Its celebration time for Mira Nair! Her new film THE NAMESAKE [English], starring Indian stars Tabu and Irrfan Khan, has fetched a fantastic start in the U.S. Released on limited screens by Fox Searchlight, the film has won rave reviews, besides grossing an incredible screen average in its opening weekend.
THE NAMESAKE is expected to open on 23rd March in India and on 30th March in U.K.
Meanwhile, none of the three major releases [RED, 1971, SARHAD PAAR] had a theatrical release in U.K. Despite that, the holdover titles, NEHLLE PE DEHLLA and NISHABD, had no respite. The two releases have only sunk further!
Weekend: March 9 – 11, 2007.
U.K. BOX-OFFICE
- NEHLLE PE DEHLLA [last weekend: No. 20, this weekend: No. 26]: In its second weekend, the film has collected £ 23,642 on 26 screens, with the per screen average working out to £ 909. Total: £ 97,381 [approx. Rs. 83.18 lacs].
The breakdown:- Friday: £ 4,799; Saturday: £ 10,558; Sunday: £ 8,285. - HONEYMOON TRAVELS PVT. LTD. [last weekend: No. 30, this weekend: No. 32]: In its third weekend, the film has collected £ 16,602 on 11 screens, with the per screen average working out to £ 1,509. Total: £ 116,633 [approx. Rs. 99.33 lacs].
The breakdown:- Friday: £ 4,051; Saturday: £ 7,281; Sunday: £ 5,270. - NISHABD [last weekend: No. 36, this weekend: No. 37]: In its second weekend, the film has collected £ 9,452 on 12 screens, with the per screen average working out to £ 788. Total: £ 34,979 [approx. Rs. 29.80 lacs].
The breakdown:- Friday: £ 2,255; Saturday: £ 4,292; Sunday: £ 2,905. - EKLAVYA – THE ROYAL GUARD [last weekend: No. 32, this weekend: No. 40]: In its fourth weekend, the film has collected £ 8,828 on 21 screens, with the per screen average working out to £ 420. Total: £ 374,074 [approx. Rs. 3.19 crores].
The breakdown:- Friday: £ 1,470; Saturday: £ 3,668; Sunday: £ 3,690. - SALAAM-E-ISHQ [last weekend: No. 51, this weekend: No. 57]: In its seventh weekend, the film has collected £ 1,664 on 3 screens, with the per screen average working out to £ 555. Total: £ 808,684 [approx. Rs. 6.89 crores].
The breakdown:- Friday: £ 361; Saturday: £ 865; Sunday: £ 438. - PACHAKILI MUTHUCHARAM [Tamil; last weekend: No. 56, this weekend: No. 62]: In its third weekend, the film has collected £ 960 on 2 screens, with the per screen average working out to £ 480. Total: £ 13,510 [approx. Rs. 11.51 lacs].
The breakdown:- Friday: £ 12; Saturday: £ 536; Sunday: £ 412. - GURU [last weekend: No. --, this weekend: No. 85]: In its ninth weekend, the film has collected £ 63 on 1 screen. Total: £ 503,427 [approx. Rs. 4.29 crores].
The breakdown:- Friday: £ --; Saturday: £ 35; Sunday: £ 28.
THIS WEEKEND IN U.K.
[Based on screen averages]
| RANK | FILM | AVERAGE |
| 1 | HONEYMOON TRAVELS PVT. LTD. | £ 1,509 |
| 2 | NEHLLE PE DEHLLA | £ 909 |
| 3 | NISHABD | £ 788 |
| 4 | SALAAM-E-ISHQ | £ 555 |
| 5 | PACHAKILI MUTHUCHARAM [Tamil] | £ 480 |
| 6 | EKLAVYA – THE ROYAL GUARD | £ 420 |
| 7 | GURU | £ 63 |
U.S.A. BOX-OFFICE
- THE NAMESAKE [English] has debuted at No. 26 position. In its opening weekend, the film has collected $ 248,552 [approx. Rs. 1.10 crores] on 6 screens, with the per screen average working out to $ 41,425.
- EKLAVYA – THE ROYAL GUARD [last weekend: No. 46, this weekend: No. 57]: In its fourth weekend, the film has collected $ 28,255 on 80 screens, with the per screen average working out to $ 353. Total: $ 1,282,988 [approx. Rs. 5.68 crores].
- NISHABD [last weekend: No. 55, this weekend: No. 62]: In its second weekend, the film has collected $ 15,450 on 25 screens, with the per screen average working out to $ 618. Total: $ 69,554 [approx. Rs. 30.77 lacs].
NEW YORK CITY BOX-OFFICE
- In its opening weekend [No. 12], THE NAMESAKE [English] has collected $ 128,347 on 2 screens, with the per screen average working out to $ 64,174.
