Its celebration time for the Kumars -- producers Bhushan Kumar and Krishan Kumar and lead man Akshay Kumar. BHOOL BHULAIYAA has swept the Indian box-office like a hurricane and emerged a major money spinner. All calculations, all mathematics, all [negative] talk, reports and reviews… BHOOL BHULAIYAA has defied the detractors and emerged a success.
The tremendous hype Priyadarshan's new film had generated prior to its release was expected to translate into a terrific start at the ticket window. The Idd celebrations were only expected to add to the booty. And that's exactly what happened. The Friday numbers were great [90% - 100%]. Saturday was almost cent per cent. Sunday was a record breaker everywhere. Had the reports been negative, the film wouldn't have sustained on Saturday itself.
What actually contributed to the excellent first weekend business of the film? Several factors --
- Akshay Kumar is a major star today and a huge box-office draw. The two releases in 2007, NAMASTEY LONDON and HEYY BABYY, rank amongst the biggest grossers of the year. Also, his movies ensure an excellent start on Day 1. Later, of course, it's the content of the film that does the talking.
In the 1960s, Rajendra Kumar delivered jubilee after jubilee and was nicknamed 'Jubilee Kumar' by the industry. Akshay Kumar is the new 'Jubilee Kumar'. His movies sell for an astronomical price and they make big bucks when released.
- The promotion undertaken by the producers, Bhushan Kumar and Krishan Kumar, was easily the best the year has witnessed. Making qualitative promos is one thing, playing them 24 x 7 is another. Even after the movie has released, a set of new promos have been unleashed on television. I'm sure, Bhushan and Krishan wouldn't breathe easy for the next few weeks, yet another set of promos will ht the tube soon. Their passion for movies is matchless.
- The audience feedback is also positive. And that's all that matters. Come to think of it, no matter what anyone feels about the film, you have to bow down to the public mandate. All that matters is how your balance sheet looks at the end of the day. And in this case, it's very, very rosy.
The business of the film was excellent on Monday and Tuesday as well. Let's have a quick look at how the film fared at Indore, one of the major barometers of the film industry…
| Theatres | Fri | Sat | Sun | Mon |
| PVR | 1,61,000 | 1,84,500 | 2,06,000 | 1,06,000 |
| Inox | 1,31,000 | 1,51,000 | 1,90,400 | 84,000 |
| Adlabs | 1,38,500 | 1,59,500 | 1,77,000 | 83,600 |
| Velocity | 1,13,500 | 1,28,500 | 1,60,000 | 68,000 |
As things stand today, BHOOL BHULAIYAA is a major Hit. And it has all the chances to be Bhushan and Krishan Kumar as also Priyadarshan's biggest Hit to date. It's time to pop champagne!
A BIG DISAPPOINTMENT
Had I not watched LAAGA CHUNARI MEIN DAAG, I would've been surprised by the cold response meted out to this biggie, produced by the premier production house Yash Raj. On face-value, it's a Yash Raj production, it stars some of the best names in the business and of course, the film was well promoted prior to its release. Besides, it was being released during the Idd weekend. So many plusses!
But after having watched the film, I am not surprised by the non-response at the box-office. In my individualistic opinion, it's one of the weakest films produced by Yash Raj. Perhaps, the audience knew what was in store and therefore, the numbers were missing.
Starting on a poor note [10% - 20%], the collections improved slightly on Saturday and Sunday at select multiplexes of a few big centres. The Idd festivity helped the film. Also, a lot of people I know went to watch BHOOL BHULAIYAA and since they couldn't procure the tickets of this film, they opted for the second release of the week -- LAAGA CHUNARI MEIN DAAG. Clearly, BHOOL BHULAIYAA was the first choice of moviegoers, that's the hard truth!
If the weekend business was slightly better at some multiplexes, the film fell from Monday onwards. The reports are not too encouraging and frankly, I am not surprised by the thanda response that the film has generated. Let's have a look at the multiplex figures of LAAGA CHUNARI MEIN DAAG at Indore…
| Theatres | Fri | Sat | Sun | Mon |
| PVR | 66,700 | 89,000 | 1,16,000 | 27,000 |
| Inox | 53,000 | 52,000 | 89,000 | 21,000 |
| Adlabs | 67,500 | 75,200 | 1,14,000 | 25,000 |
| Velocity | 35,800 | 38,000 | 84,000 | 14,000 |
As things stand today, LAAGA CHUNARI MEIN DAAG is a big disappointment at the box-office!
