What a crowd is building up at the Box Office this weekend!
Believe it or not but on last count, there are at least 8 films arriving together. While from Bollywood there are six releases in the offering - Raman Raghav 2.0, Junooniyat, 7 Hours To Go, A Scandall, Dil Toh Deewana Hai and Rough Book, there is also one major Hollywood biggie (Independence Day: Resurgence) and also a Punjabi film (Sardaarji 2) which will have a good presence up North of India.
Let's talk about the Bollywood releases first. Raman Raghav 2.0 is carrying the maximum buzz and also sees the return of director Anurag Kashyap, a year after his big ticket fiasco Bombay Velvet. This time around, he has made the film which comes with an impression of 'being in the director's zone'. The promo has been liked by those who prefer their films to be dark and disturbing, while Nawazuddin Siddiqui is attracting eyeballs as well. That said, not much has been heard from the film's cast or even Anurag Kashyap and one just feels that there could have been much more aggressive arrival in theatres.
Junooniyat comes from T-Series and that by default indicates that the key strength of the film is its music. The visuals are eye catchy and though the promotion and marketing hasn't been on-your-face, the film promises a musical romantic tale which means the content could give it a push amongst audience.
7 Hours To Go may not be carrying much of a star attraction but appears to be carrying good production values, as far as the promo can tell. Though one doesn't really see an opening per se for the film, word of mouth and good reviews (which need to spread really fast) could give it a push.
A Scandall tried to be in news with its shocking promo and other promotional material but hasn't managed to attract eyeballs. As for Dil Toh Deewana Hai and Rough Book, the first challenge for them would to get an all-India release with good shows, something which is very tough due to arrival amidst a heap of releases and that too without any promotion.
Coming to Hollywood releases, it is Independence Day: Resurgence which is set to take the honors amongst all new releases of the weekend. Action films with big budget appeal and good recall value (due to sequel/franchise factor) are finding good reception world-over and hence Independence Day: Resurgence too is set to lead the show. In fact it is surprising that the film hasn't been promoted to that extent which would have given it a double digit start. Still, it will open big and could perhaps bring in collections which are the sum total of all new Hindi releases.
Up North, it would be Sardaarji 2 taking the lead. First in the series by Rohit Jugraj, Sardaarji, was a smash hit and now the sequel is carrying good buzz too. Diljit Dosanjh is the Number One Punjabi star and over a period of time, especially with Udta Punjab as well, he has managed to add on to his fan base beyond Punjab and into Delhi NCR as well as parts of U.P. and Himachal Pradesh as well. That would help the film fetch best numbers amongst all new releases in the North of India.
