Although it's a bit too early to pass any verdict on WE ARE FAMILY, it's time to see where the film stands before its Week 1 comes to a close. The fact remains that the film has under-performed in India and Overseas, but as things stand today, the investors may scrape through to safety due to pre-selling of Satellite and Music Rights for a tidy sum. Let's check it out...
  Cost of production: |   Rs. 25 cr. |
  + P & A expenses: |   Rs. 7 cr. |
  Total investment: |   Rs. 32 cr. |
Recoveries so far...
  Satellite & Music Rights: |   Rs. 21 cr. |
  Sony has acquired the rights. The breakup:- Satellite: Rs. 14.5 cr. + Music: Rs. 6.5 cr. |
This means, the investors have to recover Rs. 11 cr. from India theatrical, Overseas and Home Video.
Going back a bit, the below-the-mark box-office performance of WE ARE FAMILY has come as a surprise to many within the industry. A few years ago, Sooraj Barjatya's VIVAH picked up rapidly, as days progressed. It was one of the biggest Hits of the year. More recently, PAA showed a dramatic rise with each passing day. WE ARE FAMILY too showed an escalation in its opening weekend [Midweek Boxoffice], but the big jump in business was clearly missing.
Internationally too, where Karan Johar is a brand, family films generally find an audience and Kajol-Kareena are hugely popular with moviegoers, WE ARE FAMILY is on a sticky wicket.
Does it signal the beginning of the end for this genre [socials]? I don't think so! We tend to think that way when a film under-performs/fails. Conversely, we over-exploit a genre when a film clicks big time. This business will always remain a big puzzle.
Will WE ARE FAMILY sustain in its second weekend? Will it stand up to a hurricane called DABANGG? Only time will tell!
