The Diwali week has ended the dry spell, at least going by the Wednesday numbers. Let's talk of GOLMAAL RETURNS first. The film opened to an excellent response all over, at every station of the country. The terrific start is being attributed to various factors, mainly the festive period. People are in a mood to celebrate and GOLMAAL RETURNS, on face value, seemed the perfect film for an outing. The extra-ordinary promotion by Shree Ashtavinayak was another factor that attracted attention. Also, GOLMAAL is still fresh and its sequel was expected to open well. However, the reports are mixed.
Talking purely from the business point of view, the film has cost Indian Films/Studio 18 approx. Rs. 45 crores [print + promotion included] and the film's performance in India and also Overseas in the coming days will be the deciding factor.
On the other hand, FASHION embarked on a slow start at places, but picked up dramatically as the day progressed. The film was best at multiplexes of big centres, but even at as the day progressed. However, the exhibitors are unanimous that the running time of almost 2.45 hours is proving a deterrent and going by the initial reports, the moviegoers are getting restless towards the second half, thanks to the excessive length. Besides, the 'A' certificate seems to have kept the families away.
