The action has begun! With a plethora of new releases -- biggies, most of them -- invading our cineplexes from August onwards, the business was always expected to witness an upswing in the forthcoming weeks. The astounding start of CHENNAI EXPRESS has not only revitalized and re-energized the trade, but has raised the bar for keenly-anticipated biggies to follow, since the film is shattering previous records and setting new ones...
Everyone was of the opinion that that the sole film that could throw a spanner -- curtailing the dream run of CHENNAI EXPRESS -- was ONCE UPON AY TIME IN MUMBAI DOBAARA!, which, on face-value, had everything going in its favor: Appealing title [it's a sequel to a successful and well-acclaimed hit], imposing star cast, aggressive promotions and marketing strategy of course, the release date [15 August, national holiday]. It couldn't get better... But there's always a slip between the cup and the lip.
The screen sharing issue with CHENNAI EXPRESS resulted in ONCE UPON AY TIME IN MUMBAI DOBAARA! getting inadequate and restricted release on 15 August. Resultantly, the film lost out on not just ample screen space, but also a substantial chunk of revenue in the process. Although the film expanded to almost 2,500+ screens and surplus shows the very next day [Friday], the business, which ideally should have doubled, started sliding downwards, sending shock waves across the trade.
What went wrong? Several factors... Firstly, the word of mouth is far from positive. Had it been good, the business would have grown and escalated all through the weekend. The second reason is the comparison with its prequel, which spectators found much, much better. The third reason is the fantastic run of CHENNAI EXPRESS at the BO. Although CHENNAI EXPRESS had reduced screen space on Friday, with ONCE UPON AY TIME IN MUMBAI DOBAARA! sliding downwards over the weekend, the business of CHENNAI EXPRESS zoomed Northwards at several centres.
Besides these two reasons, there's a vital reason that goes against ONCE UPON AY TIME IN MUMBAI DOBAARA!: Its high costing. Looking at the current trends and the revenue generated from theatrical and non-theatrical avenues, this one is expected to be a downer for its investors.
