The dry spell has ended. Its raining hits at the Indian box-office. ISHQ VISHK, ANDAAZ and now BHOOT. In a relatively short span, three films with diverse content have left a strong impact at the box-office.
While ISHQ VISHK is faring well at metros [as predicted, its best business will be in Mumbai circuit], ANDAAZ has emerged a major success all over. BHOOT may not match the success of ANDAAZ, but its opening reaffirmed the fact one can 'sniff' a good product from the promos itself.
Of course, the business of all the three films is bound to be diverse in each circuit. Like the content of the films. But the 'healthy' business of these films does indicate that the audience is coming back to the theatres in a big way.
A few months ago, the film industry was going through a precarious phase, with every new release sinking faster than Titanic –
* The collections of a horror film, starring a popular TV actor, were equally horrifying. At a multiplex in Mumbai, there was just one cinegoer in the matinee show…
* The management of a few theatres were forced to cancel a few shows of this heroine-oriented flick with a political backdrop, directed by an award-winning director, due to lack of audience…
* A love story, starring three new boys and one new girl, had an equally pathetic run at the turnstiles. The first week figures at some theatres of Mumbai were as low as 5%…
* The veteran actor-film-maker's latest film, like his previous films, did not get 'love' from the audience. The business of the film was in red…
So, it does come as a respite to see films opening to a 100% response at a time when the business has touched rockbottom.
The opening of BHOOT took a few 'soothsayers' by surprise. The cent percent opening of the film in several cities reaffirmed that –
[i] Star cast films, made by reputed names, generally fetch a fantastic opening.
[ii] The element of supernatural still excites the audience.
BHOOT opened to a fantastic response almost everywhere and though the collections of the film have registered a slight drop as days progressed, the film should prove to be an earning proposition for its investors. Isn't that a positive development?
In Mumbai city-suburbs, the film is holding on very well. Ditto for Delhi city-suburbs, although Kolkata city-suburbs is not that strong.
At the end of the first week, the collections at Ahmedabad [Gujarat], Pune [Maharashtra], Kanpur-Lucknow-Meerut [Uttar Pradesh], Jaipur [Rajasthan] and Hyderabad [Nizam] should be encouraging, though the figures aren't too strong at a few small stations. But that's okay. For, in today's times, the business at 'A' class centres matters the most, not 'C' and 'D' class centres!
