The Hindi film industry is currently going through a great phase, with varied genres being embraced with open arms. The victorious run of numerous films – conventional and non-conventional – has only motivated dream merchants to make films of their choice. The fact that the spectators are open to varied genres says it all.
The masalathon, PHATA POSTER NIKHLA HERO, was expected to add to the glory, but its not-as-expected business has come as a surprise. Arriving with the baggage of mammoth expectations, the film had everything going in its favor – tremendous promotion by Tips, popular soundtrack, appealing star cast, an open run with only THE LUNCHBOX being the sole competitor for the week... yet, the film did not perform up to the optimum. Moreover, PHATA POSTER NIKHLA HERO caters to a universal audience, unlike GRAND MASTI, which caters primarily to those who relish adult jokes and humor. Also, what needs to be kept in mind is that PHATA POSTER NIKHLA HERO is the immediate offering from the producer-director duo that delivered the immensely successful AJAB PREM KI GHAZAB KAHANI a few monsoons ago. But BO can be so erratic and unpredictable...
One of the factors that threw a spanner was GRAND MASTI, which continues to lure moviegoers at singleplexes primarily. It has been noticed that if there’s a wave of a particular film at the ticket window, the subsequent film bears the brunt most of the times. Check out the instances… One week after YEH JAWAANI HAI DEEWANI arrived YAMLA PAGLA DEEWANA-2... A week after CHENNAI EXPRESS came ONCE UPON AY TIME IN MUMBAI DOBAARA… Now, with GRAND MASTI dominating the BO, PHATA POSTER NIKHLA HERO got affected for this reason. Sure, the business of PHATA POSTER NIKHLA HERO witnessed an upward trend with each passing day [Sat was better than Fri, while Sun was better than Sat], but the [massive] jump in its business was missing.
The silver lining is that the makers of PHATA POSTER NIKHLA HERO have recovered a major chunk of the investment through the sale of Satellite and other rights. But the theatrical business could’ve been much, much better. One definitely expected more from this combo in terms of numbers!
The second release, THE LUNCHBOX, witnessed fantastic growth over the weekend. Released at around 400 screens/limited shows, the numbers swelled steadfastly, posting an impressive total in its opening weekend.
