DNA Bangalore (Front page) : No film till date, not even the ones with big stars like Shah Rukh Khan and Akshay Kumar, have managed such a huge opening ever.

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50 | December 25, 2008 at 11:43 pm | 89 views | NaachGaana Bol| Share

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Taran: “If you want to compare the collections with Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, I would say, Rab Ne…is no patch.”

It was pitched as one of the biggest blockbusters of the year, with the buzz extending to haircuts that the lead actor sports in the film. Now, Aamir Khan’s romantic thriller Ghajini has got the biggest opening figure in the history of Bollywood.
The film, a violent tale of a businessman’s quest for revenge for his wife’s murder while battling short-term memory loss, is turning out to be Bollywood’s big winner. According to trade pundits, no film till date, not even the ones with big stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan and Akshay Kumar, have managed such a huge opening ever.
Ghajini was released on Thursday, and not on the usual release day Friday, as the producers wanted to cash in on the Christmas holiday.
Looking at audience reactions at the paid preview of the film, trade pundits had guessed that the film would garner at least Rs 32 to Rs 35 crore net, setting a new record.
Trade analyst Taran Adarsh said about the film’s collections, “I think it is the highest ever as far as box office returns are concerned. Forget the reviews by some critics sitting in ivory towers, the common man has given his verdict. If you want to compare the collections with Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, I would say, Rab Ne…is no patch.”
According to trade reports Ghajini has already managed to garner three times more than Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. A distributor of the film, Sandeep Bhargava of Indian films says, “This is for the first time a film has been sold out in every show in every theatre across the country on the largest print count ever. Ghajini as a film works in all centres across India and the multiplexes across India are reacting in same vein,” he says.

Aamir Khan is surprised p20.

DNA E-paper

http://epaper.dnaindia.com/dnabangalore/epapermain.aspx?queryed=9&parenteditioncode=9&eddate=12/26/2008

Akshay Kumar let his hair down at his party last night; personally invited arch rival Shah Rukh Khan

KAMBAKKHT ISHQ takes biggest opening of 2009

Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor went on and on when their Kambakkht Ishq was released, about how huge a hit it was. Of course, the collections were in contradiction to their comments but they were in no mood to see reason. Finally, many weeks after the film was pronounced a flop by the trade, Kareena reportedly admitted in an interview that the film had failed

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There Are 50 Responses So Far. »

B H A I 25 December 2008
11:51:15 pm

Its official now. Aamir is the No.1 of bollywood followed by Akshay kumar & Hrithik with SRK sharing the 3rd spot.

The reception for Niloo Barber promo is thanda, For SRK, It’s all downhill from here

Shah 25 December 2008
11:56:54 pm

Thanks for the link Bhai!

neelu 25 December 2008
11:58:46 pm

Aamir has to be number one – his wife and nephew have come out in the news proclaiming he is the numero uno. A comment from his dog called Shahrukh is eager awaited by the media.

B H A I 26 December 2008
12:01:45 am

hahahahahaha

I can smell something burning.

Shah 26 December 2008
12:08:55 am

Pg. 20 from DNA Bangalore:

Even Aamir is surprised!

http://epaper.dnaindia.com/dna.....12/26/2008

Aarohi 26 December 2008
12:09:44 am

Taran is digging a hole for himself.

Kunal 26 December 2008
12:17:08 am

Bhai, its Taran that you are smelling
Don’t go too close, he is all Gajnified, might growl at you, or rotate your head 180 degrees…

neelu 26 December 2008
12:20:49 am

Tarn first dug a hole for himself in his Rab ne review – now he is busy trying to fill it up with other crap so it gets less noticeable. A star just came out and said people who are really number one (Amitah? Lataji?) do not proclaim that themselves. He forgot he had done it in 2008! But this time around his wife and nephew are proclaiming it, so we can better accept him being like Amitabh, Lata (whose level Shreya could reach BTW if she had the same opportunities)!

B H A I 26 December 2008
12:25:08 am

NG Terrorists are back.

It’s good for all if you continue to mourn in SB

B H A I 26 December 2008
12:26:20 am

Taran always associated himself with top stars

B H A I 26 December 2008
12:28:17 am

My advice to SRK fans, Go watch Ghajini rite now.

Wait. Its housefull for next 10 days…. try after Jan 10th

Kunal 26 December 2008
12:31:12 am

Oh damn, in that case I will watch Yuvraj… oh snap, it was taken down after 2 shows…

I guess SB is better, since we don’t have glory hunters of NG over there
If your star is not working, support the one who is, motto of seniors of NG

B H A I 26 December 2008
12:33:18 am

“If your star is not working, support the one who is, motto of seniors of NG”

Ravi 26 December 2008
12:39:44 am

Nice bhai, that is why you are it my beloved bro.

B H A I 26 December 2008
12:42:25 am

Ravi bhai: What are you doing at this time of the day!!!

neelu 26 December 2008
12:43:13 am

In Ahmedabad you can get Ghajini tickets for the very next show with a Ghajini haircut and a Ghahini CD thrown in for free. All Aamir fans who are unable to get tickets should go immediately to Ahmedabad. And since SB has inside info on Ahmedabad this is a certainty – other centers may be offering other incentives.

B H A I 26 December 2008
12:46:12 am

“Comment by neelu on 26 December 2009:

In Ahmedabad you can get Ghajini tickets for the very next show with a Ghajini haircut and a Ghahini CD thrown in for free.”

Thanks

B H A I 26 December 2008
12:50:03 am

“In Ahmedabad you can get Ghajini tickets for the very next show with a Ghajini haircut and a Ghahini CD thrown in for free”

May be it is Ghajini Trailer tickets. Ghajini has set the new trend…

johnnybrutal 26 December 2008
12:50:23 am

no ones denying ghajini has opened big, let aamir enjoy his moment, he’s worked hard for it, i feel now i might not enjoy irfan in the title role of biloo barber. I like aamir for being so versatile, actor, producer, director, farmer, barber wonder what’s next?

ideaunique 26 December 2008
12:58:44 am

“what’s next?”
lol JB, he is gonna be 1 of the 3 idiots and maybe later on a full-on-crazy-genius-singer-actor…..Kishore Kumar

B H A I 26 December 2008
01:02:03 am

I checked with Big Cinemas, Himalaya – Ebony Lounge & Big cinemas-himalaya, Ahmedabad. All the shows are sold out for today.

Fun cinemas, may be some 50-60 tickets left, But they have 16 shows per day!!!

saket 26 December 2008
01:23:16 am

Lage Raho…Shetty Bhai

jayshah 26 December 2008
01:37:53 am

Shetty you rock!

neelu 26 December 2008
02:00:48 am

http://i42.tinypic.com/m8kzk4.jpg
Big cinemas 6:15 pm show

http://i40.tinypic.com/wioyld.jpg
Cinemax

Information From Hardik in SB

neelu 26 December 2008
02:02:46 am

Sorry – the latter for 5:30 pm show – starting in about 2 hours.

jayshah 26 December 2008
02:19:07 am

Already a crash ?

satyam 26 December 2008
07:27:30 am

Bhai: LOL! Love your responses!

By the way I think the idea that tickets are available in Ahmedabad is a slur on the city’s good name!

satyam 26 December 2008
07:27:48 am

Jay: Ha!

JustaFan 26 December 2008
07:32:11 am

So are we looking at the first 100 CR movie in Hindi Cinema history?

satyam 26 December 2008
07:44:03 am

For the first time I genuinely believe this is possible.. I’ve always been skeptical before this but I think this film really connects.. with a 45 crore initial or so it would get to that figure with just decent trending.. also a three week run before CCTC arrives.. a one month gap would have been ideal but I sense the uniqueness of the film for our times makes it much more than just a two week rush at the box office.

JustaFan 26 December 2008
07:54:31 am

Satyam….I think it’s going over 50 CR for the opening week. With the reports that are coming in, a 55 CR opening is def. possible.

Julie 26 December 2008
08:17:49 am

so Ghajini breaks all opening week records (depending on how long we count the weekend to be). My bet is that CCTC will break Ghajini’s opening week record and Kites will break CCTC’s record

thanks to hardik at SB:

HardikG: http://www.bookmyshow.com/BuyT.....amp;ety=MT

There seems to be some exaggeration by the trade definitely in reporting numbers, if on second day of the release tickets are still available in the multiplexes of Mumbai and Ahemedabad. Well even if it does 80% consistently over a five day weekend in any case it is likely to shatter the opening week record.

Even here in London, there are two shows of RNBDJ still runnning in Shaftesbury avenue and 3 shows of Ghajini. So I still see RNBDJ holding pretty well in the overseas market.

rudresh 26 December 2008
08:34:12 am

Thats true here also.In mulitplex where i usuallyu watch movies there are b6 shows of ghajini and 4 shows for Rab Ne.

Well i had watched the movie today.Donot know what to say
I will rate it as 2.5/5.

satyam 26 December 2008
08:39:26 am

Julie: If I were a betting man I’d say that CCTC will not break the Ghajini opening week.. Kites releases much later so it might have the time advantage but otherwise I am uncertain about this one.. if it’s a film that has appeal in all kinds of centers it could.. not sure about this otherwise.. remember, RNBDJ did not really break SIK (the BOI numbers are plain nonsense.. RNBDJ did not even gross more than SIK in the US and UK; if it’s not doing that in these markets, if it’s behind SIK in the key Bombay center, crossing SIK is hardly likely!). CCTC will have a great opening but I think how this film has been handled will be very important. This is not regular comedy fare. I do detect great interest for this film, however I have never believed it’s had the Ghajini buzz and the I think the Ghajini opening bears this out.. there are very many big openings these days but Ghajini has been an event.. if the media is getting carried away in instances it is doing so the way it got carried away for Sivaji.. an event really feeds such stories..

devesh 26 December 2008
08:43:32 am

Ghajini will shatter records in India for sure, but its gonna flop Overseas for sure. I can say because I went today in the noon show, and the theater was half empty! I mean the first weekend, Friday being public holiday, and people were just not there. though i saw some crowd for the next show while leaving, it was still not comparable with so mayn reports about India.

In fact, I can say for sure that this films will work only in India, because the reaction in my theater wasnt great. People were exhausted by the length, some scenes were so cheesy that funny comments where being heard, Aamir was being called Buddha and what not…

Clearly not overseas audiences cup of tea.

In its third weekend though, RNBDJ is running about 3/4th the number of shows that ghajini is having in its first weekend.

Kunal 26 December 2008
08:46:31 am

And how you know those BOI numbers are nonsense, Satyam?

OFC you have your IBOS, you know the better defense on that will be to say “So what if Rab ne got big numbers, even GR did, quality is what matters”, but then you can’t use that, since Ghajini I bet is worse quality.

Was Bombay a key center for SIK? I thought north India was, and North India is doing better with Rab ne. So why can not Rab ne beat SIK?

But let the dust settles, let Ghajini post its numbers for 2 weeks, remember, its your trending theory only. A movie has to trend well enough to be classified as genuinely liked by the audience. We will see how Ghajini will hold the fort. Opening numbers have been posted by a lot of movies, its how they sustain which matters as well.

Kunal 26 December 2008
08:51:39 am

Devesh, whatever I have seen of Ghajini, it will post very big numbers even overseas. Weather has been horrible in past few days in large parts of US, that is why it is keeping people in their homes. Once the weekend kicks in, Ghajini will mount huge numbers.

I also want to ask something from the seniors of NG, if Golmaal opened due to success of its prequel, Sarkar opening was also credited to Sarkar’s success, how fair would it be to say that along with brand Aamir, its also Memento and Tamil Ghajini working behind the success of Ghajini opening?

No news channel is letting anyone forget that Ghajini is a remake of a suer duper successful Tamil Ghajini and cult Memento.

Kunal 26 December 2008
08:54:22 am

For you, Satyam, thanks to Hardik from SB:

HardikG: Kunal south and east are massive for rab ne . Bombay hardly has diff of 30 lakhs between Rab ne and Sik

devesh 26 December 2008
08:55:46 am

“Devesh, whatever I have seen of Ghajini, it will post very big numbers even overseas. ”

I am sure not in the Gulf & Middle East. there are less shows, less crowd, tickets readily available. Maybe its because most of the subcontinent population is from South India here, and they probably dont like Surya’s film being remade, just like some old AB fans dint like Don being remade. Another fact that startled me that RNBDJ and ghajini are having almost equal shows. (Ghajini 6 compared to RNBDJ 4). I went 1 hour early to get the tickets fearing some rush, but the theater was half empty!

Anyways, I may be wrong.

Julie 26 December 2008
08:55:55 am

devesh that is also now going to be a test for Aamir. His BO pull not only in India but also overseas. Ghajini is a masala flick and an entertainer, so was SIK, so was D2, so was OSO and each one of them has performed extremely well in the offshore markets.

If genre is an issue, then you also have a Jodhaa Akbar which has come up with some stupendous numbers in the overseas market. When we talk about star and star value one cannot only talk in Indian context, one has to take a global view, becasue Bollywood has extended its tentacles very widely into the global markets in contemporary times. RNBDJ worldwise may be a bigger hit than Ghajini for all you know.

Satyam – we will see about CCTC and Ghajini. I think for different segments different films matter. CCTC in my view is likely to have a wider segment. The only thing that it will not have to it’s advantage is the long long two weekends. Kites is a little far off, but again in magnitude and appeal I still see this as being very huge. This is Hritik in his favorite genre (dance, romance, action all combined) with very glossy look, foreign locales and let’s not forget a very hot looking Barbara mori.

While examining BO I would always like to include overseas gross rather than look at Indian BO net figures in isolation. That for me is a better indicator of a star’s value and cross sectional appeal. NRI’s cannot be considered a different species.

MG 26 December 2008
09:11:17 am

Ghajini should post big numbers in the first week in the US. With this being an extended weekend coupled with good number of shows I would expect a first week gross of abt a million

satyam 26 December 2008
09:38:21 am

On the overseas well the theater was jam packed at my end.. I think numbers should be big in the US..

Shah 26 December 2008
10:54:08 am

Devesh…
“I can say because I went today in the noon show, and the theater was half empty! I mean the first weekend, Friday being public holiday, and people were just not there. though i saw some crowd for the next show while leaving, it was still not comparable with so mayn reports about India.”

Bro… Friday noon is Juma Prayer time.. so there is no traffic and hardly anyone in any mall, shop or cinema hall. I’ve gone for the 4pm show in City Center and all the shows were showing FULL in the counter display!

BOND 007 26 December 2008
10:57:54 am

Watched it last night – loved it. Aamir has really done a great job; Asin was great. The theater where I watched in NY was house full and I when i was getting out, there was a huge line for the next show as well.

devesh 26 December 2008
11:06:11 am

“Bro… Friday noon is Juma Prayer time.. so there is no traffic and hardly anyone in any mall, shop or cinema hall. I’ve gone for the 4pm show in City Center and all the shows were showing FULL in the counter display! ”

I went to Grand Hyatt, and they are having 8 shows, and tickets were available for all the shows even at 4.45 when i was leaving. Maybe its the location Shah.
Even last night in Sharjah mega mall, tickets were available. about the juma part, I agree with your point. But i always thought dubai was different than sharjah. I generally go to sharjah and here everythings closed, sometimes even noon shows are cancelled. dubai mein to restaurants and everything was open. In fact i relished having garlic bread at 12.30 on a friday for a change.
Maybe ur right Shah, the friday noon factor was playing there, but then i dint see any advance booking also!
But what about the no. of shows? dont you think its less compared to other big films? That again can be because of length.
Anyways, how was the movie?

devesh 26 December 2008
11:08:44 am

And a bad news for me shah, they are stopping the manhattan promotion from 1st jan! now i will have to resort to HSBC as well!
I hope they give free for first year! LOL

Shah 26 December 2008
11:11:37 am

Loved it alot… today was the 2nd time.. watched it ydy at 6 pm… aahh… thanks to the HSBC Card

Shops n restaurants r normally closed in dubai too at around 12:00 except a few which get permission…

devesh 26 December 2008
11:16:37 am

ok, just now i heard that a couple of friends went at 3.45 for the 4pm show and the tickets were sold out for all the shows except the last night show!

So its getting huge here as well!

devesh 26 December 2008
11:20:16 am

Man i cant sit that long 2ice! I found the movie too long, otherwise good! But aamir rocks yaar!

yeah i guess the 5-star hotels are open! sharjah mein to sab closed! not even home delivery!

Tony Montana 26 December 2008
11:36:38 am

I had to go an hour ahead to get 8.30 show ticket lastnite. All the shows were soldout. I have never seen that kind of crowd for a bollywood movie here in Dallas. I am telling u this is going to be huge in US.

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