Boxoffice thread for the week 28/11/2008

Boxoffice thread for the week 28/11/2008 - 04/12/2008

December 1st, 2008

NG members are requested to put up this week’s Boxoffice related reports,updates and numbers of films in this one thread instead of consuming separate/individual thread. Thanks!

There Are 106 Responses So Far. »

Comment by Som on 27 November 2008:

All Mumbai Cinemas Shut Down

All the multiplexes and single screens in Mumbai were shut down on Thursday due to the terrorist attacks which started Wednesday night.

Although the order from the government of Maharashtra is for cinemas to be closed for a day, nobody is 100% sure whether the order will be extended which will affect the films due for release tomorrow. Even if they were to open its likely that people will keep away from the theatres for some time in Mumbai after the horrifying terrorist attacks in South Mumbai. Not only Mumbai but all over the country the attacks will mean fewer footfalls at cinemas in the next few weeks.
Comment by Som on 27 November 2008:

The terror attacks on Mumbai since Wednesday night have sent chills down everyone’s spine. Financial markets in what is easily the commercial capital of India were shut through Thursday and the attacks have been going on for almost 20 hours now.

The posh South Mumbai area of the city has been the worst hit. Situated in South Mumbai are two prime multiplex properties – Inox Leisure at Nariman Point and Metro Big Cinemas near CST. They are situated a stone’s throw away from the areas that have been under attack. Fortunately, there has been no loss of any patron’s life and the properties remain undamaged.

Read the rest from the Website

GOA: The tragic terror attacks on Mumbai city from 26 November, 9.45 pm onwards, have inadvertently affected the entire city and hence also the film industry. Mumbai is the hub of the Hindi film industry and with these dastardly acts, producers and distributors are waiting to see how the scene pans out, which will then decide whether movies slated to release tomorrow will see the light of the day in the city.

While some producers remain upbeat on their movie’s release, the dispatching of prints from Mumbai to different parts of the country is likely to face some delay.

UTV Motion Pictures’ Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!, which is slated for release on 28 November, will release all over India. UTV Motion Pictures CEO Siddharth Roy Kapur told Businessofcinema.com that they were ready to release the film in rest of the country as well as Mumbai tomorrow as per schedule if multiplexes opened their doors, depending on the situation. “We are ready to release our movie in Mumbai but if properties remain shut due to the tragic situation, we will abide by the decision and take a decision depending on when the situation betters.”

Read the rest from Website
Comment by A C H I L L E S on 27 November 2008:

Indore Barometer Second Week Dostana

Indore Barometer First Week Yuvvraaj
Comment by A C H I L L E S on 27 November 2008:

Theatres may lose Rs 2 lakh a day in ticket sales
Comment by A C H I L L E S on 27 November 2008:

I am surprised to see Yuvraaj having almost twice the collections of Dostana in Indore multiplexes!
Comment by rockstar on 27 November 2008:

indore tamasha going on

btw dostana is having as much as shows if not more than yuvvrraj in second week and is way ahead in 3rd week listing in number of show shows that certainly i guesss this is a sign of big crash
Comment by A C H I L L E S on 28 November 2008:

I wont be surprised if Dostana has crashed in Indore (lets see what kind of fall Taran reports for Indore) … but just checked INOX site … Yuvraaj is having 8 shows against Dostana’s 5 shows in Indore this week.

Even in Lucknow and Kolkata … Dostana is having just one show more than Yuvraaj now … but yes in Pune and Bangalore, Dostana has greater shows.

btw, dont have the enthusiasm to check other plex chains … but wont say that Indore numbers are being forged by BOI here.
Comment by Som on 28 November 2008:

Dostana rakes in box-office riches
Comment by Som on 28 November 2008:

Troubled times for YRF:Due to the huge losses incurred earlier, distributors demand Rab Ne for cheap
Comment by Som on 28 November 2008:

Dostana has definitely crashed in Indore(perhaps expected) but take that as a parameter for All India fall is of course not correct, generalization may lead to erroneous conclusion.
Comment by A C H I L L E S on 28 November 2008:

But by buying his Dostana’s rights reportedly at Rs 52 crore, YRF is finding it extremely difficult to recover its costs. The film is expected to do maximum Rs 18-20 crore net business in India. While the film is doing well in the overseas circuit, the profits from there coupled with satellite rights still won’t add up to Rs 52 crore for sure.

This buzz 18 report is saying exactly what BOI said a few days before … and add to all this Dostana will miss out the third weekend business in Mumbai and nearby.
Comment by sv on 28 November 2008:

Dostana has been sold for 50 crores ad not for 52 crores.So dostana is profitable if it grosses 42 crores in India.
Comment by Kanwal on 28 November 2008:

Indiafm : Dostana falls by huge 75%.

http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/trade/domestic_boxoffice/index.html
Comment by Kanwal on 28 November 2008:

BOI latest Update:

Oye Lucky Lucky Oye opened to a poor response of 20% with some multiplexes in Delhi being better. The terrorist attacks in Mumbai has affected business of not only Oye Lucky Lucky Oye but all other films running.

Sorry Bhai opened to a dull 5% response.

Yuvvraaj is a big flop with around 12 crore business in week one. The film will suffer huge losses of around 20-25 crore. DISASTER

Deshdrohi is a Hit in Bihar but flop elsewhere. FLOP

Dostana as expected has fallen in week two, some multiplexes in big cities are better but most of the country is poor. The two week business is around 35 crore nett. Overall the Indian theatrical business is just about fair but the worldwide distributors Yashraj Films will suffer losses of around 7-10 crore. BELOW AVERAGE

Ek Vivah… Aisa Bhi is average in a few circuits like Bihar and Rajasthan but poor in others. The three week business is around 2 crore. BELOW AVERAGE

Golmaal Returns adds another 50 lakhs to takes its total to 53.75 crore. HIT
Comment by Som on 28 November 2008:

Top 5: ‘Yuvvraaj’ is a debacle!

B.O. update:- Business goes for a toss!
Comment by Gabber on 28 November 2008:

Viewers perception is that Dostana is a big hit.
But I am saddened by its drop in collections as it is one film that deserved to be a clean HIT.
Comment by Kanwal on 28 November 2008:

yes Gabber, dostana has seen steep fall, it will be only a coverage affair overall, and will end by 40 cr.
Comment by sandy on 28 November 2008:

Yes Abhishek has two ‘perception’ hits at least - Sarkar Raj and now Dostana. Overall, he’s now had an above average year.
Comment by Kanwal on 28 November 2008:

The army of multiplexes has thus has not been a boon for all movies i think, even movies which are decently liked(dostana,fashion) are seeing falls of 65-70%, because people dont want to spend lot of money(in multiplexes) again, until and unless movie is great,thus no return audience.
Comment by Som on 28 November 2008:

This is not a 75% drop at the first place, Mumbai is incomplete.Of course it has taken a drop more than what I had expected but certainly not to the extent of close to 75% or so.It should be close to 60%, had it not been for the unfortunate turn of events in Mumbai the drop would have been bit lesser.But still a considerable drop in my opinion.
Comment by Kanwal on 28 November 2008:

Som dostana saw a huge drop in weekend itself and by going by the record of movies like fashion and kismet konnection this fall is not alarming, i guess this is the future now.
Comment by sandy on 28 November 2008:

Honestly when I saw Dostana’s first half, I thought it was on course to be a big hit but the second half made it dicey for me. And to add to it, some youngsters coming out said it was ‘okayish’. So my reading was that it would be a mid-level hit. Seems like people have overall enjoyed it but not to the extent one thought earlier.
And it’s amazing how fortunes change every day. When Yuvvraaj met with disastrous reviews and reports, it looked like Dostana was going to get at least three more weeks of absolute free run and then the blasts happened. That’s the downside of a fluffy film like Dostana - no one minds it, but no one takes it upon themselves to watch it either.
Comment by Kanwal on 28 November 2008:

Sandy bang on dostana analysis there.
Comment by sandy on 28 November 2008:

Beld and Julie were arguing how Ghajini should have released before Rab Ne… And to think this would have been the exact date!

I, for one, always believed Ghajini should have either released in Diwali week or then after Rab Ne. I would have liked a three week gap, because I think every big film and a quality one (Rab Ne… most assuredly looks like one) deserves the time to play the field. Two weeks is good enough but certainly eats into business. The Fanaa-PHH scenerio comes to mind instantly.
Comment by Kanwal on 28 November 2008:

Sandy i will like to say something, if a movie is bad even single release wont help.

As for the business eating thing, i will give you a example,

CDI week 1 : 20 cr

CDI week 2 : 15 cr(25% fall)

CDI week 3 : 8 cr(amazingly 45% fall,why:heyy baby released)

CDI week 4 : 7.1 cr( what almost no fall)

so we can see if a movie is liked in the long run, the losses are minimalistic if any.The people who missed cdi in 3rd week for heyy baby returned back on week 4 to watch cdi,making it almost even.
Comment by Kanwal on 28 November 2008:

So rab ne and ghajini can both become blockbusters , if they are worth it and deserve it.
Comment by sandy on 28 November 2008:

Kanwal: I perfectly get your point. But not all films are as good as CDI and most films rely on these external factors in big and small ways. Also for me Rab Ne and Ghajini are very precious releases, given how pathetic this year has been for film business.
Comment by satyam on 28 November 2008:

I think the Dostana numbers are fine for the major metros. Bombay is 67 lakhs with 36 unreported cinemas! And there was obviously zero business Wed onwards! Again some of the other numbers don’t seem incomplete. Meanwhile BOI obsess with Indore. But Jaipur is now ahead of Indore! As is Baroda!

Sandy, disagree, the base audience for Dostana would certainly take it upon themselves to watch it. Of course the attacks have no derailed everything. Hard to imagine people having the confidence to suddenly throng to the theaters even when these reopen. Also films sometimes slip more over one week, then stabilize. But all those calculations are now off for Dostana. Similarly this event in Bombay has been so huge from a media perspective that it’s hard to determine what kind of fear psychosis this creates elsewhere in major cities. So for example Delhi saw blasts recently. It wouldn’t be the oddest thing if people in Delhi started avoiding theaters to some degree.

The longer the break is in terms of theater closings the harder it is for a film to pick up where it left off. Bombay in any case is the largest territory, for this film even moreso with its heavy reliance of big metro multiplexes. All of this has just gone out of the window. Hard to predict what this film actually does from hereon.
Comment by Kanwal on 28 November 2008:

sandy, rab ne will be at best a 700+ release, cant be more than dostana(669), max 700.

I cant see how can rab ne with a wide release( wide releases dont have any history for great trending barring only a LRM),
in its 3rd week will affect ghajini which will have atleast a huge 1000+ opening in india.

LRM has the record for top 3rd week(~12 cr), rab ne only has a remote chance of doing that.

Even if rab ne does that, what statistics will support a movie doing 10-12 cr affecting a potential 45 + cr opening (ghajini).I dont see any chance.
Comment by satyam on 28 November 2008:

Kanwal: Taran called Dostana rock solid over the second weekend. Even BOI who were playing up the negative reporting on the film admitted it was stable in big city multiplexes.
Comment by Kanwal on 28 November 2008:

Satyam i was going by the now infamous indore parameter, but its no news that dostana fell by atleast 60% in second week, even IBOS confirmed that.
Comment by sandy on 28 November 2008:

BTw, just noticed. BOI have rated Dostana as ‘below average’. What’s going on? Is this true or the site is carrying on its agenda against the Bachchans like they did for Sarkar Raj?
Comment by satyam on 28 November 2008:

By the way if BOI are calling it 35 crores in 2 weeks it has to be more than this since they underreported it in the first week! And this number again has to account for zilch business in Bombay Wed onwards plus the effect of this elsewhere..

They had 26 crores in week 1. So they’re saying it’s 9 in week 2. My assumption is that the two week total is probably 38-40 crores.
Comment by sandy on 28 November 2008:

Kanwal: What I surmise from your analysis is that both films can co-exist happily, right?
Comment by Kanwal on 28 November 2008:

And it was bound to do good business in select multiplex of big centres. It was a movie for them.

Actually Dostana has done very good business,thats what i think.If not for these blasts it would have done 2+ cr more.

There was a real possibility of touching 50 CR , with yuvvraaj out of line now, but with blasts coming i think i will reach 45 cr max.

The only troubling thing is what BO status do you assign to such a movie.

This yashraj buying it for 50-52 cr has really messed up the situation, as its also well known fact now that yashraj will face losses, so i guess calling the movie AVERAGE will be best.But its just my analysis.
Comment by satyam on 28 November 2008:

Kanwal: IBOS said that but not Taran..

Sandy: BOI have pretty much tanked every Abhishek film from Guru to BnB to Dostana. No surprises here. And of course the blasts have helped them out a bit.

Som: I am in agreement. A 60% drop assumption overall is not unreasonable as things stand. Now whether blasts or not this is what the film is making. If the collections don’t return to some sort of normality soon (depending on when theaters reopen) this will have to be a film where we put an asterisk by the collections!
Comment by Kanwal on 28 November 2008:

Yes very easily sandy.
Comment by Kanwal on 28 November 2008:

Satyam i will say 36-38 cr is the right number and i expect something like that from Jayshah and i also think BOI will also raise their number to 36+ cr.
Comment by satyam on 28 November 2008:

Kanwal: You’re probably right about the gross. Except that even 45 crores is not necessarily a given at this point. The theaters haven’t reopened. A new weekend has begun. I don’t think people will throng to Bombay theaters anytime soon. The rest of the country has also been quite glued to the TV.
Comment by sandy on 28 November 2008:

Satyam: Agree to an extent that Dostana would have sailed to safety and even more at the BO without the current situation.

But If you’ve read what I wrote in the first comment, I don’t think the film was being intensely patronised by even its core audience. I myself saw reactions where youngsters came out saying they loved Abhishek and Priyanka but the film itself was okay-ish’ So there wasn’t a mad huddle for it but certainly, it had buzz and I for one believe with yuvvraaj too performing pathetically, Dostana would have been a clean hit in the next two weeks.
Comment by Kanwal on 28 November 2008:

Sandy given the scenario that yashraj is losing money on dostana, and it has had 60% fall, i dont think anything more than Average can be granted to it.Its sad though that a movie doing 45-50 cr will be average, why cant producers just sell it themselves or sell it cheaply.why so much selfishness.
Comment by Kanwal on 28 November 2008:

On dostana i wont take any extreme stances as both of you, sandy or satyam, but what i think was the with yuvvraaj out of line and 3 clean weeks and nothing else to watch , Dostana would have indeed enjoyed a more bountiful run.
Comment by Kanwal on 28 November 2008:

By the way satyam , theatres have actually reopened in mumbai, but with disastrous results with movies having 5-20% occupancies at best.
Comment by satyam on 28 November 2008:

I don’t think all properties have reopened have they? Because the govt had asked for the shutdown. I hadn’t heard anything since. But yeah at this point even if they’re reopening they’re not going to see any business this weekend.
Comment by sandy on 28 November 2008:

“By the way satyam , theatres have actually reopened in mumbai, but with disastrous results with movies having 5-20% occupancies at best.”

This is so sad because Dostana in many ways was the film that was bringing people back to the cinema halls. And I believe this week’s two releases Oye Lucku and Sorry Bhai aren’t bad at all. But who will venture out to a public place in such a time!?
Comment by sandy on 28 November 2008:

“. If the collections don’t return to some sort of normality soon (depending on when theaters reopen) this will have to be a film where we put an asterisk by the collections!”

I agree with whoever made this point on how the Dostana situation has to be viewed as a certain exception. You can’t call a film a failure because of an ‘external situations’ just like you don’t consider a cricketer out just because it starts raining.
Comment by Kanwal on 28 November 2008:

I agree on that sandy.Though i would like to say that the losses will not be as big as are thought,at the very very max i will say dostana will lose 4-5 cr overall(comparable to what fanaa lost in gujrat).
Comment by beld on 28 November 2008:

to me - box office performance of movies is of no importance at this moment. this is the time to start a movement in india. let us see if any so-called star from bollywood take a lead in this. aamir, srk, amitabh - dont make statements - come and start a movement - 3 of you have the power. do u have the will?
Comment by Kanwal on 28 November 2008:

beld dont except anything radical, you will only be disappointed.
Comment by sandy on 28 November 2008:

“I don’t think all properties have reopened have they? ”

The PR informs me that Oye Lucky could not release in Mumbai yesterday - both because there were the government orders and also the makers themselves thought it to be unwise - but I’m told it will be releasing today. So will Sorry Bhai. I expect miniscule occupancy. Meanwhile, I need to find out the situiation in Pune.
Even IFFI has cancelled all its parties and many of the directors like Priyadarshan -who were supposed to come to Goa - conveyed their unavailability following the situation in Mumbai.
Comment by sandy on 28 November 2008:

Beld: The irony is that celebrities inspite of being the most influential people in the world are sadly the most vulnerable ones also. They would be as scared as anyone else.
Comment by beld on 28 November 2008:

agreed sandy - but as indians this is not the time to worry about our lives. this is the time for us to think of our conuntry. yes - as humans - we all can be scared - but lets channel our anger at this time to do something about this for a change. and kanwal bhai - i am ready to be disappointed but damn it - we have to hope!
Comment by A C H I L L E S on 28 November 2008:

Beld - Expecting our narcissistic Superstars to do something in this situation is expecting our politicians to become really active!

Coming to the relevant topic … While 75% fall is not true due to incomplete Mumbai numbers … a 60% fall is another unlikely extreme … the fall here is around 65% or a bit more.

The problem for Dostana is that it did not have an earth shattering opening … and it needs to trend well … unfortunately its not holding up well except a few select centers … the week 2 wud hardly be 10 crores here … so the 2 weeks total will be less than 38 crores … & with third weekend gone in Mumbai … even 45 crores may be difficult from here on!

Considering it had a reported budget of 40 crores and sold at 50 crores to yrf … the worldwide distributor shares from theaters will be around 30-33 crores (its not even sustaining very well in overseas and unlikely to do more than 15 crores there) … its likely to end as an average fare at BO.

Some here are talking about ‘perception hit’ … sadly such concept then shud be allowed for all movies that opens well! thats a lot of movies this year itself that cud not get a hit tag in the end! Good occupancy in the first week/weekend can give an illusion that its a hit … but thats hardly a perception of a hit unless one is adamant to believe that … such ‘perception hits’ are even ridiculous than our ‘poop hits’ which at least have some numbers to justify their claims.

The media has hardly been covering this ‘hit’ movie that much …. so a media celebrated hit is also not the case here … and some reports are now coming in about how much YRF are going to lose for Dostana.

Some of us here suspected the WOM is hardly as good as its been said during its release… and the week 2 drop proves a point … Kismat Konnection wud be a suitable analogy for Dostana’s BO.
Comment by Gabber on 28 November 2008:

well not every films are preception hits like Dostana or JA (this later on became a clear hit due to good trending). In this case, Dostana has decent - good WOM and had a fairly good opening. It got an overall good review and boasted of a good production value.
It is a superhit in overseas. It got good coverage in media and was heralded as a film that has brought good news to box office. It is only in second week that news of drop in collection started trickling in, but by this time perception was created. It could change if the film crashes from now but if it does not it will be considered a hit.
Having said this, I am still disappointed as a clean hit is always good.
Comment by A C H I L L E S on 28 November 2008:

Difficult to understand how a movie which has grossed only 15 crores or so is a Superhit when the biggies are doing business in the range of 30+ crores.

As for media coverage, frankly the number of articles floating in the net regarding Dostana is considerably less than other prev hits or ‘perception hits ala SR’ of this year … anyways, its not that some more articles wud have given dostana more credit … i was just pointing to the media games … SR did get more coverage than this (both positive and negetive)!

What I find it difficult to fathom is why the concept of ‘perception hits’ are brought in the argument for certain stars and ignored for other movies which perform similarly … thats a good opening without follow through.

Anyways, Dostana is unfortunate to suffer due to current incidents in this week.
Comment by Julie on 28 November 2008:

A hit is a hit. I do not understand the concept of “perception hit” Gabbber. And I don’t understand how JA is a perception hit. What is this? SIK is a poop hit, Dostana and SR are perception hits? Ha
Comment by Julie on 28 November 2008:

Will say that Dostana did deserve to be a hit and would have been good for all associated with the film, but the recent events as we all predicted would have had a dire impact on the collections (wednesday onwrads). I do not see a turaround happening for quite a few weeks esp. not in Mumbai.

beld - It is best to shed the image that stars are larger than life. They are the most vulnerable and scared of the lot in such difficult times.
Comment by A C H I L L E S on 28 November 2008:

LOL Julie!

SIK did enuf at BO to be a hit … On JA, one can say it looked to be an average fare in its opening week … but went on to be a hit and surprised some in the process … but its indeed difficult to comprehend how it qualified to be a ‘perception hit’ at any point of time.
Comment by Julie on 29 November 2008:

Gul from SB: Julie no time to say this but one Thursday would have changed Dostana’s fortune?

Gul maybe not. But a 45 crore would still have been an acheiveable target with Yuvraj fading like no man’s business. With the recent event striking Mumbai, even 40-42 crores may now be a struggle. Still you are right, it is a significant fall in week 2 which just indicates that the WOM was not good enough and lay this on the weak 2nd half. With a 52 crore Distrubution rights the recovery is highly improbable.
Comment by Som on 30 November 2008:

Did The Attacks In Mumbai Affect Yuvvraaj and Dostana?

Q. Is Yuvvraaj the biggest flop of the year?

A. Its on par with the second biggest flop of the year Love Story 2050. Drona still remains the biggest flop by far

Ishrat Shareef, UK

Q. What are the chances for Jumbo at the box office?

A. Animation films do not have a big market in India but the makers of Jumbo are going heavy on the promotion so there is a chance at the multiplexes. Good business at single screens can be ruled out though even with presence of Akshay Kumar’s name with the film.

Dev Narod, Australia

Q. Did the attacks in Mumbai affect Yuvvraaj and Dostana?

A. Not a lot as both films were not doing well at the time. Yuvvraaj had crashed on Monday while Dostana was showing a 65-70% fall between first and second weekend. In terms of total nett business, Yuvvraaj and Dostana will do about 1 crore less than they would have under normal circumstances. Mumbai/Thane business for Wednesday for Yuvvraaj and Dostana was 12 and 11 lakhs respectively and Thursday was likely to be lower. Oye Lucky Lucky Oye and Sorry Bhai have been hurt tremendously by the terror attacks. They could go totally unnoticed and have a large chunk of their business taken away.

M Jamall, India

Q. Is Dostana a hit in Mumbai and Delhi?

A. No its average, it opened well but dropped heavily in Mumbai and Delhi. Delhi week one was 3.10 crore but dropped to 1.13 crore while Mumbai/Thane dropped to 1.38 crore from 6.21 crore.

R Kaushal, USA
Comment by Som on 1 December 2008:

Oye Lucky Lucky Oye Picks Up

Oye Lucky Lucky Oye has managed to put up a decent show under the circumstances of its release. The terror attacks in Mumbai last week has meant business has been hit hard.

Oye Lucky Lucky Oye had slow start but did better on Saturday and Sunday. It has grossed around 2.70 crore over its first three days. Friday contributed 60 lakhs, Saturday added 1 crore and Sunday was best with 1.10 crore.

The film should finish the week with over 4 crore business which would be a good effort under the present scenario.
Comment by Som on 1 December 2008:

Terror hits Bollywood in big way
Comment by Tango on 1 December 2008:

Oye Lucky Lucky Oye has managed to put up a decent show under the circumstances of its release. The terror attacks in Mumbai last week has meant business has been hit hard.

“Oye Lucky Lucky Oye had slow start but did better on Saturday and Sunday. It has grossed around 2.70 crore over its first three days. Friday contributed 60 lakhs, Saturday added 1 crore and Sunday was best with 1.10 crore.

The film should finish the week with over 4 crore business which would be a good effort under the present scenario.”

So the whole of India waiting for Chitrangda Singh’s comeback and hoardings saying Chitrangda comeback was just media bluff, as I always knew was the case.

People may say Sorry Bhai was too radical and what not and Bombay terror attack did it in but they will all be excuses. Otherwise too it would have sunk.
Comment by Sir Sultan on 1 December 2008:

I saw its preview on TV, appeared to be a decently funny one
Comment by Som on 1 December 2008:

The Mumbai terror attacks had casualties in Bollywood as well. To begin with, out of the three films that were to release on Friday, November 28, UTV’s Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!, Onir’s Sorry Bhai and Rohan Sippy’s The President Is Coming, one got indefinitely postponed (TPIC) while the remaining two OLLO and Sorry Bhai opened to empty halls.

The opening weekend collections of these films somehow reminded us of the 26th July 2005 scenario when the mega floods washed out Mumbai, and subsequently the three films – Yahaan, Sehar and 7 ½ Phere which released that weekend.

The Collections:

Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! was Dibakar Bannerjee’s next after his well-loved debut hit, Khosla Ka Ghosla (2006). While its Mumbai release was postponed by a day because of government’s directive to keep theatres closed, it didn’t exactly set the box office on fire in the remaining centers. The film’s Friday collections in Delhi circuit were just 20 per cent and there was just about a 5 per cent rise in them for Saturday and Sunday. In Mumbai when it opened on Saturday it managed just about 15-20% opening weekend collections.

Read the rest from the Website
Comment by Som on 1 December 2008:

Ek Vivaah Aisa Bhi opens in select multiplexes in 4th week
Comment by rudresh on 1 December 2008:

LUCK BY CHANCE: VIDEO

http://buzz18.in.com/videos/videos/hot-hrithiks-luck-by-chance/99811
Comment by Som on 1 December 2008:

Oye Lucky Lucky Oye Poor Dostana Hit

Oye Lucky Lucky Oye could not make a mark in international markets with just 55 lakhs business in its first weekend. United Kingdom contributed 10 lakhs while North America did okay with 30 lakhs.

Yuvvraaj is poor. It has grossed 1.40 crore in United Kingdom, 2.50 crore in North America and 2.35 crore in other markets for a 6.25 crore total in 10 days. FLOP

Dostana continues with good business. It has grossed 6.25 crore in United Kingdom, 6 crore North America and 3.75 crore in Middle East. The business after 17 days is 18.75 crore. HIT
Comment by Som on 1 December 2008:

Midweek: ‘OLLO’ dull, ‘Sorry Bhai’ disaster!

Dostana:Steady at few multiplexes. Due to its high price, average

Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!: Dull weekend

Yuvvraaj:Flop

Golmaal Returns:Due to its high price, average

Sorry Bhai!:Disastrous weekend. Shows had to be cancelled at some places
Comment by Som on 1 December 2008:

Incidentally RNBDJ is at top in 3 regions(North, West and East) in terms of music sales as per BOI
Comment by A C H I L L E S on 1 December 2008:

LOL … now even the gung-ho Taran has retracted his Hit verdict on Dostana and calling it average! Why do they have to jump on the gun in the first day and then say something different as time passes by?
Comment by satyam on 1 December 2008:

http://specials.rediff.com/movies/2008/dec/01box.htm
Comment by Som on 1 December 2008:

I think this lady Indu Mirani is on good terms with Karan Johar.She was one of the very very few trade people who ridiculously gave KANK a “Superhit” tag.
Comment by A C H I L L E S on 1 December 2008:

Som - everyone ignores this rediff BO unless when its calling the movie we prefer as a hit! You will hardly see anyone refering to this column at other times.

Its not just a KANK … they called KK a hit even after it fell … this genius Marani gives a verdict based on opening and never bothers to see how the movie is actually doing …another junk analyst.
Comment by A C H I L L E S on 1 December 2008:

Mumbai attacks: Multiplexes pay the price

Dont think the situation will improve even next week … Mumbai had been resilient in the past … but this time it has been different … whether RNBDJ will suffer or not is difficult to say at this point.
Comment by Som on 1 December 2008:

Agreed Achilles!I feel Komal Nahata is more or less consistent in his reporting and verdicts though he also jumps the gun at times when a movie is not doing well in the initial days.
Comment by Som on 1 December 2008:

RNBDJ will suffer in Mumbai if things don’t get back to normal in the coming days.As Achilles rightly said this time it has been different and attack has deeply affected the psyche of Mumbaikars,no two ways about it.
Comment by Som on 1 December 2008:

Box Office Earnings 21/11/08-27/11/08
Comment by Som on 1 December 2008:

BOI has 10.38cr i.e a 60% fall over the 2nd week for Dostana which is not as bad as some of us were expecting.Had it not been for the Mumbai terror strike,the fall would have been bit less in my opinion.
Comment by A C H I L L E S on 2 December 2008:

LOL … BOI again loses credibility and kind of proves they under reported the opening and is now over-reporting the week 2 in an attempt to hide their most blatant bias!

Somehow Abhishek and Bachchan brings out the worst in both BOI and IBOS! Much like the way Satyam brings out the worst in both his detractors and supporters!

A worthy fan of a worthy brand name.
Comment by A C H I L L E S on 2 December 2008:

Anyways BOI over reporting Dostana are ominous signs to what lies ahead in 10 days time
Comment by satyam on 2 December 2008:

Achilles: This is something that I have detected with BOI in the past as well. The differentials on Abhishek films are actually only at the top end. Eventually when it doesn’t matter as much they’re on the same page. So with a Guru for example or a BnB the greatest deficit was in week 1. In latter weeks when it’s a question of a crore or two or just some lakhs they ‘catch up’.

Som: But remember their 60% fall is over their original 26 crore number (which they increased a bit from 25 crores). If you went with 28 crores and then did a 60% drop you’d get a higher two week number.

IBOS on the other hand have a week 1 number a little over 30 crores (my initial sense was 28-30 looking at the numbers.. I don’t consider their total completely implausible though I am more comfortable with 28 crores than any other number). But also remember that this also makes their drop that much greater. Note they were the first ones who mentioned that the second weekend was seeing drops and it might be KANK-like. This when even BOI said the second weekend was steady in many places.

I increasingly have problems with most sites but I don’t detect the formulaic when it comes to IBOS the way I do with BOI when it comes to the Bachchans. The problem is that a certain circular logic is used. To discredit IBOS on Bachchan films BOI numbers are used. But we already know that the latter deflates Bachchan films at every level. Meanwhile IBOS also has the highest totals for Hrithik’s films and Aamir’s films. I just don’t see a pattern. The JA commentary was more politically motivated than anything else and still I don’t see a fudging of the numbers. My issue with BOI isn’t just the commentary. I could live with that or even lesser ratings if I thought the numbers were fair. But I don’t think they are.

Anyway I’m not out to debate all of this yet again. I just think that there is a strong correlation between those who are most for BOI and against IBOS and certain star preferences! This is not to say that I am blind towards IBOS or any other source. But it’s important to call something by its proper name.
Comment by Som on 2 December 2008:

“But remember their 60% fall is over their original 26 crore number (which they increased a bit from 25 crores). If you went with 28 crores and then did a 60% drop you’d get a higher two week number.”

I am not sure if BOI has over reported the 2nd week numbers just to catch up or fill the gap which existed because of the under reporting of first week numbers if we take the producer’s total of 28 cr to be correct indeed.BOI says Delhi has 1.56 cr as opposed to Taran’s 1.09 cr, I am not sure which one is correct.IBOS of course has a bigger drop over the 2nd week,it has something close to 10 cr(even less than BOI) which means there is a possibility of BOI over reporting 2nd week numbers for Dostana as I seriously doubt IBOS will ever under report when it comes to Bachchans,it can only over report to be honest.FI should clear the confusion imo.
Comment by satyam on 2 December 2008:

Som: But there’s a bit of circular logic here. BOI’s aim is to keep the numbers down on Abhishek films. They do this by underreporting initially and then more or less being on par with the others. If they first under-report and then over-report they’d be making up some ground which I don’t think they ever do. Similarly for IBOS if they’re over-reporting for Bachchan and then under-reporting they’re evening out in which case why over-report to begin with?

Taran has incomplete numbers all the time these days. It’s very unlikely that BOI would simply be giving more to an Abhishek film.

Incidentally I am not accepting the 28 crore figure because it’s the producer total but because I consider it most plausible.

I will by the way quote my favorite IBOS factoid once again — what is the film where IBOS has the greatest differential with BOI? krrish! The total is 16 crores greater than the one at BOI! With KMG it was 5 crores. This one’s huge though. And also the only source around where Krrish and D2 have pretty much the same total. Again not sure how this helps Abhishek!
Comment by Tango on 2 December 2008:

Som - “BOI has 10.38cr i.e a 60% fall over the 2nd week Dostana which is not as bad as some of us were expecting.Had it not been for the Mumbai terror strike,the fall would have been bit less in my opinion.”

Based on BOI numbers but higher based on what some of us had in week 1.

I think week 2 by BOI is on a higher side, but they must be having their inputs. There 26.48 too was fine but then if Karan is saying 28 that I personally believe in respecting that.
Comment by Som on 2 December 2008:

“If they first under-report and then over-report they’d be making up some ground which I don’t think they ever do. Similarly for IBOS if they’re over-reporting for Bachchan and then under-reporting they’re evening out in which case why over-report to begin with?

That could be the case with BOI,just to make up the ground they lost by under reporting first week and pretend to be having no agenda against Bachchans’ films, it “might” have over reported the 2nd week numbers.There is a possibility which certainly can’t be ignored, only FI can sort out the problem.
Comment by Som on 2 December 2008:

Tango: Just looking at Taran’s numbers excluding mumbai,the 2nd week numbers given BOI are on the higher side unless Taran has again goofed up with few centers.Anyway I would rather wait for the FI and see how things stand for Dostana as far as 2nd week numbers are concerned.
Comment by Tango on 2 December 2008:

True Som , I guess only FI can sort it out.
Comment by jayshah on 2 December 2008:

Well looks like my estimate was reasonable afterall. I feel a sense of satisfaction.
Comment by sv on 2 December 2008:

satyam,ibos has always under reported shahrukh’s films and
over reported hrithik’s films.
Even BEH is under reported.
Comment by satyam on 2 December 2008:

“Well looks like my estimate was reasonable afterall. I feel a sense of satisfaction.”

this is why the smart ones among us keeping looking to your work!

By the way do you accept this 60% drop? I still have the sense that the average drop is closer to 65%. Unless most of the figures on Taran’s list are incomplete.
Comment by jayshah on 2 December 2008:

No I think the drop is more like 65% overall. I expected Bombay to be over 2Cr…didn’t think it would fall all the way to just above a crore. I think its 65% fall overall - without terror attacks would have been closer to 60% overall. Of course BOI is getting 60% because it has a lower week one and higher week two then nearly everyone!

In fact putting Bombay = 2Cr in my data I get the fall to be 66%.
Comment by jayshah on 2 December 2008:

Bizarrely if I put in the 2.18Cr for Bombay that BOI has - I get EXACTLY the 9.2-9.9Cr I predicted on Saturday. How is that for luck!!!
Comment by rks on 2 December 2008:

Bollywood takes a hit after attacks
Comment by satyam on 2 December 2008:

Jay: How’s that for good methodology?!
Comment by ILG on 2 December 2008:

Satyam,
Your response on AB’s blog was noteworthy on several counts, not the least being the word count! While there are several points on which I may disagree, I have no doubt that all your opinions are sincere and well intentioned. This whole problem is too convoluted and complex to have a simple solution or to be dealt with the ’simplistic’ attitude that a few ’simple’ people are espousing. I justfind it sad that there are humans who resort to these kind of methods to make their points in such a violent and cruel manner and there are people who exploit the underprivileged and uneducated and encourage them to indulge in such vile acts.
Comment by beld on 2 December 2008:

Ilg - don’t have guts to directly address the ‘humans’ - do u. Didn’t expect anything better from trashy ‘animals’ like u or satyam. Rks - what’s with the deleting spree. Why don’t u delete satyam’s comment too. Don’t have the guts, do u. Old member coterie at work again…
Comment by ILG on 2 December 2008:

Beld,
Nothing personal but am not indulging in back and forth with you. However, I can see there is room for misinterpretation in my commnet.
Re:I justfind it sad that there are humans who resort to these kind of methods to make their points in such a violent and cruel manner and there are people who exploit the underprivileged and uneducated and encourage them to indulge in such vile acts.
These words are about terrorists and not members here.
Sorry for the confusion.
Comment by beld on 2 December 2008:

This whole theory of simple people espousing simple solutions is silly at best. Problem solving is all about converting complex problems into a set of simple problems and solving them. People who keep making the excuse of something being a complex problem - are usually inept at handling them. So yes, I woudl any day take a simple solution from a simple person. 101 management..
Comment by ILG on 2 December 2008:

Beld,
What you say applies to 99% of things in life. But there is that 1% which eludes a solution. When you are dealing with human mindsets, historical misconceptions,subversion ,exploitation etc, management 101 goes out of window. You can contain this problem at best. Solution is far more difficult.
Comment by rks on 2 December 2008:

“Don’t have the guts, do u. ”

I am not sure what do you want from me? Surely I lack ‘guts’ to do many things, but this is not one of them.
Comment by Som on 2 December 2008:

Overseas Boxoffice:’Lucky’ proves Unlucky
Comment by beld on 2 December 2008:

rks - i dont believe that

ILG - disagree. understand the nature of the problem is tough. but u have to take some efforts towards solving them. not just keep saying its a complex issue. u got to have the attack capability but use it judiciously. in this case, india doesnt even have a counter-op team. they need to be able to strike fear in these leaders who plan this. why cant we target them quietly behind the scenes. there are many ways to solve a complex problem. doing nothing is not one of them nor is just giving an excuse that its a complex problem…
having said that - i have hope in chidambaram. i do believe this time - there will be something different that comes out of this eventually. we cant lose hope. optimism is the essence of life
Comment by A C H I L L E S on 2 December 2008:

IBOS is only for the intellectually crippled.

Those who keep trying to make a case for its absurd and improbable plausibility, just do it with complete bad faith and dishonesty … else they are associated with the site and serve as propaganda agents for it.

Anyways, IBOS exists just as a propaganda site for Bachchan and is thoroughly anti-srk for obvious reasons .. and i am not a dorky fan in anyway to claim this!

I do have some problems with BOI … they under-reported Guru and Krrish by anything between 5-10 crores … (IBOS also had reason for over-reporting both … one is an attempt to promote Baby B to the A-Lister group and for Krrish they wanted to prove Hrithik in FilmKraft is much bigger than SRK in his genre at that time … their 80 crores is a hogwash!) … coming back to BOI, they gave a false Flop verdict to SR, but the numbers were clean there … and now they have the right verdict for Dostana but has obviously over-reported week 2.

As for IBOS its not just disgraced by its commentary (which is not political but only fanatical!) … but they systematically under-report all movies without Bachchan and give them lesser trade verdicts … but come to Bachchan films, they over-report.

JA is not the only instance of under-reporting … its one of the very many … but combined with its fanatical commentary, it was most noticed … even more than their propaganda against OSO.

One can believe JA had a budget of 50 crores, it did only 50 crores in India and Whatnot … they are free to believe even more absurd things … but that ‘belief’ does not change the reality, nor does it prove IBOS is so credible!

Sane people hardly give any importance to IBOS commentary or numbers.
Comment by neelu on 2 December 2008:

Please stop saying IBOS is for the intellectually crippled. The most intellectual (admittedly self professed) people on NG rely on IBOS.
Comment by rohitkarnbatra on 2 December 2008:

I am closing this thread….