Box-office is most unpredictable...
- Akshay Kumar's HOUSE FULL garners a terrific start at the ticket window, while his subsequent releases, KHATTA MEETHA and ACTION REPLAYY, don't.
- Hrithik Roshan's KITES opens to an overwhelming response, but GUZAARISH doesn't.
- Ajay Devgn's ONCE UPON A TIME IN MUMBAAI starts on a heartening note, but AAKROSH fails to take off. Subsequently, GOLMAAL 3, released a few weeks after AAKROSH, fetches a flying start.
- Vivek Oberoi's PRINCE opens to good houses, but RAKHT CHARITRA I doesn't.
- Imran Khan's I HATE LUV STORYS opens with a bang, but BREAK KE BAAD starts on a tepid note.
Quite a paradox, isn't it? The producer is on tenterhooks till Friday morning. He doesn't know where his film is headed. The first show decides what route the film is likely to take - Northwards [Hit] or in the opposite direction [Flop].
Let's talk of BREAK KE BAAD here. The film was backed by reputed names [Reliance Big Pictures, Kunal Kohli], had an impressive star cast [Imran, Deepika], was well promoted prior to its release. Yet, the avid moviegoers didn't show much interest in the film, going by the opening weekend and weekday numbers.
However, the factor that goes in its favour is its reasonable costs. Just last week I pointed out about GUZAARISH being a failure because its economics were completely wrong. In the case of BREAK KE BAAD, the economics have been correct and have proved a silver lining. The makers have recovered a chunk of the investment from the sale of Electronic Rights and the balance amount has to be recovered from India and Overseas theatrical.
Even if the investors don't make pots of money, they won't lose either, at the rate its faring, only because the economics were right and also because its lead actor [Imran Khan] hasn't charged a hefty remuneration, he's a partner in the film. Which only goes to prove yet again that we need to work on the economics the moment the script is locked and the casting begins.
The other release, ALLAH KE BANDAY, just didn't take off. Again, the costs are reasonable but the theatrical business is so poor that a recovery of the investment seems impossible.
