This month, two biggies -- Ranbir Kapoor's BESHARAM and Akshay Kumar's BOSS -- had a midweek release [Wednesday] and the response to both raises a pertinent question: Is it wise to break the norm by releasing a film on a Wednesday? The makers of BESHARAM as well as BOSS wanted to capitalize on a holiday on a Wednesday [BESHARAM released on Gandhi Jayanti, while BOSS opened on Eid-ul-Adha]. However, the working day immediately after a holiday results in a dip in BO collections, although the decline in the biz of BESHARAM was drastic when compared to that of BOSS. However, a situation like this creates a furore within the corridors of the industry and seriously raises doubts whether the 5-day weekend is really worth it or should we settle for the [time and tested/traditional] 3-day weekend of Friday to Sunday.
Agree, the budget and BO numbers of BESHARAM and BOSS cannot be compared, but the fact is that the biz of BOSS is below expectations. BOSS had everything going in its favor, right from the catchy title, excellent star cast, open run, popular soundtrack, fantastic promotion and the fact that it was a remake of a South Indian hit [POKKIRI RAJA]. Logically speaking, all these factors should have contributed towards a thunderous start at the ticket window. What's surprising -- and has baffled many -- is that the word of mouth is positive, but it hasn't translated into BO numbers. Does it mean that the audiences have had enough of South Indian remakes and now want a breather from the same? Or has it got to do with an overdose of masala films in quick succession? Or, like a section of the industry feels, should we blame the pre-Diwali phase for the lull in biz?
With the festival season just around the corner and an array of biggies lined up for release in November, one only hopes that the biz escalates in the coming days.
