Box office Business Talk | ALL EYES ON ‘L.O.C.’

All eyes are on L.O.C. The keenly anticipated film opens today. A few questions cross my mind as I pen this piece –

Will the excessive length [4 hours, 1 minute] gel well with the viewers who are used to watching 3-hour flicks?

Will the strategy of holding two/three shows at various cinema halls across the country [against the normal trend of four/five shows] work to the advantage of the film? Will the policy of holding lesser number of shows indirectly create an enormous demand for the film?

How will the audiences react to the film at a time when the relations between the two countries [India, Pakistan] are getting better with each passing day?

Who will benefit most from the film? Sanjay Dutt or Ajay Devgan or Abhishek Bachchan or Saif Ali Khan or Akshaye Khanna or Manoj Bajpai…?

Will its business surpass that of BORDER, J.P.'s biggest hit to date?

SOME LOGIC!

MUNNABHAI M.B.B.S. has met with mixed reactions at the box-office. The film is faring exceedingly well in Mumbai-Maharashtra [the collections picked up dramatically as days progressed!], but the cold wave, as also the Mumbaiya flavour of the film, has made a dent in its business at several parts of the country.

The observation that Sanjay Dutt starrers click only if they have violence/action in generous doses, is indeed amusing. It only goes to say that Sanju shouldn't be cast/seen in love stories/emotional fares. This is one big joke!

Let's not forget that Sanju was widely appreciated in SAAJAN [more than Salman Khan]. Also, this film was a major money-spinner at the box-office. Why, the turning point in Sanju's career was also an emotional fare – NAAM. On the flip side, some of Sanju's action fares, including HATHYAR [even the title was violent!], fared miserably at the turnstiles. Let's not bullshit!

MORE OVER-EXPOSURE

If Sanjay Dutt faces the risk of getting over-exposed [four of his films are releasing back to back – MUNNABHAI M.B.B.S., L.O.C., PLAN, RUDRAKSH], John Abraham is also feeling the heat. Three of his films – AETBAAR, PAAP and LAKEER – are releasing one after the other, in three consecutive weeks. Point this out to the talented actor and he agrees that it can prove to be a professional hazard. "But releasing a film is not in my hands. All I pray for is that they work at the box-office," he smiles.

OVERSEAS IS HOT

KAL HO NAA HO continues to spell magic in the Overseas territory. The film has grossed $ 1,787,378 [approx. Rs. 8,93,68,900] in U.S.A. and 1,294,079 Pounds [approx. Rs. 9,05,85,530] in U.K. The success of the film on foreign shores has strengthened the belief of producers that Overseas continues to be the hottest territory today!