After a euphoric weekend last week [the festive Diwali week ignited the domestic box-office], the lights went dim this weekend. Although schools and colleges re-opened on Monday, the weekend was expected to be bountiful. Expectedly, the first choice this weekend was James Bond's QUANTUM OF SOLACE. The major Hindi release this week, EMI, got battered on Day 1 itself.
Let's talk of QUANTUM OF SOLACE first. The industry was hopeful that the James Bond flick would fetch an electrifying start, trouncing EMI in the process, and that's what it did. It led a strong box-office weekend by nabbing the top spot; however, the start of QUANTUM OF SOLACE was good, not great. It held on till Sunday, but thanks to average to below average reports, it came down heavily from Monday onwards.
EMI fumbled and stumbled on Day 1 itself. Imagine stepping out from the showroom with a new car and you realize that you already have a flat tyre. Well, EMI must've punctured all hopes of its producers and distributors [Sahara One], when they must've got to know the early trends on Friday. Despite attractive promos, EMI failed to do the trick. First KIDNAP, now EMI, Sanju Baba needs a Hit desperately.
Rajshri's strategy of releasing EK VIVAAH… AISA BHI at select single screens of select centres [in all, 87 physical prints were in circulation in Week 1 in India] paid off at some places [Rajmandir, Jaipur performed the best], but that vital jump was missing. The collections were in the 25% - 35% range all days, not showing a jump, not going down either. Most Rajshri movies show their true potential after 2/3 weeks of their release. Let's hope EK VIVAAH… AISA BHI creates ripples, like its predecessors.
