As we stride into the second quarter of 2014 [April to June], it's imperative to look at the results of the first quarter [January to March] that witnessed the release of an array of movies. Like every year, the content-driven films stood out from the rest of the crowd. The surprise package was -- no prizes for guessing -- the Kangna Ranaut starrer QUEEN, which raked incredible collections after an unenthusiastic start.
YAARIYAN, GUNDAY and RAGINI MMS-2 also brought abundant cheer. Although the genres were diverse, the commonality was a strong musical score that acted as the icing on the cake and ensured a robust start at the ticket window. Besides the above-named films that stood out, HASEE TOH PHASEE, HIGHWAY and SHAADI KE SIDE/EFFECTS found their share of audience at urban centres.
One now looks forward to Q2, but the cricket matches [IPL] as well as the forthcoming elections are expected to hit film business hard. Conversely, a number of attention-grabbing films are slated for release in the second quarter [BHOOTHNATH RETURNS, 2 STATES, KAANCHI, REVOLVER RANI, SAMRAT & CO., HEROPANTI, THE XPOSE, PURANI JEANS, KUKU MATHUR KI JHAND HO GAYI, CITYLIGHTS, HOLIDAY - A SOLDIER IS NEVER OFF DUTY, FUGLY, HUMSHAKALS, VILLAIN, CREATURE] and with film business witnessing an upward trend during summer vacations, one only hopes that the revenue generated in Q2 is higher than Q1.
Last Friday's MAIN TERA HERO was hit by Twenty20 semi finals on Friday and finals on Sunday. Yet, the opening weekend figures are reasonably good. Having said that, the weekend total should've been a couple of crores more than what it has amassed, since the word of mouth is positive. The makers have recovered a substantial chunk of investment from the sale of Satellite and Audio rights, hence the producers may make some profit in the final tally.
Unfortunately, the socially relevant JAL, which had a limited release, could not make any impact whatsoever. The biz was lackluster at urban centres, which yields maximum returns nowadays.
