by Mumbai(75%) and then Delhi/NCR(70%). In the South the opening was poor due to the Tamil film Shivaji releasing on the same day. Some centres in Nizam showed just 40% opening. The Central India circuits also showed just a 50% opening.

The silver lining is that despite poor reports the banner has a lot of goodwill with the public so they may still go for the film. Also YRF get a great chain of theatres for nearly all their films. These high grossing theatres with multiple shows should enable the film to recover costs as long as it does not completely crash from Monday onwards.

(Box office India . com)