Achilles

Mumbai, Nov. 24 What began as an ideal script in the third quarter of this fiscal seems to have gone completely awry for Bollywood.

With over a month to go before the curtains come down on the third quarter, hopes are now pinned on the Amitabh Bachchan-starrer Paa and Aamir Khan’s Three Idiots.

The October-December period is usually the best time for Bollywood thanks largely to the festival momentum and the Christmas spirit. However, barring box-office hits such as Wake up Sid, All The Best and Azab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani , the scenario has been dismal with Blue, London Dreams , Main Aur Mrs Khanna, Jail, Aladin and even the recently released Kurbaan just not striking a chord with the audience.

The three consolation hits, with two starring Ranbir Kapoor, have netted over Rs 17.5 crore across the six major multiplex chains. In the process, the producers are entitled to a 2.5 per cent higher share of profit, said a director of a production house.

“From a value-chain point of view, only these films have brought in the moolah,” he added.

Most analysts were bullish on the third quarter. Nearly Rs 600 crore was at stake with six films having budgets of over Rs 50 crore.

“Although occupancies have been better than the previous quarter, it was below expectations,” said Mr Vishal Kapur, COO Fun Cinema.

This is a fiscal that the industry would rather forget in a hurry. The first quarter was a disaster following the standoff between producers and exhibitors which resulted in a loss of Rs 300 crore. The second made up thanks to some big-ticket releases but the third is again looking ominous.

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