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386 Responses to “Don 2 (ongoing), the rest of the box office”
Three Idiots has created history in China as it crossed the $2 million mark in China making it the first Hindi film to do any sort of worthwhile business in China. Although it must also be said that the film did not sustain well. The business till date is as follows.
8th – 11th Dec $1,190,000 (4 days)
12th – 18th Dec $740,000 (7 Days)
18th – 25th Dec $130,000 (7 Days)
TOTAL – $2,060,000 (18 days)
The Overseas total for Three Idiots now is $23.5 million making it the highest grossing film in Overseas ahead of My Name Is Khan.
Don 2 Marches On
by Shabdita Shrivastav (December 30, 2011)
Last week, Don 2 booked its niche as the third-highest grosser of 2011. With no big release this week, the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer continues to hold its own as it moves into its second week. The only film that released today was Y P Singh’s Kya Yahi Sach Hai, which opened in a few circuits only. The film, which impressed neither tradewallahs nor the audience, went unnoticed at the box office.
In Mumbai, Rajesh Thadani of Multimedia Combines says, “Don 2 earned Rs 75 crore all over India in its first week. In Mumbai, its first week collections were around Rs 25 crore. Since there is no big release this week, Don 2 will have an edge at the ticket windows. Kya Yahi Sach Hai took an opening of 5 per cent.”
According to Ajay Bagbai of Rajvi Trade Link in Gujarat, “In week one, Don 2 earned Rs 5-6 crore in the Gujarat region while all- India nett collections were Rs 70-75 crore. In its second week too, we are expecting the film to do collect Rs 2-3 crore in Gujarat and Rs 20-25 crore across India.”
The SRK-starrer left its mark in Delhi-UP as well, and collections amounted to Rs 14 crore in week one. Sanjay Ghai of Mukta Arts adds, “In its second week, we are expecting Don 2 to do business of approximately Rs 5 crore. The weekend, especially Sunday, will receive a very good response from the audience. Kya Yahi Sach Hai is not worth talking about.”
In Punjab, Surendra Saluja of Lakshya Movies remarks, “Don 2 will run house full this weekend as well as the film has generated a great response from the audience. It will do business of Rs 1.5-2 crore in its second week. No films released this week in our circuit.”
In West Bengal, Sunil Singh of Aum Movies adds, “In its first week, Don 2 received a very good response. Its second week business is expected to be around Rs 3 crore in the Bengal region.”
Don 2 will continue its good run in CI too. Monto Aditya Choksey of Morya Arts reveals, “With no big release this week, Don 2 is strong at the box office. The film is doing well in A-class centres and multiplexes and will enjoy a good second weekend as well. It will generate great revenue.”
In CP, Sarang Chandak of Shri Rang Films concludes, “The collections of Don 2 are Rs 4 crore so far and the film has received a thumping response. It will continue to enjoy a good run at the ticket window this weekend.”
BOI also confirms 3 Idiots now officially the highest grossing Bollywood film overseas after creating history in China:
Three Idiots Creates History In China
Friday 30th December 2011 09.30 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Three Idiots has created history in China as it crossed the $2 million mark in China making it the first Hindi film to do any sort of worthwhile business in China. Although it must also be said that the film did not sustain well. The business till date is as follows.
8th – 11th Dec $1,190,000 (4 days)
12th – 18th Dec $740,000 (7 Days)
18th – 25th Dec $130,000 (7 Days)
TOTAL – $2,060,000 (18 days)
The Overseas total for Three Idiots now is $23.5 million making it the highest grossing film in Overseas ahead of My Name Is Khan.
SRK silences detractors as Don 2 turns into a hit
By Joginder Tuteja, Dec 30, 2011 – 15:03 IST
Shah Rukh Khan must have gone through some real anxious times when the Thursday evening press show resulted in select mischief mongers spreading negative word of mouth about his latest release Don 2. Critics in general weren’t really kind too and despite the fact that the film took the best opening ever for a non-holiday release, there were many waiting with daggers and all set to attack after the weekend went by. However as things stand today, Shah Rukh is pretty much having the last laugh with the film holding well even on the weekdays, hence ensuring that the film is a clean hit and may just turn superhit.
“Don 2 has done well and now all eyes are on how far would it go”, says a source, “Of course Ra.One backlash coupled with the fact that the film hasn’t been designed for universal audience means that the film wouldn’t end up creating or beating records set this year. However, it is now entering the Rs.100 crore club and make neat profits for all involved. For Shah Rukh this is now his second century in a row. Of course Ra.One was touted to do much better but negative word of mouth aborted its run, though not before it managed Rs.115 crore for itself. However in case of Don 2, multiplex audience across the country are liking the film which is a big plus.”
There are some who are of the belief that given the fact brand Shah Rukh is involved, each film of his should be setting benchmarks instead of just coming close to them and compare with the contemporaries.
“Agreed, but for that a film should be designed as the one with universal appeal as well”, says a prominent filmmaker on condition of anonymity, “If he plays to his strengths and ends up serenading women in chiffon sarees for a Yash Raj film, he is bound to set records. However, of late he has been experimenting too much and making a conscious call to stay away from mushy affairs, case in point being a My Name Is Khan, Ra.One or Don 2. Results are of course going to be mixed.”
However, his fans worldwide are now rooting for him to do get back into wholesome family entertainment mood as a result of which in months to come, he would begin films which, as per industry parlance, are considered to be ‘safe’.
“Yash Chopra’s film that he is doing with Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma cannot go wrong. Then there is Rohit Shetty’s Chennai Express for which he starts shooting with Kareena Kapoor. These are the films that have an eye on multiplexes as well as single screen audience. Guess Shah Rukh is through with technology, gizmos and 3D now, it is time to get that major biggie which would shut the mouth of even the staunchest of detractors”, the filmmaker adds.
SRK is posting near high water mark numbers with experimental/non-massy/limited appeal movies. Big Budget, yes but movie of a genre that does not appeal to all people in all region.
Movies like BG etc (good moves, good performances) are ahead but just by a hair.
When Aamir (good actor, great movie mind) who is perhaps more suited for “Hatke” movies does such movies we get the collection of Dhobi Ghat (an amazing movie but not at the BO). Hence the fact is that SRK is catering to Aamir’s demographic, but also generating moolah (lots of it) at the BO.
I doubt that there is a star in Bollywood who can abandon his base, like SRK has done with MNIK, RA-1, and Don 2 and still manage to get into the 100-200 Cr club. This is an achievement that will go treated well by history, something that will add to the legend of SRK. This is how successful people become great.
And you are the ultimate purveyor of facts here right? First, present the complete facts, then get into a discussion. But then, facts are like potatoes to you, some small and some large, which can be conveniently mashed and served as a side dish to your main entree of SRK-aggrandizement.
A songless movie made at a total deliverable price of less than 10cr is being compared to extravaganzas made at final price of more than 100crs each. A movie having the star in a side role gets compared to movies which are made to showcase the star as the central role and character!!
I respect all stars, I watch movies for fun, for the joy it brings us.
But you can prove me wrong by getting Aamir to make a movie which is non massy (Budget is irrelevant) that makes 200 + Cr.
Better still ask him to abandon his base and then make a movie for SRK’s base and then post 200 + Cr.
If that happens we all will gain, we all will enjoy. But chances are that you might learn to respond to content with content (on blogs) before Aamir makes such a movie.
I appreciate your admiration for SRK. But calling Don 2 or Ra One as experimental or ”non-massy” films is a joke! I am also amazed at how you guys can compare Dhobi Ghat with Don 2, Ra One or even MNIK! DG was total opposite of mainstream and Aamir was not even the main focus of the film! Till 4 months before its release, no one even knew Aamir Khan was actually playing a part in it or not! It has no hype, no promotions, no songs, no well known faces, nothing like any conventional Hindi film – still you people compare it with Ra One or Don 2?! Surprising! Limited appeal of DG is no way comparable to so-called ”limited” appeal of Don or some superhero film!
Sorry mister, Don 2 or Ra One are not Aamir-type hatke movies and in no way cater to Aamir’s demographic! No one except an SRK partisan will buy this silly argument. Hatke was something like TZP or RDB. Don 2 is merely sequel of a popular film while Ra One was more like Hrithik Roshan’s Krissh kind of deal!
Also, I wonder whether you consider gross or nett collections while talking of ”100-200” crore clubs! You never specify!
There is a limit to giving excuses. Anyway, it will be seen next year, if he manages to set new all-time benchmarks in Bollywood when he comes back in his ”own” genre. BTW, I never thought action was Aamir’s genre when he broke all records with Ghajini or it was even Salman’s genre. After all, Salman was mostly doing comedies or romantic films with exception of Wanted before he went on a record breaking spree with Dabangg, Ready and Bodyguard!
When the impartial pen of history writes SRK’ faith, it will mention in glowing words that SRK managed to do with experimental movies what others struggled to achieve with massy entertainers.
Now is DG more “Hatke” is just details. Small potatoes, big potatoes, after all they are all potatoes (DG, MNIK, RA-1, Don 2)
Joginder should change his name to Jokinder.He has well and truly become a joke. Atleast that fulfills the number one requirement to be an SRK fan. Now, if he starts acting ‘queer’ and wears feminine lingerie, they might even make him the President of SRK fan club!
last time he was making mockery of rajni by making salman analysis
don has a lister actress, a sucessful and eastablished director , a sequel …festival time release… may be that comes under risky act not safe scenario ….such sort of cover up really makes mockery of indian trade as if ra one fiasco was not enough
His fans feel why he’s being talked about like this, but for a guy who (and whose fans, sycophants etc.) claim that he’s undisputed badshah or biggest star (even bigger than Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise combined!), it is natural for everyone to talk when his films barely become hits or recover their costs while other stars’ films keep setting new records in India and even overseas!
The same media was putting up articles about how makers of MI4 are ”afraid” of Don 2, how SRK will defeat them as he is ”undisputed king” in India and also ”top favorite” in Asia etc. One site even wrote an article saying Tom Cruise came to India to aggressively promote MI4 also because MI4 makers knew he had to compete with ”King Khan”’s film!
Now the same media is defending him for at least managing a hit even as it is ”not his own genre”!
Same media was declaring since 2010 that 2011 would be SRK’s year as he has two huge films lined up. India Today and Filmfare named him Actor of the Year in advance!
After all such hype, they go back on their own words and make up lame explanations! Strange drama!
An “experimental/ non massy / limited audience” film is 127 Hours which does a business of $ 25 million at US box office , against a big budget sci-fi extravaganza like Avatar which does $ 1.5 billion.
This is for those misguided souls who need to be enlightened on what really an “experimental/ non massy / limited audience” film actually means !!
Very interesting & apt choices…Pitobash was terrific in “Shor in the City”…Aamir also makes the list with his wonderfully understated act in “Dhobi Ghat”.
Insightful take on how SRK has fallen behind Aamir & Salman in the pecking order of the Khans.
Aamir has very aptly described in the 1st 2 paras as :
“For the better part of the last decade, it’s been almost unanimously acknowledged that Aamir Khan knows what he’s doing. Sure, he might seem too far out on a limb, but as the pieces fall, he always ends up topping himself and standing taller than before.
“So the industry — this industry that relies so heavily on what Conventional Wisdom and Trade Pundits say — has, incredibly enough, thrown in the towel and given up trying to beat Aamir “
ya as predicted its more multiplex friendly but again scale of don 2 was much bigger…in india probabley it was second biggest of release of all time just after ra one and both have disappointed..
a sequel..3200 screens …festival release time
btw nahata is getting flak again in social networking sire this time by describing nepal as part of india in box office collections
“When the impartial pen of history writes SRK’ faith, it will mention in glowing words that SRK managed to do with experimental movies what others struggled to achieve with massy entertainers.”…Oh really ???
It should actually be reworded as ” that SRK struggled to achieve with mass entertainers what others managed to do with experimental movies ” !!!
A big LOL at the ”impartial pen of history”! The word impartial don’t suit when it comes to anything related to SRK. All narratives are full of foolish excuses, lame reasoning and of course, big time hyperbole!
Ra 1 and Don 2 are in same category as Dhobi Ghat! Haha! I think SRK would die in frustration hearing this sort of commentary about his mega hyped star vehicles!
A mega hyped sequel to an already successful film with the same guy in lead, which itself is a remake of another super successful film of 70s, is an ”experimental film”! LOL!
So even Ready must have been an experiment for Salman because it was a comedy, compared to action films like Wanted and Dabangg.
Note it down guys, Dhoom 3, Talaash, Agneepath, Rowdy Rathore – all should be treated as experiments for their respective stars! As D3 & Talaash have no message or issue, Aamir has never done an all out negative role, Hrithik hasn’t ever done a raw action film, Akshay has image of comedy starnow while RR has action, even Agent Vinod is an experimental film because Saif as the yuppie lover boy image – all these films must be celebrated and compared only to Dhobi Ghat – the only standard for ”experimental films”!
I am thinking now that Ajay deserves lot more respect for Golmaal series as that was a huge experiment for him – getting hits in comedy, despite having image of a serious star!
Chikni Chameli was a huge ”risk” and ”experiment” for Katrina Kaif since she has image of this NRI/urban girl, and getting success for a rustic number like CC is big achievement!
Gosh! Our stars experiment so much and we still complain Bollywood is stuck in the rut and doesn’t go forward!
For a change–let me “save” karankumar from further attacks…
(s)he seems really isolated and cornered
Dont wish to “engage” with her anymore–but will make an exception this time
ps–nykavi, shubh, rajen, rockstar, prateek have politely told u certain things correctly
hope u will take them in the right stride and not take all this personally but learn something….
And yes….just doing this/ helping out as a ‘friend’ only this time—dont wish to ‘engage’ anymore
but have tried to be as civil and restrained as possible here….lol
I am deleting or editing very many comments.. I just edited one, deleted another.. you guys have to give me time to go through stuff.. it’s not as if I have nothing better to do than monitor your exchanges with Alex.. however this has gone too far and it’s annoying to have to address the same issue every day..I’ll just have to take sterner action if this sort of stuff crops up again.. In the meantime I’m afraid I won’t have you dictating how things are run here.. there are people to look into this stuff..
because I wasn’t around! As I said I cannot be here 24/7 looking intricately at what’s more fair and unfair in these interactions.. but it is definitely becoming a headache. Alex has a sense of humor and provocation in these matters that is always about gender and sexuality. Which is why I’ve told him to avoid this stuff with anyone he’s not on explicitly friendly terms with. However some habits (and natures) are not easily mended. I don’t think he means it as quite the insult some take it as. Nonetheless it shouldn’t be indulged in where it’s not welcome.
But I would also say that you need to quit complaining about every second comment. I am looking into this stuff. Your self-esteem shouldn’t depend on a tit for tat with Alex.
I am trying to be as fair as humanly possible but it gets hard if you object to bad behavior but then say you’ll respond in kind if someone initiates it. if someone abuses me on the street I am not likely to respond in kind. There is nothing macho about all this posturing.
By all means one should have a spirited debate on substantive stuff. But what’s the point in going back and forth? I agree completely Alex shouldn’t engage with you at all. But if he does why not ignore these remarks? Specially when I will look at this stuff eventually and take care of it. There is no unfairness. Things have to be looked at in context.
Bottom-line: I am trying to be very decent and ‘gentlemanly’ about all this stuff and on both sides. Hope I won’t be pushed into a more drastic position. I’ve never had this sort of problem before on the blog.
I don’t have to complain and bother you. I don’t want to, it is a courtesy to you, it my way if showing resoect. I prefer to take care of it myself. I am a guest, you are the host, hence I defer to you.
I understand and appreciate your dilemma. It appears with his despicable behavior, Alec has you as a hostage. But there are solutions. You can put all his comments into moderation. You can ban him. Needless to say (this I prefer) you can also let him face the music. I can take care of him for you and this blog.
Whatever you do, please dont dismiss illegal behavior. Such rotten cannot be accepted under any condition.
Furthermore, please don’t equate me to him. This not a chicken and egg issue. This is cause and reaction. If I retaliate a court would understand.
With your tacit approval, I will jrespond to the degree appropriate. Let us collectively not feed into his delusions. Remember, by not responding earlier you have put yourself up as a hostage.
Please do the right thing, atleast let justice prevail.
Satyam–as per your request, my ‘ lips’ are sealed, as u can see.
Also i wont (temporarily) use them even for kissing etc lol
No comments from me to her, as u can see (forget about offensive stuff)
lol
I hope this emotional “blackmail”/ manipulation of moderator adds “spice” and increases TRPs to proceedings haha
ps–we are dealing with a female who seems to be obssessed with me lol
someone save me…hehe
Karan.. here’s the issue– if you keep responding a certain way you’re contributing to the problem.. I don’t care who begins it.. because ultimately you are cluttering the forum as much as he is.
“But then, facts are like potatoes to you, some small and some large, which can be conveniently mashed and served as a side dish to your main entree of SRK-aggrandizement. “–hahaha
brilliant nykavi
that the comment of the day
hehehe
everyone seems to be in prime form here—cheers folks
could sense this “buildup” for the last few days
“I am thinking now that Ajay deserves lot more respect for Golmaal series as that was a huge experiment for him – getting hits in comedy, despite having image of a serious star!
Chikni Chameli was a huge ”risk” and ”experiment” for Katrina Kaif since she has image of this NRI/urban girl, and getting success for a rustic number like CC is big achievement!”
thats awesome–have to agree with it lol
Karan, I’m not letting that stuff through as it will create another fight.
No one has been banned here as far as I’m aware though some ‘visitors’ were abusing the privilege and I had to stop all their comments.
Alex, DO NOT ADDRESS Karan in any form or fashion. Forget about him. There are others here. This isn’t going anywhere.
Karan, don’t raise a stink everytime Alex says something.. it will all be addressed.. he’s not going to engage with you and you are not going to respond. I am going to enforce this. Now at times I am not able to monitor things for hours. Hope nothing serious happens in the meantime. Because I don’t want to have to do more.
SRK hasnt had a good year and its been even worse for his fans. Probably all have been disappointed with both Ra One and Don 2 but its difficult for them to admit.
SRK ka kya hai.. he’ll do 10 more endorsements and dance at a couple of weddings and recover the losses if there are..
But for a year where Ready, Bodyguard and Singham end up being the biggest hits, we ought to be ashamed as an audience.. for the sake of humanity!
Tony.. it must be said though that the biggest hits in Hollywood every year are also fairly mediocre films. Something like the Dark Knight or Avatar is rare. Usually it’s junk level entertainment though some of it is better than others.
Do agree that Bollywood can do a lot better than some of the examples you’ve mentioned. Would easily take don 2 over those Salman films though (not least because I’ve still not been able to bring myself to see them!). But I’d also take Singham over Don barring the repellent ending (where they went much further than the Tamil original). But yes none of these films would be hallmark efforts by any means! And then people wonder why Aamir gets so much credit for so much of his stuff. I’d take Ghajini over all these films any day of the week let alone some other stuff he’s done!
“Probably all have been disappointed with both Ra One and Don 2 but its difficult for them to admit.”
Ra one yes SRK fans are disappointed but Don 2 i don’t think so. Even SRK haters will agree that it’s not a plain bad movie as Ra one. It’s an average fare.
and here I take this opportunity to tell everyone here that even if you violently disagree with something that has been said there’s no need to get carried away in the response..
Aamir Khan Unhappy About Jokes On Shah Rukh Khan’s Ra.One
Can you guess, who is unhappy about how a section of the industry people went hammer and tongs against Shah Rukh Khan’s Ra.One because it did not live up to their expectations? None other than Aamir Khan! The so-called rivalry between the two Khans seems to have been put to rest – at least for the time being – as Aamir says about the bad-mouthing of Ra.One by trade people, “It’s not done. I was not at all amused by the jokes people were forwarding to one another on their mobile phones. They were in bad taste. Simply because the film did not do the business they may have expected it to do, they can’t criticise the film and Shah Rukh. Why can’t they appreciate Shah Rukh Khan’s efforts? He at least dared to make something different.”
^^^This may actually be preplanned 9along with neil) to raise TRPs
But if not–pathetic behavior by srk
and whats saif doing here….
HAve great respect for srks career ‘achievements’ but this sort of gutter stuff is not needed
and there have been many such instances where it was definitely not preplanned and deliberate humiliation of soft targets
ps–joking about his dad “having lost weight”–cunning
@Satyam — I didn’t want to get into the middle of this “war” currently going on between two posters here. Just read the latest round of exchanges since you haven’t yet deleted them (I hadn’t seen any before). All I want to say is, whatever action you decide upon, should be equally applied to both.
I was away for the evening and I get back and it’s the same old stuff once more.. for now I’ve just deleted all the comments.. I’m trying very hard not to do anything more.. but my cup of patience does ‘runneth over’!
See, one set of comments was enough to exhaust my “patience.” I don’t understand why and how you are still exercising your patience. Anyway, it’s your decision to make, but I do think you need to make a proactive decision.
I admit I don’t really like banning anyone, specially people who’ve been here a while and who talk on a range of issues. Which is why I’ve tried to offer every possible chance. But yes all options have been exhausted at this point. I do hope the two ‘parties’ in this case will desist from engaging with each other going forward.
@Jeevan…How it ll be below average?Just give some proof or stop taking in air.I think you haven’t checked its first week collections in India and overseas.
Kya Yehi Sach Hai opened to very dull houses and has no chance at the box office.
Don 2 had very good first week at around 71 crore nett for its Hindi version and a further 2.50 crore nett for its regional version. The film did exceptionally well at multiplexes but had an average first week at multiplexes. The film has a 70-75% drop on its eight day but will pick up over the weekend and is likely to another good weekend.
Mission Impossible 4; Ghost Protocol takes its two week business to around 32 crore nett. The film is the biggest Hollywood grosser of 2011
Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows took a pretty decent opening at high end multiplexes.
71 crore (Hindi) for Don2 in 1st week…75 % drop at beginning of 2nd week…Unless Sat & Sun really pick up now, its final nett may just barely crawl over 100 crore mark which frankly would be a disappointment !! The film needed to do 120-125 min. to somewhat make up for Ra.One’s massive underperformance.
Also, Komal’s verdict is that “The film will prove to be a plus fare”….Terms like “plus fare”, “coverage” , “commission earner”, UK/German subsidy etc. are now being increasingly associated with SRK films as against “super hit”, “blockbuster”, “all time blockbuster” etc. !!!
SRK’s next with Yash Chopra needs to be now a huge universal ( single screen + multiplex ) blockbuster…by then ETT & Talaash may have set the benchmarks even higher….never know !!
well so called bad release time like diwali(according to trade for certain star) has 5 releases lined up so far for 2012 and even x-mas new year will not going to be one way …
Don 2 will easily show up on some channel by the time Players is released…as it is running empty house in a theater near my town!(have not seen a crap like this untill Ra1)
I was just thinking if Garv(salman starrer back in 2004) released today it would’ve been a major hit. I see no difference in the crapness of Garv and Bodyguard.
shor in the city has moments, stanley ka dabba was as good as tzp, pyar ka punchnama got his radical made following so was saheb biwi or ganster ….shaitan was pretty good to
I do remember some of Garv, i saw it in 2004 and haven’t seen it since but I think I agree. I still think both are crap. BG was painful to watch. I watched it only because I was curious to find out why this movie became such a huge grosser and still I can’t figure it out. Sallu bhai is really unstoppable right now.
I would like to share mine as well…
Favorite: (in order)
1. Don 2
2. Delhi Belly
3. No One Killed Jessica
4. Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
5. Yamla Pagla Deewana
Worst: (in order)
1. Bodyguard
2. Ready
3. RA.One
4. Mausam
5. Patiala House
The success of Don 2 is creditable. But Karan is clearly going overboard here., when he talks of Dhobi Ghat. What Sharukh has done with his so called experimental films lag miles behind what Aamir has done.
1. Take the case of Dhobi Ghat, made at a production cost of 5 cr, it has netted more than 15 cr in the theaters. Let Shahrukh act in a film costing 5cr and net even 5 crores.
2. Of course Shahrukh hasn’t yet acted in a 5cr film, so let us compare films where Sharukh and Aamir have made spl appearances. Always Kabhi Kabihi costing 5cr or so, with a credit title song by Sharukh made 3cr . Delhi Belly costing 20cr, with a credit title song by Aamir made 56 cr.
3. Billu a film directed by Priyadarshan, with a role for Sahrukh of length comparable to Aamir’s in Dhobi Ghat, fesaturing him in 3 songs with stars like Kareena, Priyanka and Deepika, earned , when the film’s cost was about 20cr.
4. Karan has been trying to say that films like Don 2, MNIK have been earning 70 cr or 100 cr because these were not ‘ massy’. Fair enough Don 2 and Indian Mission Impossible or Ocean’s 11 is being called not massy. MNIK, an Indian Forrest Gump is being called not massy. Ok. What happens when Shahrukh goes massy and acts in his strength genre in films that are universally accepted? OSO coming in 207, nets 79.42, which is actually less than the previous years’ highest grosser Dhoom 2 at 80 cr. It is just 12% higher than the second highest grosser of the same year Welcomne at 70 cr. Cut to 2008: RNBDJ netting 86.78 cr is just 9 % higher than the previous year’s top earner OSO at 79.42cr..
Compare that with what Aamir can do. Ghajini, which in its hard core action genre, is as new for Aamir as Don 1 and 2 are for Sharukh, does 114.67 cr. 44% more than the previous years’ highest grosser OSO at 79.42cr. It is 32 % higher than the second gighest grosser of the same year RNBDJ at 86.78 cr.
In 2009, Aamir does 3 Idiots , which actually is not at all massy. Based on an English novel by
Chetan Bhagat, based on the three engineering students and their ideological battle with the
strict disciplinarian principal and another student committed to rote learning, with no fights, item numbers, and songs like Give me some sunshine, All Izz Well, Zoobie Doobie, Behati Hawa sat ha who.. ( mind you no Munii Badanm, no Kha Ke paan Benaraswala, no Chhamak chhalo or no Thaam Lo), it is as offbeat as MNIK . But leave that aside. Take it as a massy entertainer. What does it do? It nets 2202 cr, 76% more than previous years’ highest grosser Ghajini at 114.67cr, and 200% more than yes 200% more than or 3 times that of the next highest grosser, Love Aaj Kal. !! Talk of Shahrukh’s stardom, when he comes anything close to this!!
5. Take Shahrukh’s ‘ experimental’ Ra One. With songs like Chhamak Chhalo, and Crimianl, with al that booty shaking and cleavage revealing, and a budget of 135 cr, it does 115cr. Mind you Endhiran a film in Tamil in the same genre nets more than 200cr.
6. And both Ra One and Don 2 have not been able to push the box office envelope much. It’s the reverse actually. The totals are lower than the biggest grosser of this and the last year ( Bodyguard, Ready)
7. But I still say, the performance of Don 2 is creditable. Because I do not believe that major star-actors like Shahrukh or Aamir should be expected to break records with each new film. What I expect from them is make worthwhile films that excite us. While I did not like Don 2, it is a step in the direction of good cinema and many have liked it as the 7.5 IMDB rating shows. But Ra One was a disaster and a step in the wrong direct. It was pathetic filmmaking as the IMDB rating of 4.9 shows.
Agree with most of what is said here. I don’t know how anyone can put Don 2 and DG in the same boat. I will count DG as an Aamir Khan starrer though so his 100cr streak ends but his hit streak still continues!
on take 7, I sort of disagree, after seeing Salman Khan’s Ready break records and then come back barely 4 months later and have BG totally demolish records, we see that it can be expected for star’s to break records with each film. SRK’s RaOne broke first week records but just avalanched downhill after that. Don 2 should’ve broke that massive first week record of RaOne. But as everyone saw RaOne hurt SRK big time and it totally impacted Don 2 and its first day and opening weekend. It actually trended well during the week and ended up with a solid 71-75cr week so I agree with that.
After Aamir made a film like TZP a 60cr hit, whereas you put any other actor in it and it wouldve done barely 10cr, I put Aamir ahead of SRK by then personally and after 2008-09 it only solidified his reign over SRK and then Aamir took a break and here came Sallu Bhai and totally destroyed everyone in his way including SRK. I say again and again, if SRK expects to be called the king of bollywood then back it up. He talks too much. You don’t hear Sallu or Aamir say ‘I’m the best, I am the king.’ That is what has totally turned me off about SRK. Then the fans are now left to say well he is still giving out hits outside his genre…blah blah…excuses. Hits are fine but if you want to be in the big boy league then back it up with big boy HITS.
Forest Gump is a modern retelling of the “Horatio Alger” story. It is a poster child for wide appeal. Compare that with MNIK, which is a fish swimming upsteam with a message that is in conflict with the very premise of a popular war, “The War Against Terror”. MNIK has a minority view (in all defination of the word minority) Vs Forest Gump possesor of the proven Horatio Alger appeal.
Ocean is about bad guy loosing (against lesser bad guys with some redeeming traits). MI is about an all around American Boy/Man winning. Once again I was bewildered how you can compare that with Don 2 where the most evil guy with no redeeming trait is shown as a winner.
Note, I have never disagreed to show any disrespect. Nor have I even taken a position under the influence of any affiliations. When I say that MNIK, RA-1, Don 2 are not main stream, feel good, massy entertainers thats is my “true” position. Let’s get beyond posturing, and if you don’t think it is, then come back with something that cannot be blown apart into a zillion pieces.
You mentioned 3I as not massy. Now how can that be in India where everyone is so obsessed with education that, for more than 50 years, in some cities, Mothers apply to primary school even before giving birth to their baby. Please make statements that do not trample any motivation to continue discussion.
I can expand more on this subject (SRK’s extra ordinary achievement vis a vis his contempraries) , but let’s do so only if we can discuss like adults without trying to pull each other down.
Let me know if you want to continue, I would like to because that is what civilized people do, i.e. discuss.
”You mentioned 3I as not massy. Now how can that be in India where everyone is so obsessed with education that, for more than 50 years, in some cities, Mothers apply to primary school even before giving birth to their baby. Please make statements that do not trample any motivation to continue discussion.”
See, earlier it was not considered a massy film. Everyone said it was an urban film, had an English title, situational songs, and subject about education system won’t appeal to masses. When Indian media or trade analysts talk about masses, they include everyone – which means even the small town people, rickshaw-pullers/taxi drivers type audience etc. And no one expected 3 Idiots to do much at single screens or even overseas.
It’s actually the success and worldwide acceptance of this film which has shown how pervasive this education system issue is. It affects more people than we think.
It’s films like Dabanng, Singh is Kinng and Bodyguard which are considered ”massy films”. Action, drama, comedy, item songs, ”hit” songs, rona dhona, dialoguebaazi – films which have mish-mash of such elements are called ”massy films” – from what I understand reading commentary of Bolly trade analysts!
Jeevan…Have you counted those 1600screens by yourself or still you are talking in air.Movie is released by distributers in theatres and every territory has many theatres whether multiplexes of single screens.Movie has not done well in single screens of B and C centres and it neither was supposed to do that.But single screens of A centres and multiplexes have compensated that loss for distributers of all territories.So first learn the boxoffice and then contribute here otherwise don’t make a joke of yourself.Pulling srk down will never make players a hit.I am not against players that can be a hit but on own merits not like this.
Do you counted last penny of 70 crore which DON 2 collected in first week ? Obviously everything is estimates.
And let me break your one myth, if movie released widely at single screens and if it failed to perform, this gives exhibitors and distributors more losses than profits from multiplexes. SS is not easy game to exhibit movie. SS don’t share earnings, either distributor have to pay rent or they need to give some minimum guarantee of return, failing which distributor has to compensate to SS exhibitor.
Wider the release in single screens, bigger will be losses, if fail. DON 2 is DISASTER at single screens(Even at A center single screens) .. and these losses are huge to recover from multiplexes. DON 2 makers have done big mistake to release this movie in single screens. Aamir was smart in this case, his DB was released in 850 multiplex screens and just 125 single screens.
Err. 3 I diots net was 202 cr & not 2202 cr !!! 202 cr is itself a daunting record… and now, the extra “2″ you have added will send SRK fanboys to hospital critical care units…ROFL…!!!
Alright, so, just to put an end to this…here’s what I say. Aamir is the reigning king of box office hits as of recently. [Even though I found 3 Idiots JUST mediocre to decent, it did very well! No denial there].
SRK has had the most hits out of all the Khans, so, PLEASE don’t deny that.
Also, I’m an SRK fan…and please don’t even TRY to manipulate me into thinking that SRK is going downhill. And even if you think I’ll buy that, I’m an SRK fan mainly because I like the person SRK…even though I respect his acting talent, it’s the person him that completely amazes me!
SO, WANNA LEAVE IT AT THAT??? Or should we start another little squabble about that???
To me Sallu is numero uno right now followed by Aamir and then SRK.
But noone is trying to manipulate any SRK fan into thinking that his reign is over. It’s just not as strong as it once was. Even I hesitated to think that but with his recent ‘decent’ BO prowess and others setting new standards, his reign is actually on the down slope. That doesn’t mean that he can’t come back with vengeance. YashRaj film should save him again as it has done in the past.
Honestly, I believe Aamir’s number one. BO wise, Salman is probably # 2 then followed by SRK. I think the main reason is because Aamir has been getting the best of scripts. Salman’s films are total crap, but, it’s just people like him on the screen. Shahrukh has had a mixed bag with 2 awesome movies [MNIK and Don 2] and 1 disappointment [RA.One], but, people went to see RA.One more because of all the hype! Don 2 is released w/ relatively low hype and I think that’s why the numbers aren’t so brilliant. But, it’s nice to know that the film is actually sustaining well in India and it’s actually pretty much a rage right now where I am lol. thanks for replying w/o offending!
Aamir does not ”get” best scripts. It’s not like they fall in his lap! Read an article on him in HT last year, it says he reads each and every script. Even from new and unheard of names! Even if he sees a little bit of potential in any script he takes it up. Apparently he even made Raju Hirani do re-writing for 3 Idiots script! He doesn’t say yes easily or look for only for big names.
It’s nice to see an SRK fan saying Aamir is no. 1 currently. I meant ”refreshing” and unexpected from them.
I don’t think SRK is ”over” or something. Such reactions are there only due to the ”undisputed badshah” hype and some OTT stuff which media writes about him (trashing other stars in process) before release of his films.
He is currently doing well, but not as good as Salman or Aamir. But it’s just ”current” scenario. It can change any time.
Arsh, all the 3 Khans have the largest and equivalent core fanbases. Every die-hard fan comes up with their reasons of one-upmanship, however, those reasons are barely visible at the junta level. The junta in general does not really care which of these Khan movies they watch, as long as it is decently likeable. Junta does not have any perceived #1 favorite, they feel the same about all the 3 Khans, which is totally counter to what you read on blogs with fans fighting each other till kingdom come.
There really is not much choice offered by Bwood. If a person watches 12 decent to good movies a year, 4-6 of those will be from the 3 Khans. Which is why at today’s capacity, all 3 should take a commercial movie to 100cr minm just by default, and depending on the script, they have the ability to give ATBBs.
You are right. Actually I think it’s just that the Khans’ audience is spread out through different countries. For example, most of Salman’s audience is spread throughout India. Most of SRK’s audience is spread overseas. Aamir has fanbase just mixed in between. But this blog is giving the impression that SRK, as a star, is done. lol, but, w/e…I couldn’t care less about that. I’m an SRK fan, and I’ll stay as such! thanks for the unbiased reply!
Agreed sir! The Khans are the only ones who audience trusts and looks forward to their movies. Ordinary junta isn’t concerned with box office rankings, they love all 3 Khans for different reasons. These three are are most discussed and most followed stars both in India and abroad – each to different extent.
Honestly foreign fans ( I meant those who’re not of Indian origin) don’t exactly fight over them as much as we do. They rather wish to see them in a film together! Some even assume these guys are brothers (as they share same surname!).
srk is in decline,only overseas is helping him otherwise he is judge by each films,here in UK even paheli and swadesh did well,not forgetting ashoka..over here when srk film releases its already packed houses,they do not even see any reviews ,pretty much whatever crap he makes its a sold house,typically pakistani comminities are situated well in northern part of england and particularly a town called BRADFORD ,its called nowdays brakistan,even a city like Manchester where I am living majority of shops,restaurants,takeaways,taxi-drivers is owned by pakistani comunity,they shops are even open on xmas days,amazing as what british people says to corners shops..
The point I am making is srk films will always do well ,its a “banker” even bookies will not take any odds of flopping srk film in UK, I have lived all my life here and I have never seen srk flop film..why srk likes London because his films are guaranteed sucess before its release..My wife is a srk fan and lately when watching Ra One she was appauled to see this crap..we got home and told me she will not bother to watch Don 2 at all.
srk has no monopoly nowdays,although he has challenged every stars on his way but a decline is on its way for srk..no escaping.
“what goes up must come down” srk is been at the top but its on his way down..
its good for neutrals that srk is declining otherwise bollywood would become such a boring ,imagine watching yash raj and karan johars films with a same star and same theme …
I think salman was awesome in ready and bodyguard,
amir was just superb in ghazini and 3I, would srk would have been good in these films..nope he would had looked proper idiot.
aamir’s Fan: “on take 7, I sort of disagree, after seeing Salman Khan’s Ready break records and then come back barely 4 months later and have BG totally demolish records, we see that it can be expected for star’s to break records with each film.’
I am not saying stars cannot go on breaking records. What I am saying is that I am not interested in that and that’s not healthy fir the industry, if breaking records results in films like Ready and Bodyguard. I am happier with Don2 ( IMDB rating 7.5, REviewgang average: 5.5 . But yes, if records can be broken with film s like 3 Idiots ( 8.3 on IMDB, 6.5 on reviewganag) than that’s something else.
Some interesting insight on Aamir’s next release, Talaash… “an intense edgy hard-hitting thriller. The film has music but no lip-sync songs. It has glamorous actresses Rani Mukerji and Kareena Kapoor, but none of the ingredients that go into a big Bollywood blockbuster. In short Talaash is an offbeat biggie.”
Hmmm, an offbeat biggie, this is a first of sorts…guess this may just fall under “experimental / non massy” !!! LOL !!!
As regards D3, not a big surprise at all…Aamir was originally scheduled to start from June onwards ( before Talaash was locked for June 1 )…now will wait till Talaash post & pre-release formalities…Abhishek & rest of the cast may begin shooting their portions a bit earlier. Don’t see it coming out before mid 2012 atleast…but it should be really worth the wait and will get a historic opening !
uhh…Shubh, it’s an action thriller. You can’t really go too many ways with that. I think if you were judging by the trailers of Don 2, calling it a massy film, then, Talaash is practically right there.
It is not exactly all action Arsh. Action is just a part of the film. It’s a suspense film, psychological thriller (it’s confirmed it has something related to mental illness or suicide in it as the team has been consulting psychiatrists for research). There is a probable supernatural element too (not exactly confirmed but widely rumoured). Some stuff like murder and extra-marital affairs. Aamir himself said it has a very strong emotional core.
Even trade analysts have said it’s not exactly an entertainer (as in 3 Idiots type) or massy film like a Ghajini.
I don’t think its ”massy-ness” is comparable to Don 2, which is sequel to an already successful film which was a remake of huge hit of same title in 70s.
Not giving excuses for it. But then the film isn’t even hyped up like SRK films which were hyped 2 years in advance. In real life, there is little awareness about Talaash, till 2 months ago even its title was not known. Aamir himself admits people assume his next release is Dhoom 3!
No use talking about Talaash as of now. We’ll see once the promotions begin and it finally releases.
“Speculation is rife that the Aamir Khan-Raju Hirani’s political satire PK could have shades of the Oscar nominated Frank Langella-Michael Sheen film Frost/Nixon (2008).
But of course it will be aligned to Indian politics as against the Watergate scandal that the original threw light on. Raju’s film will also make room for a leading lady and some song-n-dance sequences that are Bollywood’s commercial format mainstay.
One hears that the film-maker’s ideal wish-list includes actors Aamir and Sharman Joshi for the roles of the journalist and the politician; Kareena Kapoor is hoping to be the female protagonist. Earlier, Aamir had said, “I don’t know anything about the film. I don’t even know if I am in it yet.”
The official spokesperson for PK said, “Nothing is known about the project. Raju sir hasn’t opened his cards to anyone; not even to his producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra.”
It is being said that Bollywood’s most respected director is still working on the final draft of PK and he will give Vinod Chopra and Aamir a narration when he is ready. However, the source who hinted to us that Raju’s next is a political satire says, “Since Raju’s film is the most awaited announcement, Naaz Building (Bollywood’s stock exchange) is full of rumours on what it could be. Everything around the project is definitely hush-hush, but one cannot discount any rumour.”
@shub- By the way this thread has been created to discuss Don2 boxoffice and not about Amir and his movies.So my request to you is to do justice with the title of this thread at least.When a seperate thread on that topic will be created then you can dicuss him.
Players Gaining Steam?
by Foresight Analytics (December 31, 2011)
Don 2 saw reasonably good numbers at the box office in its opening week. The movie pulled the audience but put off the professional film critics. From the data in FilmTrac I do not expect Don 2 to carry through this week or the following with big numbers. It appears that most of Shah Rukh Khan’s fans have seen the film during the first week. The others in the film neither have a strong role nor have a huge fan following to keep the film running at a good pace.
Players has gained a few points on the FTI a week before its release. It has moved up from 29 to 32 on FTI. Interestingly, the improvement in FTI numbers of the film comes from Spontaneous Awareness (SA). The jump in SA is about 10.0 per cent points in just one week. With an increase in SA and FTI, Players will open in the range of Rs 20-25 crore.
What makes the film gain a substantial SA in just one week without any huge increase media visibility?
There are a number of reasons and the key reason is the star power. Don 2 had been dominating the mental space of the audience for quite some time. In fact the FTI of Don 2 was stable even on the day of the release of The Dirty Picture, the runaway hit of 2011. The stability of the FTI came from the domination of Shah Rukh Khan who was the key driver of this film. Once the film was released, both the film and he vacated the mental space of the audience. A part of this vacant space has now been occupied by Players and Abhishek Bachchan. In the coming week I expect Players to gain a few more points on FTI and become a reasonably good film at the box office. The numbers for this film will come from men and women in the 25+ age group.
What is generating the audience interest?
Over and above the lead actors, the story of the film is a strong driver. Quite often the audience cannot make out what to expect in a film based on the trailer and hence they are unable to guess the genre of the film. However, this confusion does not exist in Players. A large proportion of the audience classifies the movie as a thriller and hence the audience expects a well made movie full of action.
Will the movie go for the gold?
The first day of the opening week will show its true colours.
Among the movies scheduled for release in January, 3 Bachelors has a FTI over 10. It is doubtful whether the movie will manage to retain the FTI in this range. The FTI of the other movies is quite low and none of them is expected to show a significant improvement. Hence, apart from the first week there is little for the audience in January till the release of Agneepath.
Agneepath continues to stay on top with an FTI of 42. For the movie to become a big hit the FTI should move up to the 47-50 range. It has the potential to get in to this range in the next three weeks. The Bollywood bang in January next year will be with Agneepath, despite its association with the Indian cricket team that showed very little agni and travelled a path littered with their own wickets.
A very momentous year is ending in just a couple of days. The year saw some very big hits. Salman Khan held the reins of the box office firmly. The younger actors, Ranbir Kapoor and Ranveer Singh, have made an impact and the industry should expect a lot from them. But, the year will be remembered for Vidya Balan and The Dirty Picture who was really the game changer.Foresight Analytics wishes all the readers of Box Office India and that of this column a Very Happy New Year.
Why This ROI ROI ROI Di?
by Sagorika Dasgupta / Rohini Nag (December 31, 2011)
Unlike the year before, 2011 saw a number of successful films and, for the first time, a handful of them managed to break the Rs 100 crore mark. It was thus a profitable 12 months for producers, exhibitors and distributors. Now, before we ring in the New Year, we asked tradewallahs to name the top three films with the highest return on investment (ROI) domestically
Jaymin Panchal, ASA Productions
The top three films of 2011 would be The Dirty Picture, Singham and Murder 2. The Dirty Picture had low production costs and collected a total of Rs 82 crore in domestic and international markets. Its all-India distribution rights were sold for Rs 18 crore. With the revenue from music and satellite rights, the film must have earned more than Rs100 crore. Singham made a huge profit as well. Murder 2, with its low production costs, also had very good returns.
Girish Johar, Head – Distribution & Acquisition, Motion Pictures
This year, there were many films that did well. But if I were to rate them, I would definitely say The Dirty Picture has earned the highest return on investment, followed by Murder 2. The third spot would go to either Delhi Belly or F.A.L.T.U.. All these films did very well at the box office, satisfying the consumers and partners associated with it in all levels in the three key parameters of success…entertainment, entertainment and entertainment!
Apoorva Mehta, CEO, Dharma Productions
The three films that had the best return on investment this year are The Dirty Picture, Murder 2 and Bodyguard.
Rajesh Thadani, Multimedia Combines
The top three movies of 2011 were Bodyguard, Singham and The Dirty Picture. At Rs 75 crore, Bodyguard had the best return on investment, while Singham collected around Rs 60 crore. The Dirty Picture, with its low cost of production, had a fabulous run at the box office.
The three films that earned the highest return on investment this year were No One Killed Jessica (NOKJ), Tanu Weds Manu (TWM) and Murder 2. All three films had low . While NOKJ grossed Rs 30 crore, TWM and Murder 2 grossed Rs 39crore and Rs 44 crore respectively. of all three films was huge hits too, so these films earned good revenue from their music too.
Ajay Bagbai, Rajvi Trade Link
According to me, the top three films in2011 were Murder2, Zindagi Na (ZNMD) and Singham. The India rights for Murder2 were sold at Rs 13.5 crore and it collected Rs 46 crore at the box office. ZNMD made double its production cost in returns and Singham, with its all-India distribution cost at about Rs 40 crore, managed to cross the Rs 100-croremark and earn excellent profits.
Balkrishna Shroff, Shringar Films
The top three films in2011 were Bodyguard, Ready and The Dirty Picture. These films have earned maximum returns domestically and made large profits.
Sanjay Ghai, Mukta Arts
Bodyguard, Ready and Singham were the top films this year, in terms of return on investment. These films also managed to woo the masses in every circuit. With high costs of production, each of these films crossed the Rs 100-crore mark at the box office and doubled returns for all investors.
Surendra Saluja, Lakshya Movies
The year 2011 has been extremely profitable for our industry. films crossed the Rs 100-croremark and many low-budget movies grossed outstanding business at the box office. The top three films were Bodyguard,Singham and the recent sensation Don 2. All are Reliance Entertainment products, hence their price is unknown, but their production costs were high and their returns exceptional.
Sarang Chandak, Shri Rang Films
Singham, Bodyguard and The Dirty Picture were the top films this year in terms of returns. Singham and Bodyguard both gained maximum profits by crossing the Rs 100-crore mark. Recent low-cost release The Dirty Picture was one film that gained 100 per cent profit.
Jeetu Khandelwal, Movie Pioneers
The top three films of2011 were Bodyguard, Singham and The Dirty Picture. Each earned exceptional returns, with Bodyguard and Singham running for several weeks in each circuit. The Dirty Picture, with its low production costs, managed to make a mark with extremely well-defined profits.
Abdul Hafiz Nadiadwala, Friends Movies– Mumbai
This year, the The Dirty Picture, Singham and Bodyguard were the most profitable films in terms of return on investment. The Dirty Picture gained around 40 percent profits due to its low cost of production. Singham had a profit of 35 per cent and Bodyguard made 30 per cent. Singham and Bodyguard both crossed the Rs100-crore mark, even though they were released within a month of each other. This hardly ever happens.
Vasudev Chachan, Sunny Films
Vidya Balan-starrer The Dirty Picture has been the best film so far this year in terms of returns on investment. Having a low cost of production and domestically costing about 18 crore in distribution, the film managed to garner more than Rs 30 crore in theatrical profits in India alone. Bodyguard, meanwhile, was a high-profile film that had a profit of more than 50 crore theatrically and Murder 2, with its low production costs, garnered Rs 20 crore in returns.
BH Basha, Bahar Enterprises
The top three films based on their all-India returns on investment would have to be Bodyguard, The Dirty Picture and the recent release, Don2. Bodyguard domestically garnered the maximum theatrical returns. The Dirty Picture, due to its low cost and price, also garnered profits. Don 2, which was released last week, has managed to gain profits in a short span and will earn more profits in the near future.
Rakesh Sippy, BRA Enterprises
The Dirty Picture, with80-per cent returns on its all-India investment, is the most successful film of 2011.Bodyguard, which garnered about 25 percent returns domestically, and Ready, with30 per cent acrossI ndia, are the other two 2011 releases that did very well. Singham and films like Murder2 tie with these films.
Debashish Dey, Aum Moviez
The top three films of 2011would be Bodyguard, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and Murder2. Each film garnered maximum eturns on investment. Bodyguard had approximately Rs 70 crore to Rs 80 crore returns across India. ZNMD had returns of about Rs 50crore and Murder 2, with its low cost of production, gained about Rs 25 crore in returns domestically.
Amod Mehra
I think this year’s top three films strictly in terms of return on investment would have to be Bodyguard, The Dirty Picture and Murder 2, strictly in that order.
Aman Gill
Based on their returns on investment, the top three films of 2011 would be The Dirty Picture, Murder 2 and Bodyguard. The Dirty Picture, had revenue of about Rs 37 crore – or 85 per cent returns. Murder 2 made Rs 25 crore, or 78 per cent returns. Bodyguard made Rs 80 crore with an investment of 45 crore, about 77 per cent in returns.
N R Pachisia
The top three films this year were The Dirty Picture, Singham and Bodyguard. These three films had the best returns on investment domestically. The Dirty Picture, which is still running in theatres, will most likely have a return of 80 to 85 per cent eventually. Singham had 65 per cent returns and Bodyguard had 55 per cent returns.
Agneepath Is Racing Ahead
by Box Office India (December 31, 2011)
With the response Karan Johar’s Agneepath is receiving, not just in the trade but from the audience, expectations are sky high. Last week, we told you that the film was tracking fantastically in Film Trac (being tracked by Foresight Analytics) and also Trade Trac (again being tracked by Foresight Analytics).
According to Film Trac, Agneepath is the most-awaited movie of 2012 among the audience, while according to Trade Trac, it is the hottest film in trade circles. Last week, tradewallahs believed it would reach the magical Rs 100-crore mark. Now they’re confident it will cross that milestone. Way to go!
“Abhishek made us wear black jackets” – Abbas Mustan: Part 2
By Devansh Patel, Dec 31, 2011 – 12:26 IST
Abbas Burmawalla,Mustan Burmawalla 2012 Bollywood begins with a heist and talking about Players, don’t mark down Abbas-Mustan not being one. They are big time Players when it comes to chasing box office successes. Trace their last decade and you’ll know how successful they have been in their heist at the box office. The typical setting of a thriller movie is an urban city with colours used from black to grey to white to emphasise the helplessness of characters. Welcome Abbas-Mustan, the colourful duo who’ll always be spotted in crisp white from top to toe. Their thriller movies are filled with rainbow colours and their characters emphasise strength. And even though they’re masters in twisting the thriller genre in the most unexpected manner, you’ll see Abbas-Mustan sitting quietly on their director’s chair in front of the monitor, call their shots, pack up, go to the edit table and present you with Bollywood’s best thriller movies you’ll ever see on the wide ‘white’ screen, and Players is heading towards being yet another masterstroke by master craftsmen Abbas-Mustan. UK’s Harrow Observer columnist and Bollywood Hungama’s London correspondent ends the year 2011 with quite a ‘thrill’ and one of them is seeing Abbas-Mustan wearing ‘black’. Shocked? Read on and find out!
“We were in Moscow when we got a call from Bipasha and she was jovial and so excited to be a part of Players”
We had to go to Russia for some urgent work regarding Players and by that time we had already approached Bipasha to play a part in our movie. We told her to listen to the script in a narration we had kept for her rather than her reading the script. Thrillers are better heard than read we thought. We were in Moscow when we got a call from Bipasha and she was jovial and so excited to be a part of Players. The day we landed, that same evening she came over to our office and the rest is history.
“Bipasha looks hot in her bikini and she did not object one bit to wear it”
Bipasha worked out for three months before her shoot in New Zealand as she wanted to look at her ‘fit’ best. We gave her the New Zealand schedule dates and she hit the gym with full force. Bipasha looks hot in her bikini and she did not object one bit to wear it as the scene demanded it. She was very open to suggestions and she too gave her valuable inputs. When she walked out of the waters, the crowd went in frenzy. She was looking hot.
Abbas Burmawalla,Mustan Burmawalla “Every film we make is bigger than our previous movie”
It’s just not the cast who are termed as Players. We too are Players as directors. Our editor and brother Hussain too is a Player. Same with our DOP Ravi Yadav, and though we not necessarily run behind gold (laughs), we do run behind the making of a blockbuster movie. Players is one project we feel we’ve put a lot into. Every film we make is bigger than our previous movie and we’ll make sure that it’s as good an investment as gold.
“Bobby plays a magician in the movie who creates illusions”
Bobby Deol is the surprise package in the movie. He plays a magician in the movie who creates illusions. It will take the audiences by surprise. He has been a dear friend and he’s the only actor who has worked with us in most of our movies. He’s a sweet chap and his acting abilities are really underrated. We’ve got the best out of him.
“Abhishek made us wear black jackets after a lot of persistence”
The great thing about Abhishek Bachchan is that he will listen to you carefully throughout the entire narration. But on the sets, he is a complete director’s actor. He will only do what the director tells him. He told us, “I want to go with your conviction and your vision. Please tell me what to do and I will do just that”. And of course as we all know, he is a complete prankster. He did make us wear black jackets (laughs).
“We met AB’s and Aishwarya’s cute little daughter. Only time will tell whether she turns out to be a prankster like her dad”
We met Abhishek and Aishwarya’s kid. She is so cute and adorable. She did give us the look just like Abhishek Bachchan does (laughs). Only time will tell whether she turns out to be a prankster like AB (laughs).
Trade Talk:
Vikram fans from all walks of life ensured that the opening weekend has impressive attendance. With holiday season around, the movie’s collections are likely to stabilize.
Don 2 is set to have a very strong second weekend as collections were very good on Friday with many places having collections better than Thursday. The second Friday collections are around 4.25-4.50 crore nett. Many multiplexes had better collections than Thursday while single screens were lower.
The drop is around 65-70% from its first day but that is very good compared to the drops seen in 2011 for major films.
Saturday and Sunday should show good growth and the weekend should head towards a 17-18 crore nett total which would give Don 2 the second best second weekend of 2011 after Ready.
this is just spin.. if the film makes as much as they’re saying over the second weekend it will have roughly a 25 crore week. That will bring it to 100 crores roughly but this will be the final total of the film pretty much. Because Players then releases. It’s unlikely to add anything significant when it’s dropping so much unopposed. Note how going by the trending of the first Don which too started sluggishly this film should be doing 140-150 crores! At 100 crores 75% of its gross will have come in week 1. That is not a successful film by any stretch of the imagination, and certainly not at that budget. I have pointed out Salman’s poor trending relatively-speaking but his films had far lower budgets but also have minimally done 120 crores on lesser screens. There’s no comparison.
As we move forward, more and more of the total revenue will be collected by the end of the first week itself. Increasing market penetration by multiplex outlets will ensure faster collection.
This suits producers also because everyone prefers a higher NPV. Moreover prolonging even a sure-shot revenue stream is an exposure to potentially adverse events (no one wants that).
If possible producers would like all revenue ( Idealy ) in the first show itself. This is where we are headed by design.
that’s true but it still isn’t so for the true blue hits. Even in Hollywood this isn’t the case. The films that truly strike a chord with the audience sustain quite well. The stuff that is merely passable entertainment makes a big run in the initial going with the right star and/or project combo and then fizzles out quickly. Bollywood unfortunately is attempting much more of the latter. Very few genuine films are made anymore. This doesn’t however mean that it’s the only way possible. In recent years films as different as RNBDJ, Ghajini, Rajneeti, 3I, Singham, ZNMD have trended very strongly and all of these had very different initials and so on.
As the market becomes more efficient this trending factor will disappear.
In the west as Home Theatres make more in roads, we are seeing movies come faster to pay per view. Already popular movies get to discount movie halls within 15 days.
Things are changing, I don’t even see cable shows (e.g. Boardwalk Empire) at their regular times. A new world awaits us, and in that workd our present prisms will collect dust on shelves in antiques centers.
I am very worried that, in the near future, we won’t have any reasons to fight.
as I said that theory doesn’t hold up.. people have been saying this for the better part of a decade and yet many films in this period have trended very well.. every year and including this one! The same goes for Hollywood.
and by the way this sort of front-loading is not evidence of a more efficient market.. this is what the nonsensical box office reporting of the Bombay trade has one believe when they want to call films hits just off the initial. If it were possible to run a profitable business model this way it would have been done in Hollywood before all else. But it’s just the opposite. Forget about a film making 75% of its gross in week 1, in Hollywood films are routinely called disappointments or flops for doing far better than this. One of the classic examples here is Shayamalan’s the Village which opened around 60m, did 90-100m and was called a flop. The Lost World was considered something of an under-performer because though it made 220m, 90 of those came in the first 4 days or something. This was a far cry from Jurassic Park which made 60m initially and ended up at 350m or so. More recently we’ve had the Dark Knight not to mention Avatar, films that have trended enormously well in the most ‘distracted’ society on the planet. I have already provided the Bombay examples. As I said earlier Don 2 is a far cry on trending (if the BOI weekend number turns out to be correct) from the earlier Don, which itself was always a bit sluggish (though stable) and which also had JeM as competition! You can’t keep spinning the argument every which way just to favor a favorite star. These are fictitious business models which do not exist anywhere in reality. Messrs Nahata and Taran come out with phone figures and phony evaluations that make such films successes or ‘plus’ or whatever. The reality is far more complex than this. Plus there’s a certain slippage in the logic here when SRK is first of all called a huge star or whatever and is then given credit for bringing in good or better initials. That is the definition of a major star! You don’t get credit for doing this ‘basic’ stuff. Similarly throwing out a number like 100 crores or whatever without proper analysis doesn’t mean anything either. One must have the sincerity and integrity to a)have the same standards in every case b)go where the numbers and other factors lead one. To just keep spinning arguments to favor one’s star and pulling these rabbits out of a hat might be a good example in propaganda but it hardly persuades anyone.
In Hollywood it is these days simply a matter of determining whether a movie collected a certain threshold %age of the potential. Hence if M Night was supposed to deliver 300 Mil and just got to 100 then he failed. On the other hand Tom Cruise was considered damaged goods and because MI4 performed better than expected (especially in a slow market) it is a hit. Now evn if MI4 underperforms vis a vis others in the MI series, it will still be consider a hit, only because it surpassed it’s potential.
But those issues are of a different dimension, a seperate disusion. As far as collection is oncrned, Money comes front end loaded in an overwhelming majority of the cases.
True, there are exceptions (two kinds). In one case unexected trending kicks in. In such cases, people sit up and scratch thieir heads and try to figure out how things went “wrong”. Heads sometimes roll when this happen.
In the other case, a movie is intentionally opened small to allow WOM to build. The reason for this is simply because some movies need to build an audience.
Leaving aside movies that are intentionally opened small, trending if it exist is a sign of a screw up, something not desired.
Actually that’s not true at all. No one expected 300m from the Village. They just found the overall total poor relative to the initial. The same for Lost World. And no major movie opens small in Hollywood. That is so only for offbeat stuff or less commercial fare where it’s a series of limited engagements initials or much fewer screens. So I’m afraid you have no case in terms of this analogy at all. The bottom line is: in Hollywood they don’t consider figures like 100m or 200m or whatever absolute. It’s all relative to the scale of the film, the budget, the trending and so forth. They slice and dice things so many ways that even a film that makes 250m and is otherwise considered good might receive an asterisk for being behind its previous installment by just 20% or off by about 10% for the comparable blockbuster releasing around the same time the previous year. Because again there’s no agenda here. They’re not in to prove that Tom Cruise is a huge star or that Will Smith is bigger or smaller or whatever! Similarly if it is about Cruise the bar is higher. No one says, hey Cruise just made 100m this time but that’s still better than most films or that the film made 200m worldwide!
I understand that “Trending” is your centerpiece. My response is not to show disrespect.
The factors you have mentioned are important and part of pre (pre) production. Budgets are set, stars in front of the camera and behind are booked with these factors in mind. Along the way expectations increase and decrease, but once things start rolling everyone is just focused on delivering what is uniquely expected of the project/movie. Every movie has it own potential and people associated with the movie attempt to rise to this unique potential.
Just like in a shooting range you cannot fire without a target, this unique potential is the target. Everything is addressed with this as the objective.
Now when I mentioned M Night I was just using some numbers for illustratative purposes. I don’t understand why you are translating that to actual numbers. Yes there are no arbitrary 100 Mil / 200 Mil benchmarks. Things depend on the script etc etc. As stated (repeatedly), every movie has it own potential. In Hollywood an experimental movie is not expected to make the same money are a massy entertainer. Neither is the bar set higher because of the presence or absence of personalities.
Now using MI4 as an example, it was not expected to be as huge as it turned out. Remember that all this talk is relative to the movie’s own “unique” potential. Hence MI4 may not do as well as others in the MI series. Perhaps its BO will end up being very insignificant compared to Avatar, but no one really cares about those kinds of comparasion. People here would not call Don 2 a flop because it did not make as much as BG. All that matters is that MI4 has to beat its expectation/potential.
If N Night had beat the unique expectation that he himself was working towards, his movies would have been a hit. Same for the other movies that you ave mentioned. The good part is that there is no surprises and no hurt feelings. Right from the get go everyone knows what is expected. There is a completely absence of irrelevant BS associated with any movie. A movie makes it or breaks it based on clear benchmarks.
On a tangent, I am perplexed that you say that there is nothing like a small release (limited) except in case of off beat movies. Maybe you define all movies that start off on a limited basis as off beat, and that is fine, but the list of movies that intentionaly start on a limited scale is very long. Just a sub set of those movies that start on a limited release (not for reasons we have mentioned previously) to qualify for awards is long (e.g. War Horse).
The point is that trending does not make or break a movie.
no trending is not ‘my’ centerpiece.. it’s the way things are done in every ‘professional’ industry in the world. But it’s not only about trending. even on the budget these are very expensive films and the stuff Nahata and others throw out is quite false. They make the numbers match somehow, doesn’t mean they’re being truthful.
We may not be contradicting each other. Trending does proved insights, it is important, but people get paid for delivering or surpassing “quotas”.
Trending is like the smoke after sex, but no one gets together for that opportunity to smoke, also that smoke is only enjoyable if you “hit” the spot, otherwise it is just blame game.
I don’t think we’re saying the same thing at all.. I am very much contradicting you! A film that makes most of its money in week 1 and is profitable on that score is to my mind the stuff of fiction for any industry of the world. Unless it’s of course a film with a low budget or a film which has at least a modest budget relative to the terrain and so on.
sat and sun both are holidays ..from 48 cr to 17 cr is hardly that glittering and there is a big release next week which will capture most of the screens (infact most )
Don2 week 3 is likely to effect first week collections of players as there is no big star in the film.Don2 is doing quite well and particularly in overseas and collecting 125cr in its first week itself suggests that film is on its way to become blockbuster worldwide.I wonder why people who once used to be writers for communal site IBOS, are still feeling that hangover.
i think it was BOI that reported that Don 2 could be cross 4 million in the US. i dont think there is any chance of that happening, the movie has no repeat value. Based on the reviews from some non SRK fans on this forum, I actually ventured out to the theaters to watch the movie and was sorely disappointed. To think that SRK fans actually consider his performance to be once of his best makes a mockery of his body of work (however limited it may be). His facial expressions were OTT, I actually thought performance in the songf mujhko pehchaan lo was better than any scene in the movie. IMO the first movie was so much better than this one.
As far as SRK is concerned, the fact that this act is applauded and that the movie is a relative success does more disservice to him. I would rather watch him in Swades or CDI or even OSO.
Also special new year greetings to the uncles,
Prateek, shubh, rockstar,Q, nykavi, aamirfan and the ladies
Amy ,Sm, oldgold
And others I’ve forgotten
C’mon any new year resolutions?
And atleast for this party day–give Srk/ box office a break folks
Let the fun n games begin ……
What The fuck? Everything’s going to the gutter these days on Indian Television..
Watching Star Plus right now and watching an awards function (Big Star Entertainment Awards) in which Bodyguard wins most entertaining music award (whatever the hell that means) and Ladies V/s Ricky Bahl wins Best Choreography award.. !!
Its beyond being cringeworthy.. unless you can sit back and want to revel in the awesomeness in a guilty pleasure sort of way ! like you’re watching Gunda or Jaani Dushman..
cool man!! i will get it check by a mobile expert friend of mine! its reallly irritating to type a comment and cant be able to send thru, there might be a need for a different browser may be.
don 2 3rd week willl be good, it should reach 120cr, players has no buzz or good music, and to top it all it has a investment of 80-85cr, BOI and komal are anti bachans, so a big flop will be declared by them on day 1.
DON 2 is Disaster in 1600 single screens, and huge losses of these 1600 single screens is not possible from collections from1500 multiplex screens. Overall below average.
BOI even forge first week numbers. From Friday to Wednesday, they had 65 Crore, they didn’t report for Thursday, but on 8th day Friday, they said 4.25 Crore which is better than Thursday. This means Thursday should be less than 8th day ? and should be 4 Crore at best (as per BOI commentary). So first week comes to 69 Crore at best. So from where remaining 3 Crore came ? 7 Crore on Thursday was not possible at all, and even if it was 7 Crore Thursday then Friday can never be 4.25 Crore given that number of screens are same and no new release.
And mind it, i just caught their Thursday forgery, what about remaining days ??
I don’t think it’s “forgery.” That extra 3 cr probably comes from the dubbed versions. People are not always being explicit when they are giving numbers for the Hindi version only, and when for all languages together.
Even if its 71 Crore, from where these two Crore came ? And as i said, i just caught Thursday forgery, god knows how much daily numbers be manufactured. Amod mehra on news channel is claiming 62 Crore for week one.
12 was too much. 6 is good. It’s still collecting well. No sense in scattering them around.
oops! It wasn’t my plan to comment when I came here with very good intentions.
shaileshkapoor Shailesh Kapoor
Gosh, so much negativity against Players. New Year mein kuch toh positive socho
3 hours ago Favorite Retweet Reply
shaileshkapoor Shailesh Kapoor
See! RT @agntsmith007: @shaileshkapoor New dialogue promos show it will be unintentional comedy . #players
3 hours ago Favorite Retweet Reply
“If trade experts are any measure to go by, this year seems cut out for Aamir Khan. The actor tops the most-anticipated film list with his forthcoming release, Talaash, where he plays a cop.
Talaash marks Reema Kagti’s second outing as a director. And although, her first, Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd (2007), didn’t exactly set the cash registers ringing, Reema’s upcoming thriller remains widely awaited. Backing her this time is the Dil Chahta Hai (2001) team — Farhan Akhtar, Ritesh Sidhwani and Aamir Khan— who will co-produce this film.
Co-written by Zoya Akhtar and Reema, Talaash is being made within a budget of Rs 40 crore and its satellite rights have already been sold for Rs 40 crore, six months before the film’s release.
The excitement among fans is no less — three fake posters are already doing the rounds online. The film is expected to release on June 1.
Salman Khan, whose film Ek Tha Tiger (ETT) is being directed by Kabir Khan, came second on the list. It marks Salman’s entry into the Yash Raj camp, and will see the Dabangg (2010) actor with former ‘girlfriend’ Katrina Kaif after five years. Incidentally, last year, his films Ready and Bodyguard (2011) raked in Rs 130 cr and Rs 150 cr respectively. ETT is slated to release on Eid, which has proved to be lucky for Salman for two years — Dabangg and Bodyguard.
Dabangg 2 at number four seems to be another crowd-pleaser in the making. Poor reviews of RA.One and Don 2 are not reason enough to write off Shah Rukh Khan just yet, say trade experts. This year will see King Khan return to what he does best — romance. He will be seen in Yash Chopra’s untitled Diwali release, after the director’s seven-year-long hiatus (Veer Zaara, 2004).
Karan Johar’s Agneepath, which revisits the 1990-Amitabh Bachchan blockbuster, stands in fifth place. Hrithik Roshan plays the lead in this film directed by newbie Karan Malhotra. This Republic Day release is already creating a buzz with its slick promos and Katrina Kaif’s item number Chikni Chameli… Some trade experts feel, if this film works, Hrithik could give tough competition to the Khans.
Ajay Devgn’s Singham was his first film to cross the Rs 100 crore mark in 2011, and the actor teams up again with Rohit Shetty in Bol Bachchan, which releases on July 6 and is ranked number six.
After a string of flops like Thank You and Desi Boyz, Akshay Kumar desperately needs a hit. With seven films slated to release in 2012, and maximum money riding on him, it could well be a make-or-break year for the Khiladi. Prabhu Deva’s Rowdy Rathore (at number seven), releases on June 15 and could help break his jinx.
Method:
Fifteen top trade and industry experts were asked to name the three films of 2012 they’re awaiting the most. Number 1 film was given three points, number 2 got two points and number 3 got one point. Then these points were added up. Aamir Khan’s Talaash led by six points making it the number one film of 2012, followed by Salman Khan’s Ek Tha Tiger and Yash Chopra’s next with Shah Rukh Khan.
Let’s not expect the same BO as BG/Ready/Dabang from Talash, but lets see if Aamir can break Don 2′s BO with Talash ? If he does, we all gain. If he does not, I will feel his pain. I am rooting for Aamir.
I am also rooting for Abhishek to shatter all BO records with Players, a massy entertainer with songs & dance, multiple heros, multiple ladies, Abbass-Mastaan, a remake of major BO hit. If he does, we all gain. If he dies not, well I won’t be dissapointed, because Abhishek never raises to the level we exect of him.
Home production Lagaan nominated for Oscars (Foreign Film) in 2001.
First directorial outing, Taare Zameen Par, a big hit (2007).
3 Idiots (2009) became the highest-grossing (Rs366 crore) Bollywood film.
Highest-paid brand ambassador, Rs14-15 cr a year; charges Rs15 cr a film
Why Him:
Because the quiet Khan will become a game changer across entertainment formats. This year, he will cross over to the other side, television. He’s also ready with his first film as an actor in two years, Talaash, and will round off the year with Dhoom 3.
Lately, Khan has become infallible. Everything he touches turns into gold, making him the highest paid brand ambassador in Bollywood charging Rs15 crore a year per endorsement. It will be interesting to see if 2012 will add to his sheen.
His 2011:
Produced Dhobi Ghat which launched wife Kiran Rao as director and branded him as a ‘thinking’ producer.
Became the national brand ambassador of Unicef to promote nutrition & child rights.
Named his new-born son Azad Rao Khan: it might start a new trend of gender parity in naming kids.
Delhi Belly, another production, created space for intelligent toilet humour in Bollywood.
What Next:
Unlike other actors, Khan hasn’t picked a reality or a game show to make his TV debut. Instead, he will be anchoring a show on social issues. It will be dubbed in eight languages – a first for any Indian actor’s TV venture.
When not working on the show, Khan will be busy with Reema Kagti’s Talaash, due to hit theatres in June 2012. It is a co-production with Dil Chahta Hai team Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar’s Excel Entertainment.
Co-starring Kareena Kapoor & Rani Mukherjee, Khan plays a cop in the movie. He’s also the new bad guy in the third edition of Yash Raj Film’s super successful biker-cop franchise Dhoom. Plus, he is planning a spinoff of his character Disco Fighter from Delhi Belly.
Aamir was the original choice for SRK’s role in YRF’s Darr (1993). When it didn’t work out, he refused to work for the Yash Raj camp until Fanaa in 2006.
Two indie directors who aren’t Bollywood sellouts. Kashyap hit jackpot with Dev D. In 2012, he will be directing Gangs of Wasseypur and producing Aiyaa.
Kashyap has a knack for spotting new talent: from directors Raj Kumar Gupta, Bejoy Nambiar and Sanjay Singh to music director Amit Trivedi and actors Kalki Koechlin and Rajeev Khandelwal.
Banerjee, unlike typical Bollywood directors, makes slice-of-life movies – simple stories, simply told. In January, he will be out with Shanghai. After LSD, India’s first film on digicam, any film Banerjee makes is to watch out for.
@rajeevdash
Rajeev Dash
@shaileshkapoor pathetic choice of cast for the movie..Its destined to fail..
shaileshkapoor Shailesh Kapoor
Point. RT @my_name_is_tilu: @shaileshkapoor those men in white directed TARZAN … You remember ???
4 hours ago Favorite Retweet Reply
Power, don’t clog up the forum with two tweets per response.. either wait and collect more or show more restraint.. this also doesn’t mean that you start putting up every negative tweet from every Tom, Dick and Harry because this has no value.
Amused to see some of the old-timers return.. yourself, RajeevDash (through you).. ha! The SRK fans can never quite bury the Abhishek ghost!
@Abinash03111992
Abinash Gupta
@shaileshkapoor but d promos of players r so DULL, like a small budget film! Also its short n none of d songs r being played!
4 hours ago via Mobile Web
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Abinash03111992 Abinash Gupta
@
@shaileshkapoor just hope its not another GAME, KHALEY HUM JEE JAAN SE, DUM MARO DUM, RAVAN 4 abhishek bachchan!I’ll b 5 disasters in a row!
4 hours ago Favorite Retweet Reply
compared to Shailesh Kapoor (Ormax Media) Nahata is a huge Abhishek fan! But if he’s being forced not to agree with the ‘mob’ out there it’s probably good news for the film!
Players shd easily do more than Don 2. It has a much younger cast which suits the thriller genre better. Also with Abbas-Mustan at the helm, it shd appeal to single screens as well. Anything less than 50 cr weekend is unacceptable considering Don 2 itself did 48.
Nothing less than a new BO record is expected. Even a dime less than the high water mark, no lets make it even a penny less, makes Players a failure. At least that is how SRK films are judgged.
It is not enough for Players to make as much as Don 2. Players is a massy entertainer. Players has to break the all tine record of BG/3I. Overseas it has to break MNIK/3I’s records. Even a penny less makes it an utter flop.
Given Abhishek’s recent box office run 50 crores over the weekend is too high a bar.. it would be possible if he had a better box office run leading upto this.. and this is so for any star.. Wanted didn’t open like Dabanng or Ready or BG.. but today it too would open the same way and probably trend better than at least two of those films.. DMD was a positive for Abhishek but not enough in box office terms.. surprises can always happen but it’s rather unlikely here.. a 50 crore weekend means he’s opening films at the level of Aamir or Salman. That’s not really probable at this point.
DMD just reconfirmed the fact that BO cannot be and will not be Abhishek’s calling card. BO is extreme high heat grilling and Abhshek does not even enter the kitchen. People have to move beyond BO (vis a vis) Abhishek. Try and find something you can enjoy in his movies or move on. Pointless making same arguments. There is no forced requirement to see his movies and hence no need to bitch. See it if it brings joy or stay away. But let’s not expect to extract blood out of stone, it not gonna happen.
@Prasad….I shall be more than happy if it crosses 30cr lifetime as it has been since Guru when any jr B’s movie has crossed this magical figure.So lets hope this movie ll do it this time.
Tom Cruise Is Again a Box-Office Draw
By BROOKS BARNES
LOS ANGELES — Tom Cruise appears to have left behind his weird period, at least at the North American box office.
“Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol,” which features the 49-year-old Mr. Cruise scaling buildings and sprinting through sandstorms, repeated as the No. 1 attraction at movie theaters over the holiday weekend, taking in about $31.3 million for a three-week total of $134 million. “Ghost Protocol,” directed by Brad Bird (“The Incredibles”), has sold over $200 million in scattered release overseas.
The upshot is that Mr. Cruise, with lots of help from Hollywood public-relations wizards, has restored sizzle to a career that was cold just a few years ago because of reactions to his strange public behavior (the “Oprah” couch-jumping moment), controversial views on the use of antidepressants and his belief in Scientology.
A blockbuster is a big moment for Mr. Cruise, whose most recent event films (“Knight and Day,” “Valkyrie”) have disappointed an industry used to stratospheric results from him. Notably, Paramount’s corporate owner, Viacom, blamed Mr. Cruise’s behavior and subsequent mockery by the news media for a weak opening weekend for “Mission: Impossible III” in 2006.
Movie-ticket sales across the board for this past weekend totaled $164 million, a 3 percent increase over the same period last year, according to Hollywood.com, which compiles box-office data. Contributing were better-than-expected results for two films that struggled in recent weekends: “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” (Warner Brothers) was second, taking in an estimated $22.1 million for a new total of $132.1 million, while “Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked” (20th Century Fox) was third, selling about $18.3 million in tickets for a new total of $94.6 million.
But it was another aging star — Steven Spielberg, 65 — who caught Hollywood’s attention over the weekend. Proving naysayers wrong, Mr. Spielberg’s “War Horse” caught wind and finished a surprisingly strong fourth. “War Horse,” which drew prerelease scorn from many in Hollywood for its overt embrace of old-fashioned cinematic storytelling, took in almost $17 million for a total of roughly $43 million since opening on Dec. 25.
A Walt Disney release of a DreamWorks Studios production, “War Horse” probably benefited from solid word of mouth; moviegoers gave the film an A– grade in exit polls.
Exactly what type of moviegoer supported the film was unknown. Dave Hollis, Disney’s executive vice president for distribution, said standard demographic information was unavailable because of the holiday. “It’s playing well in both upscale and heartland theaters,” Mr. Hollis said, adding that he expected “War Horse” to have a “steady run” in theaters over the coming weeks as attention focused on contenders for the Oscars.
“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” (Sony Pictures Entertainment) continued to underperform expectations in fifth place, selling about $16.3 million in tickets for a two-week total of $57.1 million.
It’s Sun night and still neither Taran nor BOI have any of the day by day numbers. This is classic. This film probably isn’t adding much at all at this point. BOI predicted a 17-18 crore weekend. They would have mentioned had it been more than this. It might even be less than they’ve predicted. Fri was already called at 4-4.5 crores with jumps expected on Sat/Sun. Perhaps these didn’t materialize. Nahata is also totally silent on it.
If I were a betting man I’d say this film isn’t going to touch even 100 crores in all probability. Even the week one 70-75 crore number is I suspect a bit inflated. But in any case the game now is to just drag it somehow to the 100 crore finish line.
ok Taran now has Fri at 4.44 crores and Sat at 6 crores and his numbers have been higher than BOI’s. That basically 10 crores for 2 days. and according to taran this includes the Tamil and telugu numbers. It’s really nothing much for a second weekend given all the contexts. He’s calling it at 85 crores through the second Sat using the highest numbers and including all versions and I suspect even with all of this he’ll find it hard to drag it to 100 crores.
@Satyam…In second weekend no trade site updates collections daily for any film and why do u think they ll do it for Don2.You seem to be more curious than makers about knowing its second week collections.Anyway film has collected more than 8cr on Sunday and it is very good.This film is going to hold well in weekdays of second week also.Just be patient as the figures are being updated by all major trade sites in a couple of hours.
Don 2 most likely will cross 100 crore…however the larger issue which has been raised earlier, is that a final domestic tally of 105-110 cr. ( Hindi )is simply not good enough considering the magnitude of release, favourable release period & most importantly coming after a major disappointment like Ra.One.
Also must add here that I had gone on Sunday to catch “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” at nearest multiplex…was fairly packed with New Year crowd queuing up for Don 2…So Sunday figures would definitely be higher than Saturday & weekend should end approx. 18 cr. How the film sustains post-New Year & through 3rd weekend is what is going to decide whether it crosses 110 cr. and touches Ra.One’s final tally. “Players” is going to take away a substantial chunk of multiplex screen space in coming week, which is another factor.
Wow !!…Tinker Tailor made for fascinating viewing & is unlike any spy thriller in recent memory…challenges the viewers’ sensibilities to the utmpst..may not appeal to everybody especially those who prefer fast paced variety like Bourne & MI series…the film boasts of some of the finest British actors who are in top form. Will surely watch this again ( assure you that it is difficult to absorb many of the plot points & twists on first viewing !! )
Does the high print count change the population of India ? How about the size of the market ?
Just by itself high print count only makes access easy/convinent, but not much more ? Unless increase in print count is also accompanied by increase in locations that were previously not serviced at all by movie theatres.
Think for a moment, if tomorrow BMW, which already has showrooms in NYC, punches 10 more showrooms in NYC will that significantly increase the sales of its car ? Not really because the extra showroom does not increase the disposable incomes of people in NYC. When incomes rise, sales of BMW will also rise. We can likewise list other relevent factors that would influence sales for BMW, but number of showrooms is not a significant factor at this point for BMW.
Couldn’t get exactly the point you are trying to make…huh ???
For your information, there has been an increase in no. of screens by way of new multiplexes being set up in many new towns/ smaller cities in India. It is not as if screens are getting added only in major metros / larger cities. So your argument of “increase in locations that were previously not serviced at all by movie theatres” & market not expanding does not hold at all !! The fact is that many new locations in India have add substantial screens added in last 4- 5 years.
I am sorry, I thought I had made the correlation issue very simple. Let me explain again. The increase in the number of screens does not have the kind of impact you think it does. Hence stick with what you know.
A lifetime collection of 13+ Cr is very sad, but in today’s world with the freshly re-calibrated yardstick, it is beyond pathetic. Today, for some, 50 Cr in one weekend is not good enough, hence 13+ Cr is extreme rejection.
Hopefully the same crowd that went nuts that Don 2 MEREY collected 50 Cr in its first domestic weekend, the same crowd that termed 75 Cr first domestic full week as outright rejection, WILL be kind to Abhishek’s Players.
Yeah, you are right. Life time collection of 3.5 Crore(Dulha Mil Gaya) is beyind pathetic. In today’s word when even 70 years old man can generate 50 Crore on his own(Aarakshan) .. A self proclaimed king not even able to fetch 3.5 Crore, this is really beyong pathetic.
Don 2 had an excellent second weekend as it collected around 18.50 crore nett plus as per early estimates. The collections for the Hindi version were 4.25 crore nett on Friday, 6 crore nett on Saturday and around 8.25-8.50 crore nett on Sunday.
The second weekend is the second best of the year after Ready which grossed around 20 crore nett on its second weekend. The collections for the Hindi version in ten days are around 89.50 crore nett. If we include the regions version then its around 92 crore nett and in all its versions it will cross the 100 crore nett mark in two weeks while the Hindi version will be close to the 100 crore nett mark and possible hit it if weekdays hold up very well.
Don 2 has held up very well at the box office and its second week collections are likely to be the fifth best ever after Three idiots, Dabangg, Golmaal 3 and Ready. The holiday period has helped but it any film putting up big numbers today is helped by holidays apart from a rare case like Ready.
Pretty much on expected lines what we have been discussing…Sunday being New Year’s Day has expectedly shown a larger jump…now to wait for week-days & 3rd weekend for likely final tally.
Don 2 (Hindi) collected 70.75 crore nett approx in week one. The first week distributor share is 41 crore approx. Below is the first week territorial breakdown of the film.
Shub: don’t be sorry ^^^
U r doing v well, ‘buoy’
Cheers
An not a big office afficianado
So what’s the summary till now-for ra1&don2
Total gross and net ( till now) in one sentence plz-thanx
Meanwhile somewhat happy to see cruise back in form after all that Scientology and antidepressant weirdness
And good to see dragon tattoo underperform-somehow never really interested
War horse needs to be checked out anyhow-it’s spiel mate!!
It’s been the year also of the
Puss in boots and
The puss with boobs (dirty picture -haven’t seen/won’t see ever)
shub : thanx for reminding about tinker soldier…have been trying to ignore I for a while. One do my friends found it good but somewhat ‘slow’ & tedious
(no wonder: she is an Srk fan)
Is it worth checking out
As I mentioned earlier,Tinker Tailor is a 60-70′s style complex, cerebral spy thriller which moves at a unhurried pace ( not tedious by any means !! ) but will not appeal to majority of today’s young audiences who have got used to the fast paced spy thrillers. The period setting, background score, art direction, performances all top notch !
Have been told by people that prior reading of John le Carre’s classic novel of the same name would help in understanding the finer plot points.
Definitely worth checking out !! Planning to read the book now.
Shub : have seen Hugo on 3d
Went for a premier showing
A v good film with definite appeal and amongst scorceses best
Had put up my views somewhere on this blog
Maybe it was sleep deprivation or what -but slept for half of it ….lol
But then with me -u never know…
Better check it out and let us know what u feel
Thanx shub
Yes: never had doubts with this films ‘class’& ‘merit’
Only have doubts about my own ‘patience’ lol
As for reading the book-I admire and envy u
Neither have the time nor the patience for any fiction
Typing quick stuff on keyboards is more than enuf hahaha
Ps did anyone check out rum diary–dont think anyone saw it (other than Depp!!)
Btw some of the nominations have just been announced by Zee Cine Awards. Not surprisingly (going by the awards’ standards), SRK has been nominated for both Ra One and Don 2, and Bodyguard is in race for Best Film!
Zee Cine Award for Best Film
Singham
Bodyguard
Don 2
Rockstar
Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
The Dirty Picture
Zee Cine Award for Best Actor
Ajay Devgn – Singham
Ranbir Kapoor – Rockstar
Salman Khan – Bodyguard
Shahrukh Khan – Ra One
Shahrukh Khan – Don 2
Hritik Roshan – Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
Zee Cine Award for Best Actress
Kangna Ranaut – Tanu Weds Manu
Katrina Kaif – Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
Kareena Kapoor – Bodyguard
Priyanka Chopra – Saat Khoon Maaf
Vidya Balan – The Dirty Picture
Zee Cine Award for Best Director
Imtiaz Ali – Rockstar
Milan Luthria – The Dirty Picture
Farhan Akhtar- Don 2
Rohit Shetty – Singham
Zoya Akhtar – Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
Siddique – Bodyguard
Zee Cine Award for Best Song (Sa Re Ga Ma Pa song of the year)
Character Dheela – Ready
Oh La La – The Dirty Picture
Chammak Challo – Ra One
Sadda Haq – Rockstar
Senorita – Zindagi Milegi Na Dobara
Char Bajh Gaye – Faltu
Zee Cine Award for Male International Icon
Ranbir Kapoor
John Abraham
Farhan Akhtar
Imran Khan
Akshay Kumar
Zee Cine Award for Female International Icon
Three idiots of bollywood SRK, Karan johar and Aditya chopra spoiled award system for their films to win awards.Before 90s filmfare awards equated to oscars awards.Its amazing how these guys getting support from every one including award organizers ,reviewers,TV channels and now websites Now articles floating everywhere to support Srk’s Don2. Trade guys like Taran ,Komal and fake box office site like BOI and SRK’s sycophants like Abid and Joginder tuteja try their level best to prove that Don2 is hit .
Even during the 80s, the award system was a sort of quid pro quo between stars and magazines. During his self-imposed media ban, Amitabh got nominated every year, but never won for any movie at the peak of his superstardom. I think he went almost 10 yrs without any Filmfare award. The Indian Awards Circus has always been a circus only.
If all goes well, SRK will work in another action film, directed by AR Murugadoss, after the success of Don 2. A remake of south film Ramana, the film deals with an anti-corruption theme, reports Subhash K Jha.
The film would be produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali who has acquired the remake rights of the 2002 Tamil hit. SRK has apparently already said yes to the project, according to Jha.
“I will be directing the Hindi version of Ramana. Shah Rukh and I have talked about the film,” Murugadoss confirmed to Jha.
About Ramana
Ramana, made in Tamil, was a blockbuster directed by AR Murugadoss. The film starred captain Vijaykanth and Simran. The film was remade in Telugu as Tagore with Chiranjeevi in the lead and then in Kannada as Vishnu Sena with Vishnuvardhan in the lead role.
Plot
Ramana is all about Vijayakanth who decides to abolish corruption once for all with the help of his students who are now working in various government offices. The reason behind this powerful decision is told in the flashback.
I thought Tagore (Telugu) came before Ramana (Tamil). In any case, after Tagore released and became a hit, I remember reading that Sunny Deol had acquired the rights to remake it in Hindi. This being 2002 or so, it would have fit him perfectly, and I was looking forward to seeing it. But the film never got made for various reasons (including Sunny’s back injury, I guess). I must say I can’t see SRK in this role at all.
Looked at that way, I suppose it makes sense. Even Khamoshi is believed by some people to be a copy of a European film.
But in that case I guess it’s the choice of subject matter that baffles me, though perhaps his sensibilities as a producer are bound to be different from those as a director.
“perhaps his sensibilities as a producer are bound to be different from those as a director.”
Completely agree here. And also i will say it’s very good move by him. He also needs finance to make movies like Guzarish or Black which are considered not quite safe at the BO.
ZNMD, Delhi Belly, Stanley ka Dabba & Dhobi Ghat present in most lists..quite deservingly so !!
“Each year, Bollywood comes up with films that move you and ones that you’d not even want to be paid to watch. Aniruddha Guha picks some of the best films of the year.
10. Dirty Picture
Vidya Balan. That’s what makes The Dirty Picture a must-watch. Unabashed and daring in her portrayal of southern siren Silk Smitha, Balan charted territories Hindi film heroines stay away from usually. The film had its flaws (the second-half meandered into pointless sub-plots), but it’s still a great watch, thanks to some good dialogue-baazi, courtesy Rajat Aroraa, great performances by Balan, Naseeruddin Shah and Emraan Hashmi, and two good numbers, ‘Ohh La La’ and the Tamil song, ‘Nakka Mukka’. The Dirty Picture, number 10 on this list, is the crowd-pleaser of the lot.
9. No One Killed Jessica
Rajkumar Gupta’s cinematic telling of the Jessica Lal murder case gave Hindi film audiences a chance to bite into a rare well made life-inspired drama (we needn’t look far, RGV botched up the Neeraj Grover murder case in his Not A Love Story this year). Gupta, while keeping the essence of the event intact, made NOKJ a compelling watch, and gave us an unlikely hero – Rani Mukherjee.
8. I Am Kalam
I Am Kalam, for me, was the surprise package of the year. The first I heard of it was when child actor Harsh Mayar won a National award for it. However, I wasn’t still prepared to be blown away by Nila Madhab Panda’s moving tale of a boy who works at a roadside dhaba in Rajasthan, but yearns to be educated. Chances are you haven’t watched the film yet. Source it from where you can and give it a look. You won’t be disappointed.
7. 7 Khoon Maaf
Contrary to some very contrasting opinions about the film, 7 Khoon Maaf was one of my favourite films this year. Daringly different from what most other filmmakers have to offer, Vishal Bhardwaj chose not to take the safe route in his fifth feature film. The strange tale of Sussana Johaness, who killed her six husbands one after the other, the dark and trippy film may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but is brilliant in its own way. Thank you Bhardwaj for not opting to make Kaminey 2 instead.
6. Rockstar
Ranbir Kapoor delivered what will probably go down as a career-defining performance in Imtiaz Ali’s modern adaptation of Heer Ranjha (the filmmaker says the influence was unintentional.) In spite of Nargis Fakhri in the worst debut imaginable for a lead actor (she was so bad, Ranbir came out looking even better), Rahman’s soulful music and Ali’s dexterity at handling a slightly complex subject made Rockstar immensely enjoyable. Again, not a film lapped up by everyone, Rockstar did get a lot of cinema enthusiasts talking though.
5. Dhobi Ghat
Kiran Rao’s debut film worked for its myriad characters, and the presentation of Mumbai in a manner hitherto unseen. A different kind of cinematic exercise than what we are used to in our films – more character-driven than plot – Rao drew us into the world of her characters, leaving us curious bystanders wanting to know how their stories unfolded. Yasmin the Muslim girl from a small-town discovering Mumbai was my favourite of the lot. Gustavo Santaolalla’s lilting score was among the best of the year.
4. Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster
Tigmanshu Dhulia, having shown tremendous potential in his debut film, Haasil, delivered and how. His modern take on Bimal Mitra’s novel Shaheb Bibi Golam was riveting, to say the least. In Jimmy Shergill and Randeep Hooda, Dhulia got two strong lead actors both of whom played off each other’s contrasting personalities beautifully. The film, though, was a real benchmark in dialogue writing in contemporary Hindi cinema – entertaining, but with depth. The Dirty Picture’s dialogues may have won over the front-benchers, but SBAG was the film with the best dialogues in 2011.
3. Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
Zoya Akhtar can now claim to have made a truly memorable road film, a rarity in our movies. The beauty of Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara wasn’t in its story, but in the little moments Zoya managed to capture deftly. With three good actors in the lead, Abhay Deol being the pick among them, Zoya transported us to Spain in a journey that proved to be life-altering for her characters. The film reminded me of Sofia Coppola’s Somewhere, and is probably the one you’ll enjoy re-watching the most in the list.
2. Delhi Belly
Delhi Belly, easily, was the most entertaining film of 2011. Also, contrary to other Bollywood success stories, this film saw the writer getting the maximum adulation after release. Akshat Varma wrote what is probably the most irreverent film in recent times, breaking a number of stereotypes along the way. With some really enjoyable dialogues (‘Sir, londry’), a song that became the anthem of the year (‘Bhaag DK Bose’) and some great performance by Kunaal Roy Kapur and Poorna Jagannathan, DB was a hell lot of fun.
1. Stanley Ka Dabba
Stanley Ka Dabba is a real cinematic triumph. Amole Gupte shot the film with school kids over weekends on a Canon 7D and with minimal fuss and budget. But it had soul, and touched you in a way few films do. Gupte, who had written the stirring yet slightly over-the-top Taare Zameen Par, kept the hyperbole minimum, letting his heartwarming story take over instead. Simple yet brilliant, Stanley Ka Dabba was the knockout film of the year. And very easily, the best.
With his fourth biography to be published soon, actor Dilip Kumar looks back at his seven decades in Bollywood.
“This is one of the stories in thespian Dilip Kumar’s fourth biography, written by his wife Saira Banu. This comprehensive biography of one of India’s greatest actors has initiated a lot of curiosity since it was announced five years ago.
Films like “Andaz”, “Jogan”, “Daag”, “Foot Path”, “Devdas” and “Ganga Jumna” stand testimony to his versatility. Even today viewers remember his ro Nina ro in “Andaz”, as he shows Nargis the photo of her late father and helps her get over the shock of his death.
He sips a cup of black tea and gears up for an interview about his biography and glorious career spanning around seven decades in films.
Tell us more about your biography.
It will not be repetitive. I do not believe in or allow repetitions. My earlier biographies were by Vinita Lamba, Sanjit Nawrekar and Lord Meghnad Desai.
Saira Banu who knows me the best has written exhaustively about my childhood at Peshawar, education, family fruit business, the pains of Partition and my career at length with special mention about my Bengali films, Pari and Sagina Mahato.
It also does not hide my famous romances (laughs). I am confident it will be of interest for readers and my admirers for whom the book is really meant.
Satyajit Ray described you as the ultimate method actor…
Did he? I consider it a great compliment from India’s most acclaimed director. We shared a warm rapport and I feel bad I could not work under his direction. Had I, perhaps my greatest performance would have been extracted by him.
My tragic performances required method acting as there was a matter of meter and chord for each shade in my performance. But when I shifted to light-hearted, comic characters in “Aan”, “Azad”, “Kohinoor”, “Leader” and “Ram Aur Shyam” I tried my best to transcend method as it has its limits.
I learnt to play the sitar for one and a half years before the Madhuban mein Radhika nache re sequence in “Kohinoor”. It had to be spontaneous yet real. Similarly, when Salil Chowdhury requested me to lower my voice by three notes to sing Lagi nahin chute Ram in “Musafir”, I did not opt for any method.
How did you succeed in Bengali films?
I wanted to learn Bengali and deliver my dialogues with conviction after being influenced by talented directors like Amiya Chakrabarty, Nitin Bose, Bimal Ray and Hrishikesh Mukherjee. Script writer Nabendu da, who penned “Devdas” and “Yahudi”, was also instrumental in my learning Bengali.
The other director from Bengal with whom I felt satisfied as an actor was Tapan Sinha. For the sequence in “Sagina Mahato” where I plead innocence in the people’s court, I dubbed 19 times. I was so inspired by the scene and felt I was not able to modulate my voice properly. Tapan finally said, “Yusuf, enough” and used my 18th take during the dubbing.
Tell us about your relationship with Raj Kapoor and Dev Anand?
If I am a legend, so are they. We shared a mutual set of unspoken ethics, had a deep silent regard for each other’s works and never believed in cut-throat competition.
Whatever we achieved was due to merit and not publicity gimmicks. Raj with his plastic face was unforgettable in “Gopinath”, “Jaagte Raho” and “Teesri Kasam”. Dev, the most handsome actor I have seen on the Indian screen, was peerless in “Kala Pani” and “Guide”.
Your memories of Suchitra Sen and other co-stars?
My memories of working with Suchitra Sen in “Devdas” are as fresh as ever. Her beautiful eyes responded like live electric wires in certain shots and only Devika Rani earlier had that kind of dignity.
My other co-stars were also highly gifted: Meena Kumari was seeped with emotion, Nargis was truly versatile, Nimmi still unmatched in intensity, and Vyjayantimala and Waheeda Rehman were highly talented performers as well as dancers.
Your favourite actors and directors?
From Hollywood, with deep respect, I would like to mention Sir Charles Laughton, Paul Muni, Marlon Brando and Richard Burton. Greta Garbo, Ingrid Bergman and Katherine Hepburn are my all-time favourites.
From India, I consider Ashok Kumar, Motilal, Balraj Sahni, Chabi Biswas and Pahari Sanyal as icons of natural performances. Uttam Kumar and Shivaji Ganesan were very powerful actors and I must mention the polished performances of Sabitri Chatterjee and Arundhati Sinha. From the past four decades, Amitabh Bachhan, Aamir Khan and Tabu are gifted performers. Among the directors, Amiya Chakrabarty, Nitin Bose, Bimal Ray, Zia Sarhadi and K. Asif and Mehboob Khan were unforgettable.
Your hand gestures along with dialogues ushered in a revolution…
I used my hands only to justify certain dialogues, which had intensity and meaning. It was spontaneous, not a conscious effort. If I used my arm with every dialogue, it would have seemed phoney and contrived. In films like “Jogan”, “Babul”, “Footpath” and “Devdas”, I avoided unnecessary use of my hands.
Lastly, did you ever feel nervous while performing romantic scenes?
(Smiles) Yes, I did. In the initial years, I felt awkward especially when I found the scenes were peculiar and meaningless. A romantic scene without reality does not impress me.
To perform my romantic scenes I relied on my eyes and then my dialogue delivery. Depth and reality came into romantic scenes from the 1950s onwards.
Happened to find this rare interview of Dilip Kumar, one of the greatest living actors in India…Big B, Aamir & Tabu are some of his picks of last 4 decades when it comes to his favourite actors…great interview overall !!
Don 2 (Hindi) grossed a very good second Monday of nearly 3 crore nett crore and the film heads for a 28.50 crore nett second week. The second weekend territorial breakdown is as follows.
‘Don 2′ team can heave a sigh of relief
By: Hiren Kotwani Date: 2012-01-03 Place: Mumbai
Trade experts are optimistic about the King Khan starrer to recover the high cost and make some money over that as well
Going by the latest box-office numbers, the team of Don 2 can heave a sigh of relief. The movie did decent business in its second weekend.
Trade pandits point out that the price for satellite and music rights, combined with the overseas figures, ensure that the investment will be recovered. Meanwhile, ex-cop YP Singh’s directorial venture, Kya Yahi Sach Hai which released last week, sank without a trace.
Komal Nahta, editor of koimoi.com, terms the collections of Don 2 on Saturday-Sunday as “superb.” “Whether it’s December 31 or not, Saturday-Sunday is usually good.
After netting about Rs 75 crore in all languages in the first week, Rs 18 crore in the second weekend, the film should touch Rs 100 crore by Thursday. Overseas, it will yield a distributor share of about Rs 25 crore,” he summed up, adding that Reliance, which is co-producing and distributing the film, will make more than Rs 12 crore.
Equally optimistic is Delhi-based distributor Sanjay Ghai of Mukta Arts Ltd. “I had predicted that it will do Rs 100 crore in two weeks. The film held well from Monday through Thursday in the first week. Had that not been the case, it would not have done even Rs 15 crore in the second weekend,” he asserted, adding that he expects the Shah Rukh Khan starrer to yield a distributor share of Rs 50 crore in India.
The film that cost Excel Rs 80 crore to make, cost Reliance another 10 crore on 3D conversion and 15-20 crore on prints and publicity. Of the Rs 105 plus crore the company has put in, it is said to have already made R 35 crore from satellite rights and Rs 10 crore from music.
However, another distributor who released the movie for Reliance in one of the territories is skeptical about the company profiting from it. On condition of anonymity, he explained, “On the strength of overseas and satellite, they will break even. But you don’t make a movie to break even.
Also, Don 2 was part of the package deal with Excel, along with Rock On!! and Luck By Chance. Both those films incurred a loss of over R 25 crore to Reliance. And don’t forget the rate of interest on their investment in Don 2.”
Veteran trade analyst Amod Mehra says that the SRK film has done well overseas and average in the second weekend in India. “Christmas and New Year has saved Don 2. So it will make some commission besides recovering the money. Also, it benefitted from having no competition from another release,” he concludes.
Don 2 is indeed doing some good business in multiplexes.. how else do you explain it going housefull on weekdays in PVR .. that too in afternoon shows?
SRK can breathe a sigh of relief for now.. though would’ve been much better for him if it had found acceptance in single screens too
Why just Don 2 all movies are showing a dimihsing trend on SS, beacuse the market is changing, SS are making way for MP. This is how the market has expanded (not due to expansion of number of screens in alreday saturated locations).
At the end of the day even with the new re-calibrated yardstick approc 95 to 100 Cr in the domestic market after second wekend is BB. It says that everyone has loved Don 2.
“Players has not become much ‘hot’ in the trade and among the public, but director Abbas-Mustan’s name might just do the trick as far as the box-office opening of the film is concerned.”
that one line is his entire analysis here! One notes the Abbas-Mustan escape hatch! This was from today. On the other hand elsewhere:
of course given Nahata has never accepted an Abhishek success in the popular media whether it’s BnB or Guru or anything I will hardly hold my breath for this one!
Honestly, how many people have accepted Abhishek as a commercial success ? Why then just single out Nahata ? When one observes the lifetime BO of Game and JHJJS etc, the only conlcusion one arrives at is that Abhishek’s problem is that just like Nahata, people don’t accept him as a star.
When the mighty & unbiased pen of history writes Abishek’s faith it will call him an “Accidental Tourist” in Bollywood.
But how much of that was from SS ? We need to know that becasue the money earned from MP has lesser purchasing power than the money from SS. If you think all money is equally green than you are wrong. Also note that the money earned overseas is absolutely useless becasue the concept of foreign exchange is an idea from the future, for the moment all overseas money is useless, hence don’t even talk about it. Overseas money does not add anything to the status of SRK, never did, never will.
All simply want to know the following
1) How much money did Don 2 make at SS in places that no one has heard about
2) Dubious Reports on Don 2 from “analyst” who have not yet quit their day time jobs.
@Satyam…Where is Nahata wrong here?This is a universal fact that the film has no major star and it is only its directors who can pull some crowd on basis of their part work.How come he is anti Bachchan?And you never spoke a word when IBOS declared Don2 a flop in its first weekend.Why such double standards?When anyone says something negative about you favourite,you start crying from rooftops.
You can think of it as “apologia” if you want. It can equally well be viewed as an admission that those films haven’t worked at the box office. From that point of view I found it surprisingly blunt.
It is that at a ‘literal’ level but then when you call it the ‘new business model’ and say at the end that a film needs to be profitable however it does this there’s something sly going on. Because look at the examples here. Does an Aamir or Salman hit or a Singham (so many other films) need to be justified this way? This only comes up when the box office returns are good enough. so you’re right on this score. But he’s also making lemonade out of lemons here by saying ‘this is the way things are’ when they clearly aren’t so for very many films. Leaving this aside it’s factually wrong to say (and he knows this very well) that profits coming off theaters or off these other deals is not at all the same thing for all sorts of reasons. And of course even the numbers are in many cases simply untrue or at least presented in very distorted ways to as it were balance the budget! But again ask yourself: who is really benefited by this representation of a profitable film?!
Of course BOI have called Ra One a hit in their yearly ratings. Don 2 could even be a superhit according to them.
I don’t really disagree with anything you said, nor was I unaware of the “apologia” aspect. But still what struck me was the need felt by Nahta to justify calling these films (note he also scrupulously listed Desi Boyz each time) “successes” — and note that, too, btw, *not* “hits.” To me it was still amazing that he basically said straight out, and multiple times, that the films did not get much viewership. Even his comment on the subsidies being dependent on enough people seeing the film to generate increased tourism, and yet failing in this objective, was reiterating the lack of a viewing audience. So overall I was more struck by this fact (which to me seemed to be trying to mitigate some of his earlier spin on the collections). Obviously, YMMV.
Firstly, please desist from taking the high moral ground & give sermons on the virtues of “unbiasedness”….quite laughable knowing your past history !!!
Second, please hold your excitement & stop distorting facts !! Don 2 is yet to reach 100 crore mark as of Tuesday & is still a few crores short..expected to touch 100 crore only by Wednesday/Thursday and this has been endorsed by most of the trade reports.
Lastly, merely reaching 100 crore today is hardly “magical” when the benchmark was set a good 3 years ago !! Not to mention that films like Singham & Golmaal 3 have already achieved this distinction…won’t even go into the higher benchmarks set by Salman & Aamir & the even more frightening ones expected to be set by ETT, Dabangg 2, Dhoom 3 & Talaash.
Don 2 crawling to 110-115 crore after a colossal disappointment like Ra.One is definitely no cause to celebrate !! You may choose to do so, of course…so good luck !!
>Lastly, merely reaching 100 crore today is hardly “magical” when the benchmark was set a good 3 years ago !! Not to mention that films like Singham & Golmaal 3 have already achieved this distinction
So lets be clear here.
What you are saying is that the target has been reached
- 3 years later,
-and only after this one, this one and that one, have already achieved it.
Yes?
But then you aren’t denying that;
- nevetheless the target has been achieved, or will be achieved in the next couple of days?
So this shows, what you are really trying hard here is to make the achievement look like – “not much of an achievement”, –
*because*
it has been reached
- 3 years later,
-and only after this one, this one and that one, have already achieved it.
LOL!!
Then, of course, there’s this sympathy angle for distributors who speculate, gamble, and don’t get what they want.
People!!??….Who cares??!! THey don’t matter. So what if enogh people went to watch it to give it a certain total??
OT
BTW I watched Don2 in Muscat where I’m holidaying. Unfortunaely I’ll be leaving the day ‘Players’ will be released, and no I didn’t come here to watch Don 2
To my inexperienced eyes it seemed fast paced, slick, and very non Bollywoodish, very very non Golmaal 3ish too which has the strength of achieving high targets. LOL.
Distributors On Advance Response To Players
by Harshita Vaishnav (January 3, 2012)
Now that we have rung in the new year, all eyes are on the first release of 2012, Players. The multi-starrer, featuring Abhishek Bachchan and Sonam Kapoor in the lead, is the solo release this week and the buzz around it is so-so. Advance booking at multiplexes opens tomorrow.
In Mumbai, Rajesh Thadani of Multimedia Combines says, ”The buzz the film has created is not that great. Advance booking at multiplexes will begin tomorrow. Only then will we be able to gauge the fate of the film.”
Sanjay Ghai of Mukta Arts says the film has generated a loud enough buzz in Delhi, which means it should take a good opening. “The weekend will be excellent. Advance booking in Delhi starts tomorrow,” he says.
Punjab distributor Dharam Pal of Paramount Pictures says Players is lukewarm in Punjab though Sunil Bansal of Yash Raj Jai Pictures says it has generated a lot of excitement in Rajasthan. “It will do good business at the box office. It will take a good opening and also enjoy a great weekend as it is a solo release. We do not have advance booking here,” says Bansal.
In Assam, however, the audience appears indifferent to the film. Siddharth Goenka of Goenka Enterprise says, “The film looks very technical while people look for entertainment. Also, the Christmas vacation has just concluded and hence, people may not look forward to the film.”
B H Basha of Bahar Enterprises adds, ”The Mysore audience is looking forward to Players. It looks good and it will have a descent opening with a good weekend as well.”
surprised to see the delhi distributor most positive here (by the way if this pans out BOI might have to shift away from their Delhi strategy for once! Much as they quite love Rajasthan too but might not for this one!). But of course these things are somewhat arbitrary too. It depends on who one talks to, specially in the big territories. And as I have said many times in the past the market is much more splintered now. So you will see a Fame cinema in one Bombay locality showing enormous response for a film while another one in the very same chain revealing great weakness.
With these reports unless everyone is very positive or very negative the rest is a lot in the details.
Well the truth is that Players has not revealed even single solid punch bag in all promotional materials so far. compare this to Dum Maaro Dum or Raavan. Every promo of both movies always comes with more promise. But in case of players, its reverse, with each next promo, hopes are dying. I will be hugely surprise if Players work at boxoffice .. and i am ready to get surprise, but i am not pinning any hope for surprise ..
Raavan was a different ballgame altogether.. few promos if any can be compared with those of Rathnam.. the first DMD theatrical promo was super too.. but note that didn’t help the latter get a big number.. when a star has faced serious box office damage there are two ways to get out of it.. either get a success with a more commercial subject.. something the audience is less resistant to even when it might not be bog on the film.. or a more topical film that truly excites a certain cross-section but is not for everyone.. The thing with the latter is that a box office star with damage will find it harder to get the core very excited and in the meantime will not win over skeptics (who might feel that other ‘weird’ stuff that looked promising did not work out). The bigger commercial blockbuster kind of deal presses some buttons instantly (some of the skeptics are then on board). But here the bar is higher too. Even if one doesn’t get the biggest opening possible relative to the genre and film one has to be at least respectable on this score. In other words you could open DMD to 20 and go to 50 and that would seem like a great result (within the contexts of Abhishek’s damage) but you can’t open Players to 30, go to 60 (and hence have good trending) and then have it considered a great result. Because a film like Players isn’t made to simply make a decent amount. You can even get away with this to an extent with the Rockstar kind of deal. But Players is really for everyone. It’s been mounted that way in terms of the subject and the scale.
My own sense here is that a film with the right grip will show a big jump over the weekend. First day should be good or good enough even if not massive. And again the entire wildcard here is Abhishek’s form. Players would be good (assuming a passable enough entertainer for the genre) for 120 crores easy if the star at the center were is reasonably good form. Not peak form or anything, just not ‘damaged’ (and there are different definitions of this). Which is why this is hard to call. However my standard here nonetheless remains a fair one. I have a 100 crore mark here. Doesn’t mean exactly that. 90 is ok too. 70 wouldn’t be though it would still be the biggest Abhishek number in a while (and perhaps the media might feed off this). Because again a film of this scale needs bigger numbers. Race in today’s money would easily do a 120 or something and I’m taking off 20-30 crores here.
Having said that there is another scenario that’s possible too. The Wanted/Dabanng deal (forgetting London Dreams in between for a moment). A star who’s been down for a while gets a credible film that also interests the audience but the star is not in the zone at that point to maximize the initial (to an extent this happened with DMD.. don’t think trending would have been too different in any case because I think that more people were disappointed with his dying in the end than not.. the opposite of BM in some ways.. that ending ‘made’ the film, this ending weakened the film.. I’m only talking box office here). Hence Wanted becomes a hit but the overall number is not that impressive compared to some other films. However more people like the film than the numbers would suggest. People watch the film in other ways but are not interested enough to go to the theater. The right film later on can then feed off this result and this time around the audience shows up in big numbers. Abhishek does have a great follow-up in Bol Bachchan which irrespective of all the agenda-laden writeups (that pretend a film called ‘Bol Bachchan’ with Abhishek in the the Amol Palekar ‘double’ part in a loose Golmaal remake is simply about Devgan and Shetty) is not one where the audience will ever think that the title is just a coincidence there or what have you. They’ll call a success as a Devgan one only and so on but that drill we’re familiar with. Now D3 is a different deal because Aamir is a different game altogether and the D2 history doesn’t reflect kindly on Abhishek. The only way he can be taken seriously as a factor here is if both Players and BB are very successful.
In any case Players has become a far more critical film for him that would have seemed the case going in because of where he is currently but also because of what he has following it.
Don2 has collected 9.5-10cr in second weekend hence taking its ten day total to 60cr which is phenominal.The film is likely to put huge 80cr in its first phase and if it continues like this in second shape then sky is the limit for this movie.
Welcome back !!! no discussion on SRK is complete without your “valuable” inputs…LOL !!!
Alex : Buddy, please don’t mind my responding to your girlfriend…LOL
“People!!??….Who cares??!! THey don’t matter. So what if enogh people went to watch it to give it a certain total?? “….wow, what a priceless, utterly asinine & insensitive remark to make…wonder how SRK’s loyal hordes of fans ( people !! ) flocking to cinemas to contribute to Don 2′s “certain” total will react to this !!
As usual, you have completely missed the context of my earlier comment. Don 2 of course has done well but not good enough considering it stars the so called”King” (???), its release on record screens in India in Christmas/New Year period & 2 open weeks without any competition. Keeping all these factors in mind, the film has hardly any significant record to boast of in India.
Consider the below 3 measurement parameters which trade & “people” ( yes dear, they “DO” matter ) most commonly consider to gauge a film’s domestic BO performance :
A) Did the film come anywhere close to the domestic opening day record ?
B) Did the film come anywhere close to the domestic opening weekend record ?
C) Did the film come anywhere close to the domestic opening week record ?
The answers are a resounding No !! The plain & hard fact is that SRK today is in no position just to be satisfied in giving “break-even” , “commission earners” or even “Hit” films !! What he desperately needs are “BLOCKBUSTERS” which his last 3 films MNIK, Ra.One & Don 2 have failed to come close to in India…And it was SRK fans who were going orgasmic from the beginning of 2011 on how Ra.One & Don 2 were going to set new standards of film making/box office, smash Salman/Aamir’s records in India. It is exactly in this context I had made the earlier remark of Don 2 being “hardly” the kind of success it is being made out to be.
But even leaving aside all these, how can I deny you your solemn right to bask in the glory of Don 2′s “success”
>Don 2 of course has done well but not good enough considering it stars the so called”King” (???),
I hope you’ll express the same thoughts if Talaash or Dhoom3 don’t make more than 200cr, as;
“Talaash/Dhoom3 of course has done well but not good enough considering it stars the so called “Mr perfect ace emperor(???), who has shown that he’s capable of collecting 200cr, but ends up getting only 170cr, which is ‘only’ 20cr more than the highest by Salman.
Then continue questioning;
A) Did the film come anywhere close to the domestic opening day record ?
B) Did the film come anywhere close to the domestic opening weekend record ?
C) Did the film come anywhere close to the domestic opening week record ?
….if the film fails to do any of the three.
>how can I deny you your solemn right to bask in the glory of Don 2′s “success”
Oh, good!! I was afraid you’d be a spoil sport and deny SRK fans this pleasure
OT
It seems I’ll be able to watch ‘Players’ FDFS because the films release here on Thursdays, not Fridays.
“Lastly, merely reaching 100 crore today is hardly “magical” when the benchmark was set a good 3 years ago !! Not to mention that films like Singham & Golmaal 3 have already achieved this distinction”
- well you see, there you go.
The films you mentioned are actually LIKED by the audience. Its not that our “mature” audience didnt think much of these films and yet they crawled past the 100 crore mark making the figure look like ‘not such a big deal’.
Sarcasm taking aside, we live in a country where Golmaal has been more liked that a Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. You know, coz despite being a well-made film that has found its way in every year-end article of the ‘Best Films of 2011′, the poor film didnt cross 90 crores. So who’s to blame.
Don 2′s final gross may ultimately be a success for its makers. Coz as much as I didnt think of it much (it has got to do a lot with the fil’s pace and it being boring), I wont argue with someone if they call it well-made. Yes ma brother, its much, much better than the other top grosses of the year.
But a 100 crore plus list that includes the likes of Ready, Ra One, Singham and Bodyguard shows a lot to do with mind-numbing ridiculous tastes of audience. Let’s stay away from i, shall we?
all this while Rockstar, DMD and some other well-made films of the year were struggling at the BO.. In an effort to satisfy our egos in box office discussions, we tend to support other fucked up films that continue to revel in their glory at the BO.. Its disheartening..
Sometimes its assuming to see that how we’ve lost ourselves to box-office discussions. the former have become a priority and even on intellectual blogs like these, a Salman is forgiven for the trash he’s doled out for his past couple of films just ecause he crossed the 100 crore mark ! Everyone seems to e talking good about him, irrespective of the shockingly poor quality of his films, his films get nominated for awards and cinema takes a ackseat
With SRK the case is even worse. What he did with Ra.One was preposterous. Just to e in the race for giving the iggest grosser (it crossed 100 crores all right) he plays with the media, goes for ballistic in your face promotions and makes a circus of his film Ra. One. Don 2 somewhat salvages his self-destructive former effort ut what the heck !
The only genuine star who does seem to actually respect the audience is Aamir. I wont say he makes ground-breaking cinema all the time, but his film’s grosses do compliment the film under question. But then, how many do we have like him in the industry..? Its either the race for giving the biggest grosser (everyone from trade pundits to media people to even us bloggers) support it ~ n filmmakers knowing how degraded the system has become, continue to dole out trash, signing major stars (ajay, salman) to help themselves realize this dream.
You’re quite right Tony.. unfortunately it’s come down only to this.. the box office is of course always important for a commercial industry, it’s always part and parcel of the game but online the whole discourse has been hijacked by box office considerations whether it’s by bloggers or in media outlets and so on. I am as interested in these matters as anyone else but one’s entire estimation of cinema cannot be reduced to the box office specially when in the history of this medium the ‘great’ or ‘greatest’ films are very often those that were initially box office failures and/or panned by critics. Not just in India but everywhere around the world. The box office is important everywhere but in the absence of a critical film culture in India the box office becomes the only legitimate discussion. One can’t praise films too much that fail, even people who sometimes pride themselves on being above the fray in these matters fall prey to this structure. It is true that being a very successful box office star in the absence of other ‘authentic’ virtues doesn’t mean anything. Stardom is ultimately something mysterious and the audience often loves very ‘unworthy’ figures. Again not just in India. Over the last 15 years or more though along with everything else a very crass kind of discourse has been fostered online and otherwise that makes the box office the ultimate tool to engage in all kinds of agendas. And we see the results.
Will say as a larger cultural matter that it’s not only about the film industry. The ‘new Indian’ audiences that are the dominant ones in multiplexes do not dislike anything as much as they do failure. They are terrified of this. They have all kinds of anxieties about it. This isn’t just about the normal fear of failure all of us have as humans but it is much more specifically refracted along the whole ‘new India’ liberalization economies. India finally emerging in the world as a big power, the successful nation. the designer brand nation after decades of rickety Ambassadors and what not.. the nation of models that is not embarrassed before the West.. the multi-national corporation culture, on and on.. there is a whole abrasiveness to all of this but also a great deal of anxiety and fear.
The online world in any case breeds fanaticism but in the absence of a larger critical film culture things just become worse. It is a virtue of this technology that it allows everyone a certain space but by the very same token it makes possible the ultimate tyranny of the viewer. It presents every kind of Philistine attitude, every gross kind of vulgarity as ‘opinion’ or a legitimate perspective. and this attitude is celebrated because these are of course consumers. But as a result we see the absurd spectacle of every star being called an actor, every film being called meaningful, the real meaningful films dismissed for all sorts of reasons, so on and so forth. The online world facilitates the ‘mob’ in precise ways. Not least because no matter how ‘crazy’ your proposition might be you will find the site or the blog or chat group or forum where there are those who subscribe to that view. It’s rather hard to have any sort of sane conversation in these circumstances. Sure all of this happens elsewhere too. In the US you have fanatical film fans or sports fans or political junkies holding all sorts of views and willing to kill others over these. However there is also a proper critical culture where for example no one calls Will Smith an ‘actor’ in the true sense no matter how many 200m hits he has. Similarly no other country on the planet slices and dices the box office in greater detail and yet there is never a confusion between this and the critical worth of a film. It is this apparatus that’s missing in India. Not just the trade figures but even the other ‘critics’ lacking the training and the education for what they’re discussing in 99% of the cases tend to either follow the box office or else are completely capricious like the viewers of those films. So if one doesn’t like or enjoy something at an individual level one attacks it, the job becomes easier when there are others attacking it too. There’s never any degree of self-reflection, any attempt to consider that one might not even have the tools to sound off intelligently on a film. And why should there be? Forget a proper critical culture, you have just the opposite. The media is simply an arm of the film industry with all kinds of corruption and compromise. and even within the industry the same kind of Philistine attitudes are rampant in the most socially advantaged classes (not just in the film industry incidentally). Once upon a time people knew their arts, let alone their cinema. Today the same filmmakers have probably watched at the most half a dozen greats from the past when their not busing cloning Hollywood and foreign films on the international circuit.
I could expand on all of this (and have in the past) but given the rotten state of this entire structure one could perhaps forgive those who were born yesterday and who think the industry was invented yesterday with their favorite star. It’s just a very diseased system and we see the results of this in every sense.
Satyam, I find it quite ironic to see you saying this, not because I disagree with it, but because you yourself are one of the chief contributors to this change of discourse. I was first attracted to Naachgaana (or should I say, I had been searching for it for a while after the old Indolink forum broke up, which is where I first encountered your film writings) because of the discussions that focused on cinema, its impact and potential, its artistic merits and craft. You were a chief contributor to those discussions. But, no sooner than I had rejoiced at once again finding the authors and their forum that I had lost track of, than the NG forum turned into huge box office oriented discussions, to the exclusion of almost everything else. Surely you remember the complaints and protests from some members that NG had turned into nothing but a box office site. Again, you yourself were one of the chief contributors to these discussions, too, in your championing of JayShah’s box office models, your upholding of IBOS over BOI, your detection of agendas in Nahata and Adarsh.
When those discussions got too heated for various reasons and you started Satyamshot, once again I was happy to find the new blog space where I hoped for a return to saner discussion of cinema. But it is the rare post here that talks of such matters (you have contributed to those, too, but not enough, from my point of view). Instead there are, if not star wars, certainly agenda driven posts and discussions regarding certain stars, and of course all such arguments buttressed by relentless box office discussions, with exactly the kind of “slicing and dicing” you deplore above.
Why not start the trend away from such discussions and return to a focus on pure cinema? Why not eschew these box office threads entirely and highlight the merits of quality from all over India and the world, as you used to do? Why not show the way to others, instead of blithely following them, while at the same time condemning them?
But more seriously I have never not been interested in the box office. Nor have I ever stated otherwise. It is certainly true that as a polemical matter I have often got more involved in these discussions than I ought to. But I’d also say there’s a difference in being genuinely interested in the box office as a cultural index (trying to understand why a film did or did not do well at any point in time) or being invested in it as a way of arguing against the usual suspects and/or restoring a sense of sanity in these matters (Jay’s model) and on the other hand simply using it as a political tool to begin or end debate on a star. So for example Dabanng notwithstanding I am not a greater fan of Salman than I was 5 years ago or 10 years ago. Haven’t even seen Ready or BG. But this doesn’t prevent me from accepting without any issue whatsoever his red hot box office status currently. So one can separate these two matters. I follow box office analysis in the US with great interest too. That’s the sort of thing I would like to see in India (though a trip to Mars next week is more probable) but I think that this kind of interest in the box office is ‘legit’. Yes this isn’t what usually happens online and these discussions become pointless too but I have never not been a ‘polemicist’ in this sense. In fact on Indolink there was far more of this and even on NG (as you’ve just said) there was a lot more debating (on my part) with frankly some very insane folks. Over here I have actually done this least. From time to time I do get ‘excited’ enough to do so, specially if I think things are being distorted beyond belief, but by and large I am just not as bothered. It is also true that I should be doing more comments/pieces on other stuff and quite honestly it has always been an ambition to do something like this every single day but I tend to get exhausted with some of my other pursuits (for want of a better word). Now one might wonder how I come up with these lengthy comments nonetheless but these are really done in a very impromptu manner. Harder to do this with a piece or something. But yes I also have lower energy at some points than at others. Hence never got around to the Aarakshan piece, more recently didn’t do one on Don 2. Do agree nonetheless that I need to do more on this front.
Thanks for taking my comments in a good spirit, Satyam.
I agree on the cultural implications of box office, but I don’t see that happening here. To take the same Salman example that you have, the usual statement here is “I don’t understand how crap like Bodyguard can gross so much” or “I pity the execrable taste of the Indian audience that can make films like Bodyguard a blockbuster!” Surely not much quest for understanding or cultural insights there, you will agree. Where I differ from you is that, in the current context, I don’t think it’s possible to have “neutral” box office discussions about cultural implications. So, why not eliminate them, instead of starting the first step onto a slippery slope of invective?
I still harbor the hope that, if you weren’t spending your energies on pointing out agendas by Komal & Taran while posting every single one of their box office reports, or deleting comments from over-invested posters, you might have enough left over to write the kind of posts many (not just me) look to you for.
Sm seems to b in ‘top’ form
Also noted how Salman fans are generally less over the top and ‘ chest thumping ‘& somewhat more ‘ down 2 earth ‘ following his recent unexpected over performers
I maybe wrong though
Seems a pattern
The aamir fans are even better
Eg aamirsfan-sensible, rational
As for Srk fans- they pack in lots of passion and loyalty ( in general)
Can only extrapolate that they r good in bed as well- anyhow that’s unrelated here lol
I have argued that one should leave aside BO discussion for Abhishek movies.
But
The buzz on Players seems unusually silent even for an Abhishek movie, leave aside a big budget masalla movie. At this rate Players might struggle to post in its first weekend even as much as Don 2 did in its second weekend.
Say if that happens (not out of the realm of possibilities, in fact quite likely). What will that say in this environment where a movie makes 200 + Cr wordwide and that is still not enough. What will Players making 10 to 20 Cr first weekend say ? Will it say anything new ? Will it just re re re confirm once again what we all know (including Nahata) ?
Agree entirely with your last few comments…it is indeed disappointing to see wonderful films like Stanley ka Dabba & Udaan ( best of 2011 & 2010 respectively in my book ! ) earning peanuts at the box office.
But at the same time it is very heartening to see a new breed of film makers like Anurag Kashyap, Dibakar Banerjee, Kiran Rao, Vikramaditya Motwane etc. making films the way they want & making minimal compromises to suit the box office tastes.
Films like Udaan n Stanley ka Dabba dont find much of an audience in the west too.. But a good film ultimately achieves a cult following there- bu cult I mean authentically cult.. Here such films will enjoy patronage from a section of the pseudos who behave they’re classic stuff but will forget about them later.. and get back to their favourite stars’ fascination. That much explains why commercial filmmakers of today’s generation continue to come up with nonsense in the name of entertainment.. They know the audience is always ready to lap it up
Shubh: “But at the same time it is very heartening to see a new breed of film makers like Anurag Kashyap, Dibakar Banerjee, Kiran Rao, Vikramaditya Motwane etc. making films the way they want & making minimal compromises to suit the box office tastes.”
Unfortunately, the impression I have from their interviews is that people like Anurag Kashyap et al want the kind of box office collections that the films of the big commercial stars garner, while adhering to their “uncompromising” cinema. Certainly I keep reading bitter diatribes against the taste and maturity of the Indian audience from these directors, as I do from the members on this blog.
“Over the last 15 years or more though along with everything else a very crass kind of discourse has been fostered online and otherwise that makes the box office the ultimate tool to engage in all kinds of agendas. And we see the results”
That summed it all Satyam. Exactly the point I was trying to make.
About your later part of the argument I much agree witl all points you’ve mentioned. Just for instance a Spiderman or a Harry Potter film might be a biggest grosser around but on IMDB boards you won’t find fans of Radcliffe or Maguire who will go ballistic over who is a bigger draw of the two ! or how much the films grossed overseas and in the US, taking Slovakia or Melbourne into consideration.. After a point it becomes ridiculous n tiring
A Scorsese of an Eastwood film won’t be such a major grosser but these films do trigger some healthy, detailed discussions among fans and those interested in ‘quality’. An Avatar does come once in a while that makes viewers drop their jaws in awe in terms of its overall gross.. and is a good enough film overall to ‘deserve’ all that attention on the ticket window – something that’s synonymous to the Aamir brand in India.
In online discussion groups in India, most of the discussion is restricted to ‘how the box office equations’ change after a major star’s release.. n you wont many arguments centering around, for example, theLagaan characters.. Fuck it -even when a good percentage of an online Indian bloggers swear by the awesomeness of Lagaan, they’ll discuss Salman n SRK’s BO pull more than the former ! While international cinema lovers would consider it more worthwhile to discuss the contents of the briefcase in Pulp Fiction than diss Tom Cruise for its domestic ‘Knight and Day’ gross !
@Is any moderator watching here how Shub is attacking me personally?Is it allowed here then pls let me know so that i can return the favour to him/her.
Yes, these kinds of comment was what made me leave temporarily.
What makes the sayer think his comments don’t belong to the category he’s accusing the other of?
Because one is in the majority here?
Because bashing SRK automatically puts one in the ‘intelligent’ category?
Does it occur to you that they are fully aware of the power rankings and potential in Bollywood. Why would they give any subsidy to a film with Abhishek, that would be a waste of money. Do you expect them to give any subsidy to a movie by say Aftab Shivdasani ?
“Everyone knows Rakesh Roshan has started work on his new project. However, here is some exclusive information on the film:
Title clarity: The film is titled ‘Krrish 3′, not ‘Krrish 2′. “Koi Mil Gaya was the first part, ‘Krrish’ was the second. Hence, ‘Krrish 3′ now,” said Rakesh Roshan.
3D or no 3D: There has been a lot of buzz that Roshan is shooting the film in 3D. “That’s untrue. I am not shooting the film in 3D. As for converting it to 3D, this is one decision I will take once I complete the principal shooting of the film,” the veteran film-maker divulges.
Current status: “Krrish 3 will complete the principal shooting in October this year. I plan devote an entire year thereafter for special effects and post-production work. I am in no hurry to release the film,” Roshan Sr. reveals.
Release date: ‘Krrish 3′ will release in Diwali 2013. “Yes, that’s the release date we are looking at,” the successful film-maker discloses. “
So Hrithik’s much awaited Krrish 3 coming in Diwali 2013…considering Agneepath is coming in Jan 2012, its a pretty long gap between the 2 releases…unlikely whether he has signed any other film apart from Krrish 3.
Bollywood as always manages to walk away with all the honours year after year, gloom or no gloom. Few dare to dishonour it. While there are a whole lot of followers inside theatres, on ground, on ‘insider’ blogs and in social media who are devoted to the Bachchans, Khans and all those who can, only few celebrate the trash tinsel town had to offer. The Golden Kela Awards, India’s version of the Hollywood Razzies, awards the worst movie, worst actor, worst song… The 4th Annual Golden Kela Awards will be announced in March next year, voting for which will open on January 2. Log on to http://www.goldenkela.com to cast a vote for vengeance… Here’s a list of the contenders for the not so-coveted titles made exclusive to ET:
WORST FILM
Ra.One
Ready
Bodyguard
F.A.L.T.U.
Mausam
Singham
WORST ACTOR (MALE)
Jackie Bhagnani for F.A.L.T.U.
Emraan Hashmi for Murder 2
Ranveer Singh for Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl
Ajay Devgn & Sanjay Dutt for Rascals
Imran Khan for Mere Brother Ki Dulhan
WORST ACTOR (FEMALE)
Sonam Kapoor for Mausam
Deepika Padukone for Aarakshan
Kangana Ranaut for Tanu Weds Manu, Rascals and Miley Na Miley Hum
Nargis Fakhri for Rockstar
WORST DIRECTOR
Roshan Abbas for Always Kabhi Kabhi
Rohan Sippy for Dum Maaro Dum
Anees Bazmee for Thank You and Ready
Puri Jagannadh for Bbuddha Hoga Tera Baap
WORST DEBUTANTE
Chirag Paswan for Miley Na Miley Hum
Sachiin Joshi for Azaan
Nargis Fakhri for Rockstar
Taaha Shah for Luv Ka The End
The cast of Always Kabhi Kabhi for Always Kabhi Kabhi
Esha Deol for Tell Me O Kkhuda
MOST IRRITATING SONG (Played Endlessly on Radio and TV)
Chamak Challo from Ra.One
Shadai from Mausam
Teri Meri from Bodyguard
Dhinka Chika from Ready
Fully Faltu and Char Baj Gaye from F.A.L.T.U
MOST ATROCIOUS LYRICS
Jaideep Sahni for Dum Maaro Dum (Dum Maaro Dum)
Amitabh Bhattacharya for Jigar Ka Tukda (Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl)
Sameer for Mango (Damadamm)
Amitabh Bhattacharya for Pyaar Do Pyaar Lo (Thank You)
Amitabh Bhattacharya for The Mutton Song (Luv Ka The End)
Irshad Kamil for Mere Brother Ki Dulhan (Mere Brother Ki Dulhan)
Anu Malik for Tinku Jiya (Yamla Pagla Deewana)
BAAWRA HO GAYA HAI KE AWARD
Amitabh Bachchan for Bbuddha Hoga Tera Baap
Hema Malini for Tell Me O Kkhuda
Sagar Bellary for Bheja Fry 2 and Hum Tum Shabana
Pankaj Kapur for Mausam
Govinda for Naughty@40
SPECIAL AWARDS
Lajja Award for Worst Treatment of A Serious Issue: Aarakshan
Bas Kijiye Bahut Ho Gaya Award: Pritam
Shakti Kapoor Award for Misogyny – Pyaar ka Punchnaama
There are special ‘Anti-Kela’ awards too for the ‘Saving Graces’. The awards are for the films that were meaningful and entertaining, while still being in the mainstream
ANTI KELAS
Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster
Shaitan
Shor In The City
Yeh Saali Zindagi
2. I guess last year Vishal Bharadwaj was one of the guests in this award and who supported this. So we can see 7 Khoon Maaf is not getting any nominations here.
3. Since Cyrus Broacha is the host so we can see Shor In The City in Anti Kela award category. He was there in the film 99 directed by the same director duo of Shor in the city.
4. This award concept itself is a copy razzies.
5. Interesting nominations for SS members
Rohan Sippy for Dum Maaro Dum
Puri Jagannadh for Bbuddha Hoga Tera Baap
Amitabh Bachchan for Bbuddha Hoga Tera Baap
Jaideep Sahni for Dum Maaro Dum (Dum Maaro Dum)
Lajja Award for Worst Treatment of A Serious Issue: Aarakshan
“THIS WEEKEND Tom Cruise rang in 2012 by being the top draw around the world once again as his latest action sequel Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol topped the box office over the long Friday-to-Monday New Year’s holiday weekend. The Paramount release saw its four-day gross dip 13% to $38.2M. according to final studio figures, which lifted the cume to a sturdy $141.2M allowing the new chapter to surpass the $134M final domestic take of the previous film in the series, 2006′s Mission: Impossible 3, in a mere 18 days of release. Successfully reviving a franchise that was thought to be dead, the $145M-budgeted Ghost Protocol is now on track to reach the $200M mark while the global gross is on a trajectory to smash the $500M barrier.
Overseas, the newest Mission: Impossible ruled for the third consecutive frame with an estimated $37M over the standard Friday-to-Sunday period from 54 markets for a robust international cume to date of $225.3M and global tally of $366.5M. Leading territory totals include $35.7M in Japan, $34.8M in Korea, $14.8M in France, $12.7M in the U.K., $12.2M in Russia, and $10.1M in India. With key markets like China and Italy still to open, the overseas tally will climb well above $300M.
Finishing the long weekend in second place was the season’s other star-driven action sequel, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, which experienced an identical 13% slide to $26.9M over the Friday-to-Monday period. The big-budget Warner Bros. film has now grossed $136.9M after 18 days of play and is running 18% behind the $166.4M of its 2009 predecessor with Christmas and New Year’s included in both totals. A final of $175-200M seems likely putting it below the $209M of the first Sherlock.
Following Robert Downey Jr. for the third straight weekend, the G-rated kidpic Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked enjoyed a 10% bump to $21.5M boosting the sum to $97.8M. The Fox pic is running 34% behind the pace of the first Alvin from 2007 which also opened in mid-December before the big holiday bump family films receive when schools close for Christmas. Chipwrecked may end up in the $130-140M range.
Holiday holdovers hope to keep the cash rolling in through mid-January since most college students are still out of school. Plus only one new film opens wide next weekend – the horror film The Devil Inside in 2,000+ theaters – so there will be little competition from new players until January 13 which is the start of the lucrative four-day Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend which tends to be very busy at multiplexes.
Holding fourth place was 2011′s top-grossing R-rated drama, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which took in $19.2M over four days raising the 13-day total to $60M. The Friday-to-Monday take was off a scant 2% giving the Sony title a better hold than the other two major movies playing to mature adults – Mission: Impossible and Sherlock Holmes – which each saw a decline of 13%. The American remake of the popular Swedish crime thriller should easily reach $90M and could possibly even hit the $100M mark in North America.
In its first full weekend of release, Steven Spielberg’s War Horse grossed $18.1M over four days from 2,547 locations for a solid $7,091 average. Disney’s release of the DreamWorks production has resulted in $44.1M in the nine days since its Christmas Day debut last Sunday. A final take of around $75M may result unless it shows strong legs.
Matt Damon’s family dramedy We Bought a Zoo followed with $17M representing a nice 16% jump over its Christmas weekend debut. The Fox title has banked $44.5M in 11 days. Close behind was Spielberg’s second offering of the season, The Adventures of Tintin, with $15.4M – up 2% – raising the total to $51.4M in 13 days.
The Warner Bros. dud New Year’s Eve profited from its namesake holiday and saw sales soar by 46% to $7.6M. With $47.3M to date, the all-star comedy should see its numbers tumble into the new year now that its story is no longer relevant. Bad word-of-mouth won’t help either. The 3D alien attack thriller The Darkest Hour ranked ninth with $5.2M, up 3%, giving Summit a modest $14.2M thus far. Oscar hopeful The Descendants rounded out the top ten surging 31% to $4.3M putting the Fox Searchlight hit at $40.3M with much of awards season still to go. Golden Globe wins and key Oscar nominations could keep the George Clooney film going all through January.
Sneaking in right before the end-of-year Oscar deadline were some awards contenders in platform release. Leading the way with a bang was Meryl Streep’s Margaret Thatcher pic Iron Lady which bowed to $285,809 from just four locations for a scorching $71,452 average over four days for The Weinstein Co. Sony Classics opened the acclaimed Iranian film A Separation in three sites and grossed $86,518 for a strong $28,839 average over the long weekend. The film has been a dominant force during awards season in the foreign language race and is one of 63 films vying for the five Oscar nods in that category. The critically acclaimed lesbian drama Pariah bowed to $65,348 from four houses for a respectable $16,337 average and $101,755 since its Wednesday launch.
The top ten films grossed $173.3M over four days which was up from last year’s three-day frame when Little Fockers stayed in the top spot with $25.8M; but down from 2009 when Avatar remained at number one with a huge $68.5M in is third round. Monday was not an observed holiday in those years. The overall marketplace over the long holiday session was up only 3% from six years ago when New Year’s Day last fell on a Sunday indicating a substantial drop in attendance since ticket prices have climbed by more than 20% during that time.
Compared to four-day projections, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows were both on target with my respective forecasts of $39M and $26M while Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked came in a little ahead of my $23M prediction. War Horse and We Bought a Zoo each came very close to my $20M and $17M projections and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo finished higher than my $16M forecast.”
Hahaha
Pyar KA punch nama surely deserves to be rewarded
Not entirely convinced about giving the ‘kela’ award to kangna (for the same of the ‘kela’)
Noticed -”Alex : Buddy, please don’t mind my responding to your girlfriend…LOL”
Hmm
What will happen to the others lol
Anyhow :folks be polite with oldgold
And that is non negotiable haha
“Indian visitors to Beijing are, more often than not, greeted by taxi drivers with passionate renditions of ‘Awara Hoon,’ a song that has, for decades, defined India in the Chinese imagination.
But today, Indian visitors will increasingly find younger Chinese welcoming them with: ‘All izz well?’
Few films have made as deep an impact in this country since the days of Raj Kapoor as Rajkumar Hirani’s 2009 film, 3 Idiots. The film struck an instant chord with China’s famously overworked students, so much so that some Chinese universities were, last year, even prescribing the film in their coursework as a kind of stress-relief in their classrooms.
“Rote learning made me rigid, stupid and I ended up like a machine,” one blogger, named Nei Yi Guo Jiang, wrote last year in praise of the film. “I felt like a real idiot compared to the three in this wonderful movie.”
Last month, the popular film finally made it to big screens in China — one of the few Indian films that have been screened publicly here since the 1970s, following subsequent censorship restrictions.
‘New-year release’
3 Idiots was also the first Indian film to be accorded the sought-after status of a ‘New Year release.’
In the first two weeks of its release, the film has raked in Rs. 11 crore at the Chinese box office, according to recent media reports — a rare success that has given Indian movie houses renewed hope of penetrating the lucrative but challenging Chinese market.
The film was also released in Hong Kong in September, and raked in 17 million RMB (Rs. 14.4 crore) in its first three months.
Movie posters in Beijing promoting the film described it as the “longest new year celebration film and a film that can make you laugh for three hours.”
Chinese analysts say its box office performance is no mean feat considering that its release comes almost two years after the film first became a hit in China, already being viewed widely on popular video-sharing websites and accessed through the thriving pirated DVD market.
High Internet rating
On Douban, a widely-used web portal similar to YouTube, the film received 224,668 views as of Sunday, with an average rating of 9.1 out of 10 — among the highest for any film on the website.
The film was imported by the state-run China Film Group, which is one of the Chinese film industry’s biggest players.
Besides the film’s already cult status among Chinese students, its early success has also been driven by the China Film Group bagging a big-name Chinese star, Tang Wei, to provide the voice for the female lead character.
Ms. Tang rose to prominence following her much-praised, and controversial, role in Ang Lee’s award-winning Lust, Caution. This marks her first involvement in a foreign film, Chinese media reported, highlighting the A-list, red-carpet welcome accorded to the Aamir Khan film.
The success of 3 Idiots, as well as the widely popular Slumdog Millionaire, has created a new push for Indian cinema in China, film industry experts say.
Film import curbs
Indian films were widely popular in China up until the 1970s when Raj Kapoor was a household name in this country. Few Indian films have since been released widely in Chinese theatres.
According to China’s import restrictions, only 22 foreign films can be screened every year.
Hollywood imports
The quota is usually filled by Hollywood imports. While Bollywood remains popular, it is not seen as having among Chinese youth the mass appeal of Western films, industry analysts have argued.
Shah Rukh Khan’s My Name is Khan was released here in 2010, but performed below industry expectations, in part because it was not seen as fitting the mould of light-hearted and colourful Indian films that are popular in China.
Indian officials have long pressed the Chinese government to loosen restrictions on Bollywood imports. If 3 Idiots does well enough, they now hope, Chinese distributors will begin to rethink their reluctance to import Indian films.
There are signs that this is already beginning to happen following the popularity of Slumdog Millionaire and 3 Idiots.
Joint projects
The China Film Group last year lent its backing to a first-of-its-kind joint film project backed by Indian and Chinese investors, for the first-ever made in China Bollywood film. The $10 million Gold Struck will not be considered an import since it is being co-produced by the China Film Group.
Joint productions, experts say, can become the formula to bring Bollywood to China.
Cindy Shyu, CEO of Light House Productions, which is behind Gold Struck, said the success of 3 Idiots played a big part in giving her enough confidence that Indian films had a big enough market here.
“Chinese audiences are interested in Indian films and dance, but have little opportunity to experience Indian cinema,” she told The Hindu in an interview last year. “This film, I hope, will fill that gap.”
Don 2 (Hindi) had its first noticeable fall on its second Tuesday but the job is done. The film grossed 2.15 crore nett on its second Tuesday. The second Tuesday territorial breakdown is as follows.
Note how ‘the job is done’ because of course, and as I said before, the game was always about dragging it to 100 crores! If 80 were the bar or if 150 were the same it would be done a different way. from day 1 this ‘anxiety’ has fed all these various sources on both Ra One and Don 2. Of course the amusing thing is that this never crops up when Salman opens a film these days because of course the first weekend/week makes it very clear that 100 crores is a given even in the worst case scenario. But here from Taran to Nahata to others it’s as if the moment you touch 100 crores it’s all ok! Which of course raises suspicions about the numbers in the first place. If you’re that desperate to get a film to 100 crores wouldn’t you be trying quite hard?! And again this film is more or less doing 70-75% of its gross in week 1 (unless it does something significant over the third weekend). If this constitutes a hit I have lots of moon cheese to sell folks! Which is not to say that it wasn’t liked by segments and so on but the bar is now so low that unless it’s a disaster it’s called a hit! And a star who’s first asserted as ‘huge’ and what not is given credit for producing an initial that is clearly behind the highest benchmarks around but otherwise strong enough. And then in an even more perverse display of logic the star’s ‘bigness’ is reasserted because supposedly he’s done so much in an underperformer or flop whereas his peers have done so in ‘hits’! But didn’t we just say that these films were hits?! No! we only said so in the first half of the sentence. In the second we examine life from the other side! Eventually in the followup we just assert that this very same film is an arthouse flick. Of course some of us have argued that Ready and BG and for that matter even Dabanng did not quite match Aamir’s level of trending. Certainly with those first two ‘underperformers’ at a quarter the budget seem to be doing far more. Aamir let us accept always plays dirty because he goes for those straight hits that trend very well and distorts the record this way. If he did a lot more underperformers then we’d know!
BOI is painting such a lovely picture for Don2. And it did a great job on Ra.One too.
But plain facts don’t lie in India. Both films are barely in Ghajini range and films as daft as Golmaal 3 made 100 crores.
SRK is supposedly the “biggest” star around but his films are falling short of films that released 3 years ago. And the same arguments used by those to diminish Ghajini or 3 Idiots (xmas release, hiked prices) are gloating at the underachievement of Ra.One and Don2. Such low standards!
but also some of the same sources refused to give Ghajini an outright blockbuster status based on some perverse ‘costs’ argument. All these years later Ra One is a ‘hit’ and Don 2 apparently could be more than this.
Overseas, the film seems to be headed to a 11-11.5 million finish.
And a 105-110 crore from India.
The film will be just about revenue earner but niot much revenue and certainly not enough in the face of the amount of investment.
The classification of hit/superhit is just arbitrary these days and based on total collections as opposed to return on investment.
Komal put up the lame article about the change in business model
which did make some good points. The makers of these big budget extravaganzas need to look closely as to whether there is enough business to be done to justify the costs. The satellite rights, the infamous subsidies and other revenue streams should be the cherry on the desert and not the main meal.
Shubh, I have a deleted your earlier troll comment. Don’t think there’s a point in the constant back and forth. If there are too many pointless comments on the other side as well I’ll take care of it.
leaving aside the debate of whether he’s right or not beats me why a Samajvadi guy is so obsessed with the box office. Unless he’s also in the business.
Surprise surprise-My local multiplex
IS showing players -didn’t show many Bollywood biggies
May just catch it if reviews are ok & get some time
Guess who was most prominent on their onlinse site
The great bobby deol…
Also don2 squeezes into another week (though only for a show a day !!)
But v few have survived onto the third week
Dhobi ghaat was perhaps the film I liked the most from Bollywood this year along with rockstar and znmd…
And find kiran rao quite talented and has an original perspective-definitely a maker to watch out for…(if she gets more choices)-not sure if she has got another movie to direct!!!
Ps—Old gold is back but her voice has been ‘drowned’ by even more vocal SRK fans, it seems
But old gold is the ‘original’ SRK fan
Old gold- btw can we have your views/ review on don2
Agree…Dhobi Ghat was outstanding & was one of my favourite films of 2011 along with Stanley ka Dabba, Delhi Belly & Shor in the City.
Kiran Rao has a lot of talent & potential…hope she continues to make the kind of cinema which she believes in…the market today has space for all kinds of films.
Also not to forget she was the one who actually happened to come across the script of Delhi Belly & realised its tremendous celluloid potential. This aspect was highlighted in many of the Delhi Belly pre-release interviews.
“Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions has landed the film rights of Amish Tripathi’s best-selling debut novel, The Immortals of Meluha. The book had attracted much attention since Amish announced he was on the lookout for a producer to adapt his book. Producers from Hollywood and Bollywood were vying for the film rights, even as his second book in the Shiva Trilogy, The Secret of the Nagas was launched.
Says an insider, “Karan credits the buying to the CEO of Dharma Productions, Apurva Mehta, who had been negotiating for the book rights for months.” The emotional content and the love story between Shiva and Parvati are very strong elements in the novel. Karan will look into finer details, apart from the screenplay. Since it deals with religion and mythology he will make sure that the subject will be treated with sensitivity.
That search has now ended. Says a happy Amish, “I believe that my books are a result of Lord Shiva’s blessings. He is a God who excites intense passions. If one wants to tell His story, it can only be done with intense passion and commitment. And that is what I saw in Dharma Productions towards The Immortals of Meluha. I believe that my book is in very safe hands with Karan and his team.”
Says Karan, “I was blown away with the world of Meluha and rivetted by Amish’s creation of it. I think the book lends itself beautifully for celluloid and we are very excited to promote Amish’s labour of love effectively.” Now the big question is who is going to direct a film of this magnitude from Dharma and which big star will play Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati?
The Immortals of Meluha The first book in Amish Tripathi’s Shiva Trilogy, Immortals of Meluha tells the story of a Tibetan immigrant named Shiva who is invited to the kingdom of Meluha where he discovers his destiny. A retelling of the legend of Lord Shiva, this work of fiction found many fans.
The Shiva Trilogy Three books in all: The Immortals of Meluha, The Secret of the Nagas and The Oath of the Vayuputras.
Huge fan of 1st time author Amish Tripathi’s Shiva Trilogy, the first 2 books have created quite a few publishing records in the Indian literary fiction scene.
Have extreme reservations though on the celluloid adaptation…having read the book, can safely conclude it needs to be made on the scale of “Lord of the Rings” trilogy requiring staggering budgets & resources…that in itself is a daunting proposition !!
Amish does seem to hae broken quite a few barriers in Indian fiction with this book.. I guess its a trilogy that might equate with the LOTR.. been hearing lots of good things about it
Players will the first release of 2012 and the year will start with a big budget action thriller but the opening is not looking good. The advance all over is pretty dull and the film is likely to depend on word of mouth to get a jump in collections on Saturday and Sunday and come out with a decent weekend.
Players is getting a huge release of around 2000 screens so the potential to collect is there if it can manage good public reports.
The first day should do around 6 crore nett and that sort of collection gives a huge chance of big growth considering the release of the film. The directors Abbas Mustan have a good track record at the box office with these type of films and their last film Race (2008) was a huge hit so even with a not so happening cast and music, the content of the film may work.
Another advantage for the film is that there is no major release until Agneepath on 26th January so it has plenty of time to make a mark even with a low satrt.
Think it should be higher than 6 crores (this was Raavan on day 1, according to them.. and this had terrible WOM) but given their usually commentary on an Abhishek film this is actually quite positive since they seem to be stressing ‘growth’ quite a bit!
well the game always is that when it’s a success someone else is responsible, when it’s a failure it’s just Abhishek’s baby! And watch out for some total reductions also. Because when the film does well they all pull this sort of stuff. They grudgingly accept it as a success eventually having stressed the negative at every turn. By those standards this is pretty surprising. And this only means that the reports on the film are good. So might as well give abbas-mustan the credit!
Incidentally Ra One was also in the 3000 range, perhaps a typo on your part.
2000 screen release for Players is huge…that would mean Don 2′s screen count gets significantly knocked off for week 3…reaching even 110 crore appears to be daunting now…let’s wait & watch.
Don2 is the 15th blockbuster of srk in overseas.There are only 23 blockbusters so far in overseas and deducting srk’ 15 there remain only eight for rest of the stars.The story does not end here as looking at overseas all time blockbusters there are eleven in total and nine belong to srk.This shows the star power of this man which no one in Indian film industry has enjoyed so far.Just check http://www.boxofficeindia.com
If story not ends here, it was not even started by this man either. Overseas run was started way back in Awaara days. It was big blockbuster there .. and then there is history of blockbuster movies in overseas. Yes, market is growing as Indians are migrating fast every where. But still there were bigger Hits in overseas even before 90′s. None of SRK movie has crossed biggest blockbuster run of MARD in overseas for more than 3 years. Heck, SRK even need to cross Aamir Khan’s three idiots, leave aside Amitabh.
partly true,
Amitabh would have topped overseas if it had not been piracy of video tapes and mid eighties to early nintees videos were boomong and almost all cinemas died out,All Amitabhs and other stars films suffered and if Amitabhs films were released like Mard,Sharabi,Aakhree Raasta or kalia,naseeb and khuddar then I am sure that all these films were huge box-office collection..Why ? because I was born and bred here in UK and I have seen the craze of Amitabh and also I also had video shop in eighties ..
Every films in videos we use to rent £1.oo per/night but Amitabhs films were straight to £2.50 per/night..People use to pay also.
amitabhs overseas started declining when piracy started,there was a craze to watch a film of amitabh in your living room..
think some of these films were big in the late 70s, i.e. theatrically.. MKS’s UK run is famous..
of course when people say overseas they mean US/UK. otherwise Indian cinema, especially Bachchan have been huge in the Middle East and North Africa.. in fact in other parts of Africa as well (I remember this film from Mali I believe where they have a theater screening Pukar in the 80s). The there’s the Caribbean, SA. Of course things have now changed because there’s a bigger diaspora. So it’s a demographic shift which enables all of this and allows a greater presence.
do think though that the overseas impact is often exaggerated. The grosses of most of these films are blips on the radar. Barring a UK where there is great concentration of Indians/Pakistanis in certain towns and where the cultural presence of the same is in any case greater. Hindi cinema is not ‘new’ for the many of those other parts I mentioned. The Mideast especially was in fact for the longest time the most dependable foreign territory before the advent of the VCR and then it took off again over the last 20 years or so. Again you have pockets elsewhere. Australia’s certainly coming up with more desi influx, you have a very prominent Sikh population in Germany (those who left in the 80s for the most part at the height of the Punjab troubles), you have a great Tamilian diaspora in Canada but also in Malaysia. So on and so forth. These demographic shifts can come about rather dramatically.
All of this doesn’t mean that Bollywood doesn’t have a much higher profile in the West than before. Certainly it gets very regular coverage in very many mainstream avenues. But I think that in many of these debates, and not only for agenda-driven reasons but also because of colonization anxieties, the whole ‘overseas’ deal is exaggerated greatly. One could be forgiven for thinking that it was a great big Tom Cruise film releasing in Hong Kong the way it’s spun. One forgets that on the other side sure Bollywood is getting more attention but many other industries around the globe are getting vastly more of it. If anything we have still not got our act together in terms of putting out films of true value. Tamil cinema continues to be shockingly underrepresented. I say this because here’s a commercial cinema that on its best day beats Bollywood in most departments. But also there have been more arthouse movements from Bengal to Kerala. There’s been the resurgence in Marathi cinema. Most of this just doesn’t get any institutional support in India in terms of being sent out around the world in the right ways. It still begins and ends with Hindi cinema and this is a great disservice to the possibilities out there. Even if one only wants to restrict oneself to commercial over the top masala entertainers you still have a great deal in the South that I think would be appreciated more by many of the Western reviewers than the Hindi stuff.
“This shows the star power of this man which no one in Indian film industry has enjoyed so far”….ROFLOL !!!
Satyam : I am really sorry !!…How silly of me to make that troll comment, when actually we are getting our daily dose of entertainment by way of such hilarious & priceless remarks…oldgold needs to pull up her socks as she has some serious competition now !!!
As regards the BOI story, it is hardly a surprise coming from them. Tom tomming “this man”s overseas achievements is a fantastic way of diverting attention from “this man”s increasingly floundering BO status in India & recent colossal Ra.One fiasco. Since RNBDJ in 2008, “this man” has not given even a “Super Hit” ( forget blockbuster ) in India !! Star power, indeed !! Ha !!!
And regards “this man”‘s much touted overseas clout, that too has received a severe & embarassing jolt from “other actor”s film :
1) 3 Idiots is the highest grossing Indian film in the US which is the largest overseas market ( $ 6.4 million )
2) 3 Idiots is the highest grossing Indian film in China which is the 2nd largest overseas market ( $ 2 million & counting )
3) 3 Idiots is the highest grossing Indian film in entire overseas market ( whopping $ 23.5 million & counting )
Of course, not to forget, “other actor” has numerous other overseas achievements which “the man” has not even come close to : walking the red carpet at the Oscars, part of the prestigious Berlin Film Festival’s select international jury, showcasing Peepli Live at the Sundance Film Festival ( only Indian film so far to achieve this distinction at Sundance )……etc.etc.etc.
No, wait ! I am being unfair to “the man”…he too walked the red carpet at Cannes ( which has become an annual mela for our film fraternity ) with Devdas…the film got an amazing reception too…most of the audience walked out halfway through the film !!!
>when actually we are getting our daily dose of entertainment by way of such hilarious & priceless remarks
Are you sure you mean to use this very simple and *harmless* word ‘entertainment’?
Because according to the dictionary ‘entertainment’ means;
“Something that amuses, pleases, or diverts, especially a performance or show.
The pleasure afforded by being entertained; amusement: ”
The feeling that is obvious from your comment can’t be described as ‘pleasure’ or ‘something pleasing’.
So is it amusement? Which in turn means the same;
“To occupy in an agreeable, pleasing, or entertaining fashion.
To cause to laugh or smile by giving pleasure”
So IMO what one is looking for to say is;
“the daily opportunity of being able to mock, ridicule, because we don’t like what we read, and allso a great daily opportunity of rubbing in our claim to intelligence.”
Gangs of Wasseypur-I and II
A three-generation gangster epic in Jharkhand’s coal mafia. Directed by Anurag Kashyap, this could be India’s equivalent of The Godfather series. It features Manoj Bajpai, Piyush Mishra and Nawazuddin Siddiqui and explores dynasty dynamics, a coming of age story, and the legacy of a philandering father.
Miss Lovely
Debut directorial feature by the gifted Ashim Ahluwalia, the film is set in the sleazy, Mumbai C-grade film industry. It is about two brothers who produce raunchy horror films with titles like Dolly Darling and Lady James Bond. It features Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Anil George and Niharika Singh.
Shanghai
A political thriller based on Greek author Vassilis Vassilikos’ novel Z, the film follows three characters looking to benefit from the changing fortunes of a small town. But they face a dilemma when they realise the locals are being exploited. The film stars Abhay Deol, Emraan Hashmi, Kalki Koechlin and Prosenjit Chatterjee.
The Ship of Theseus
The film is named after a philosophical paradox — whether an object that has all its parts replaced remains fundamentally the same object — and what happens if this is applied to people.
The debut film by Anand Gandhi features Neeraj Kabi and Soham Shah.
Tasher Desh (Land of Cards); Laptop by Kaushik Ganguly; Kokkho Poth (Sound of Old Rooms)
Tasher Desh by Q is a post-modern, psychedelic take on Tagore’s dance-drama about the adventures of a prince who incites a feminist revolution in group of playing cards.
Laptop by Kaushik Ganguly is a superbly told tale of how a stolen laptop changes hands, including a delicately observed relationship between a blind writer and his typist.
Kokkho Poth (Sound of Old Rooms) by Sandeep Ray is a moving documentary, shot over 20 years, on the joys and dilemmas of being a poet in Kolkata.
Top 5 Foreign Films
Life Of Pi
Tobey Maguire, Irrfan Khan, Tabu, Adil Hussain — and Suraj Sharma as Piscine Molitor ‘Pi’ Patel, named after a swimming pool in Paris. It is a magical adventure in which the zookeeper Patel family moves from Pondicherry to Canada by ship. But the ship wrecks, and Pi finds himself adrift in the Pacific on a big lifeboat with a zebra, a hyena, an orangutan and a Bengal tiger. A tale of faith, hope and survival.
The Dark Knight Rises
The third instalment in Christopher Nolan’s Batman series after Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, the film stars Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway and Tom Hardy. Following Harvey Dent’s death, Batman takes responsibility for Dent’s crimes to protect his reputation and is hunted by police. He must face the terrorist Bane, and discover the truth about enigmatic Selina Kyle.
The Great Gatsby
Baz Luhrmann, who earlier directed Moulin Rouge and Romeo+Juliet, casts Leonardo diCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Tobey Maguire and Amitabh Bachchan in this adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel. Mid-westerner Nick Carraway is lured into the lavish world of his neighbour, Jay Gatsby but soon sees through the cracks of Gatsby’s nouveau riche existence. Bachchan plays Meyer Wolfsheim, a shadowy figure.
The Artist
A wonderful, uplifting, elegant French comedy that won Jean Dujardin Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival, and the adorable doggie Uggy the Palme Dog Award. It is a love letter to silent cinema, in black-and-white. Hollywood silent movie star George Valentin (Dujardin) is rendered obsolete by the rise of the talkie, until rescued by the love of rising star Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo).
Midnight’s Children (Aka Winds Of Change)
An adaptation of Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children, which won the Best of the Booker award. It is about a pair of children, born within moments of India gaining independence from the British, who grow up in an India that is nothing like it was in their parent’s generation. The film stars Satya Bhabha, Shahana Goswami and Rajat Kapoor. Mehta filmed in Buddhist Sri Lanka to save herself grief from both Hindu and Islamic fundoos.
The top directors at the box office for 2011 are listed below. The directors worth is proved from Monday onwards as it is the film collecting and not the hype and star power. The top directors have been ranked by the business there films did from Monday onwards. Films that had extended weekends have 25% of the weekend total added as hype and star cast is a major factor before Monday and too include Saturday or Sunday business will give an incorrect picture.
1. Anees Bazmee
Ready – 79 crore
2. Farhan Akhtar
Don 2 – 70 crore (expected)
3. Rohit Shetty
Singham – 68 crore
4. Zoya Akhtar
Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara – 62 crore
5. Siddique
Bodyguard – 59 crore
The above were not only the best directors of the year but their respective films were also probably the best of the year having the most appreciation from the public in India..
Wow…must say BOI have surpassed themselves today in posting crap articles !!
Mystifying criteria of judging top directors & even more funny choice of directors…Bazmee ( for Ready ) & Siddiqui ( Bodyguard ) in top 5…with Bazmee as No. 1 !! Good heavens !!!
and then people wonder why I keep going on about these sweetheart deals SRK gets in the media.. forget Abhishek who’s constantly abused by them.. ZNMD had fantastic trending, did 90 crores.. and look at this verdict. Does anyone have the slightest doubt this movie would have been called a superhit with SRK in it or that Rockstar would have minimally been called a hit? I could dispute some of the other verdicts here too. But these jump out more. But of course in this absurd world Nahata and Taran nurture we are supposed to believe that the more disappointing the big films are at the box office the better their satellite deals are and the more they’ve been subsidized by Germany and the UK (Merkel hasn’t come up with the big move on the Eurozone crisis because she’s busy taking care of SRK’s films). Meanwhile ZNMD despite the numbers has evidently no such deal that can take it to hit status. Or even Rockstar. The film’s 70 crores.. are these not worth more than Don2′s 100 or Ra One’s 118 (using Nahata’s numbers in each case)?
And bigger Joke is Aarakshan as loser and Desi Boyz Average … Lolzz, both are in 45 Crore range and equally budgeted. This Nahta has become biggest joker ever.
Just returned from watching ‘Players’.
Except for the overlong chase scene at the end, and some loose ends it is very engaging. Abhishek plays his role calmly, which might draw criticism, but at least I detected expression in his eyes, and suitable body language. Iliked his interpretation which suits him just as SRK’s interpretation of Don2 suits his personality.
THe cinema hall was about 50% full for the 3.30 show.
The film had quite a few funny dialogues AND funny moments (which Don 2 lacked).
It’s pretty lively most of the time with some interesting twists.
Outrageous nonsense…Nahta’s box office verdict column for 2011 is even more pathetic than his earlier column on so called new business model for films.
“@Satyam…If Nahata calls Don2 and Ra.one flops then will he regain crediblity? ”
Ha ! Frankly, these guys have lost so much credibility that no one gives a damn now what they say about SRK’s current films or even Aamir / Salman’s forthcoming films this year !!!
This basically is a telling commentary on the sorry state of box office reporting in our country. Contrast this with the reporting on something like Boxofficemojo.com / Boxofficeguru.com and the difference is so evident.
you’re right in the sense that (and I’m basing this on a lot of anecdotal evidence) when you talk to people in India they assume these guys are about as honest as politicians. So yes hit or flop most of the time no one sets great store by what these people say. Of course online there’s more credibility because people have their agendas too and not just because they naively believe the likes of Nahata.
“Plus” is indeed a new box office concept invented by Nahta for 2011, to keep all the Khans happy & be in their good books…so Dhobi Ghat, Ra.One & Don 2 are all “Plus” !!
Well Aamir is a different deal.. first of all DG is an arthouse effort so I can accept leniency on this score. But also they’ve never been exactly in the tank for Aamir. SRK and Salman are a different matter. Aamir had to earn his stripes the hard way.
The major trade figures have always been very favorable toward Salman. He’s had extensive lean periods and there’s always been the ‘it takes one hit for Salman to bounce back’ refrain. This narrative has been spread in the media too. Sure they’ve reported on all his bad boy stuff but they’ve never gone negative on him for this reason. There’s a salacious angle to all this stuff and of course the media indulges in it but his star value is never questioned because of it. And the moment he has a big one it’s like this was always the ‘norm’.
Ajay Devgn declares war, moves the release date of Son Of Sardar ahead to clash with SRK’s film at the box office this Diwali
Kunal M Shah
Posted On Friday, January 06, 2012 at 02:04:21 AM
One has always struck gold at the box office on Diwali. The other went a little off balance last year. But both Ajay Devgn and Shah Rukh Khan have yet again decided to hit the theatres during the festival of lights. While it is known, that SRK’s film with Yash Chopra and Devgn’s home production Son Of Sardar is ready to clash at the BO, this Diwali, Mumbai Mirror tells you why Devgn decided to choose the very date for the release of his opus. Son Of Sardar that was supposed to release on November 30 was pushed ahead by two weeks to meet SRK’s film head on. And that too at Devgn’s insistence.
A source close to the film Son Of Sardar informed Mumbai Mirror, “Ajay Devgn has had a dream rum at the box office over the last couple of years with films like Golmaal 3, Rajneeti, Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai and Singham. He is extremely confident about Son Of Sardar. The film, which is also his home production, was supposed to release on November 30. However, once Don 2 released during Christmas, Ajay decided to release his project during Diwali alongside SRK’s film.”
The industry insiders are already laying their bets on the big clash at the box office. “After Singham, Ajay Devgn has been nicknamed Lion King in the industry. SRK, as we all know, is called the King Khan. It will be interesting to see the two Kings clash at the box office now,” said an industry insider.
According to the industry insider, Devgn’s decision to bring ahead the release date of his next release, especially to meet SRK head on at the box office, is a clear indication of taking their rivalry to the next level. “SRK and Ajay have never been the best of friends. Though none of them have ever talked about their rivalry, the fact that Ajay has decided to meet SRK head on this Diwali indicates that their fight is now out in the open,” said the source.
While Ajay’s last film collected over Rs 100 crore at the box office, the combination of Yash Chopra and Shah Rukh Khan might just be a little too tough to handle. We will only have to wait and watch to see who wins this Diwali.
yes and Son of Sardar doesn’t look like the most promising deal around. with that title it will be hard for Devgan to attract the multiplexes. There might be a single screen/multiplex split in the audience. SRK isn’t hurt because he doesn’t get anything else anyway! Devgan will easily lose this matchup. If things go ahead this way.
On that note there are three releases currently on July 13. Bol Bachchan, Barfee, Saif’s Homi Adjania film. The first one is the big ticket film here of course. Conceivably one of the other two could go with it as the ‘smaller’ alternative. But not both. And even though the market allows it it would be better for both those films to move and really prosper with a solo release or something.
Having said that a lot of these clashes don’t pan out eventually. Tezz was supposed to release with Agneepath, then with Agent Vinod. Neither thing is happening.
Is Son of Sardar the remake of Maryada Ramanna? (Telugu) If so, I can’t really see Ajay in the role. Or is Akshay doing the remake? There was some tussle over the rights to the title, but I haven’t kept up with how that panned out and who’s doing what.
December 30, 2011 at 7:15 AM
Top 5: ‘Don 2′ has 75.51 cr nett Week 1
December 30, 2011 at 7:38 AM
taran_adarsh taran adarsh
#Don2 – India *actuals*: Fri 15.55 cr, Sat 15.32 cr, Sun 18.22 cr, Mon 8.85 cr, Tue 7.08 cr, Wed 5.49 cr, Thu 4.82 cr. Total: 75.33 cr nett.
December 30, 2011 at 7:17 AM
Three Idiots Creates History In China
Friday 30th December 2011 09.30 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Three Idiots has created history in China as it crossed the $2 million mark in China making it the first Hindi film to do any sort of worthwhile business in China. Although it must also be said that the film did not sustain well. The business till date is as follows.
8th – 11th Dec $1,190,000 (4 days)
12th – 18th Dec $740,000 (7 Days)
18th – 25th Dec $130,000 (7 Days)
TOTAL – $2,060,000 (18 days)
The Overseas total for Three Idiots now is $23.5 million making it the highest grossing film in Overseas ahead of My Name Is Khan.
December 30, 2011 at 7:17 AM
LOL, guess they were following some of the discussion here!
December 30, 2011 at 7:18 AM
First Week Circuit Totals: DON 2 v READY
Friday 30th December 2011 11.30 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Below are the circuit comparisons for some circuits between this week’s release Don 2 and the Salman Khan blockbuster Ready.
Delhi/UP
Don 2 – 13.90 crore approx
Ready – 15.21 crore
East Punjab
Don 2 – 6.04 crore
Ready – 5.66 crore
CP Berar
Don 2 – 2.76 crore
Ready – 4.07 crore
CI
Don 2 – 2.28 crore
Ready – 2.95 crore
Rajasthan
Don 2 – 4.02 crore
Ready – 3.88 crore
(Note – Ready released before entertainment tax exemption in Rajasthan)
Mysore
Don 2 – 4.75 crore approx
Ready – 2.31 crore
December 30, 2011 at 7:18 AM
while they’re doing all these comparisons with Ready they might also want to compare budgets!
December 30, 2011 at 7:40 AM
Don 2 Marches On
by Shabdita Shrivastav (December 30, 2011)
Last week, Don 2 booked its niche as the third-highest grosser of 2011. With no big release this week, the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer continues to hold its own as it moves into its second week. The only film that released today was Y P Singh’s Kya Yahi Sach Hai, which opened in a few circuits only. The film, which impressed neither tradewallahs nor the audience, went unnoticed at the box office.
In Mumbai, Rajesh Thadani of Multimedia Combines says, “Don 2 earned Rs 75 crore all over India in its first week. In Mumbai, its first week collections were around Rs 25 crore. Since there is no big release this week, Don 2 will have an edge at the ticket windows. Kya Yahi Sach Hai took an opening of 5 per cent.”
According to Ajay Bagbai of Rajvi Trade Link in Gujarat, “In week one, Don 2 earned Rs 5-6 crore in the Gujarat region while all- India nett collections were Rs 70-75 crore. In its second week too, we are expecting the film to do collect Rs 2-3 crore in Gujarat and Rs 20-25 crore across India.”
The SRK-starrer left its mark in Delhi-UP as well, and collections amounted to Rs 14 crore in week one. Sanjay Ghai of Mukta Arts adds, “In its second week, we are expecting Don 2 to do business of approximately Rs 5 crore. The weekend, especially Sunday, will receive a very good response from the audience. Kya Yahi Sach Hai is not worth talking about.”
In Punjab, Surendra Saluja of Lakshya Movies remarks, “Don 2 will run house full this weekend as well as the film has generated a great response from the audience. It will do business of Rs 1.5-2 crore in its second week. No films released this week in our circuit.”
In West Bengal, Sunil Singh of Aum Movies adds, “In its first week, Don 2 received a very good response. Its second week business is expected to be around Rs 3 crore in the Bengal region.”
Don 2 will continue its good run in CI too. Monto Aditya Choksey of Morya Arts reveals, “With no big release this week, Don 2 is strong at the box office. The film is doing well in A-class centres and multiplexes and will enjoy a good second weekend as well. It will generate great revenue.”
In CP, Sarang Chandak of Shri Rang Films concludes, “The collections of Don 2 are Rs 4 crore so far and the film has received a thumping response. It will continue to enjoy a good run at the ticket window this weekend.”
December 30, 2011 at 9:42 AM
BOI also confirms 3 Idiots now officially the highest grossing Bollywood film overseas after creating history in China:
Three Idiots Creates History In China
Friday 30th December 2011 09.30 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Three Idiots has created history in China as it crossed the $2 million mark in China making it the first Hindi film to do any sort of worthwhile business in China. Although it must also be said that the film did not sustain well. The business till date is as follows.
8th – 11th Dec $1,190,000 (4 days)
12th – 18th Dec $740,000 (7 Days)
18th – 25th Dec $130,000 (7 Days)
TOTAL – $2,060,000 (18 days)
The Overseas total for Three Idiots now is $23.5 million making it the highest grossing film in Overseas ahead of My Name Is Khan.
Link – http://boxofficeindia.com/boxnewsdetail.php?page=shownews&articleid=3866&nCat=
Earlier Economic Times confirmed it – http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/media/entertainment-/entertainment/3-idiots-wins-over-chinese-collects-rs-11-crore-in-two-weeks/articleshow/11286751.cms?intenttarget=no
December 30, 2011 at 9:44 AM
SRK silences detractors as Don 2 turns into a hit
By Joginder Tuteja, Dec 30, 2011 – 15:03 IST
Shah Rukh Khan must have gone through some real anxious times when the Thursday evening press show resulted in select mischief mongers spreading negative word of mouth about his latest release Don 2. Critics in general weren’t really kind too and despite the fact that the film took the best opening ever for a non-holiday release, there were many waiting with daggers and all set to attack after the weekend went by. However as things stand today, Shah Rukh is pretty much having the last laugh with the film holding well even on the weekdays, hence ensuring that the film is a clean hit and may just turn superhit.
“Don 2 has done well and now all eyes are on how far would it go”, says a source, “Of course Ra.One backlash coupled with the fact that the film hasn’t been designed for universal audience means that the film wouldn’t end up creating or beating records set this year. However, it is now entering the Rs.100 crore club and make neat profits for all involved. For Shah Rukh this is now his second century in a row. Of course Ra.One was touted to do much better but negative word of mouth aborted its run, though not before it managed Rs.115 crore for itself. However in case of Don 2, multiplex audience across the country are liking the film which is a big plus.”
There are some who are of the belief that given the fact brand Shah Rukh is involved, each film of his should be setting benchmarks instead of just coming close to them and compare with the contemporaries.
“Agreed, but for that a film should be designed as the one with universal appeal as well”, says a prominent filmmaker on condition of anonymity, “If he plays to his strengths and ends up serenading women in chiffon sarees for a Yash Raj film, he is bound to set records. However, of late he has been experimenting too much and making a conscious call to stay away from mushy affairs, case in point being a My Name Is Khan, Ra.One or Don 2. Results are of course going to be mixed.”
However, his fans worldwide are now rooting for him to do get back into wholesome family entertainment mood as a result of which in months to come, he would begin films which, as per industry parlance, are considered to be ‘safe’.
“Yash Chopra’s film that he is doing with Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma cannot go wrong. Then there is Rohit Shetty’s Chennai Express for which he starts shooting with Kareena Kapoor. These are the films that have an eye on multiplexes as well as single screen audience. Guess Shah Rukh is through with technology, gizmos and 3D now, it is time to get that major biggie which would shut the mouth of even the staunchest of detractors”, the filmmaker adds.
His fans wouldn’t mind that either.
December 30, 2011 at 10:03 AM
Something I mentioned yesterday/day-before.
SRK is posting near high water mark numbers with experimental/non-massy/limited appeal movies. Big Budget, yes but movie of a genre that does not appeal to all people in all region.
Movies like BG etc (good moves, good performances) are ahead but just by a hair.
When Aamir (good actor, great movie mind) who is perhaps more suited for “Hatke” movies does such movies we get the collection of Dhobi Ghat (an amazing movie but not at the BO). Hence the fact is that SRK is catering to Aamir’s demographic, but also generating moolah (lots of it) at the BO.
I doubt that there is a star in Bollywood who can abandon his base, like SRK has done with MNIK, RA-1, and Don 2 and still manage to get into the 100-200 Cr club. This is an achievement that will go treated well by history, something that will add to the legend of SRK. This is how successful people become great.
December 30, 2011 at 10:09 AM
Wow, so Dhobi Ghat is now being compared with Don 2.!!
Waah re SRK fans. Agenda-parast aankhon pe patiyaan bandhi rakhna inki fitrat mein hai.
December 30, 2011 at 10:36 AM
Kavi
I am making a very specific point that transcends petty star affiliations. Hopefully you can respond to that point rather than attack and tarnish me.
December 30, 2011 at 10:44 AM
Yes Don 2 is the biggest art movie hit of bollywood.
December 30, 2011 at 11:53 AM
Sarcasm is good but it does not tip the scales one way or the other. Try facts.
December 30, 2011 at 1:32 PM
And you are the ultimate purveyor of facts here right? First, present the complete facts, then get into a discussion. But then, facts are like potatoes to you, some small and some large, which can be conveniently mashed and served as a side dish to your main entree of SRK-aggrandizement.
A songless movie made at a total deliverable price of less than 10cr is being compared to extravaganzas made at final price of more than 100crs each. A movie having the star in a side role gets compared to movies which are made to showcase the star as the central role and character!!
December 30, 2011 at 10:46 AM
Are you just delusional or missed your dose of Lithium or the air on Mars is even more rarified today?
December 30, 2011 at 11:01 AM
Rajen
You can attack me but that does not change facts.
I respect all stars, I watch movies for fun, for the joy it brings us.
But you can prove me wrong by getting Aamir to make a movie which is non massy (Budget is irrelevant) that makes 200 + Cr.
Better still ask him to abandon his base and then make a movie for SRK’s base and then post 200 + Cr.
If that happens we all will gain, we all will enjoy. But chances are that you might learn to respond to content with content (on blogs) before Aamir makes such a movie.
December 30, 2011 at 11:09 AM
I appreciate your admiration for SRK. But calling Don 2 or Ra One as experimental or ”non-massy” films is a joke! I am also amazed at how you guys can compare Dhobi Ghat with Don 2, Ra One or even MNIK! DG was total opposite of mainstream and Aamir was not even the main focus of the film! Till 4 months before its release, no one even knew Aamir Khan was actually playing a part in it or not! It has no hype, no promotions, no songs, no well known faces, nothing like any conventional Hindi film – still you people compare it with Ra One or Don 2?! Surprising! Limited appeal of DG is no way comparable to so-called ”limited” appeal of Don or some superhero film!
Sorry mister, Don 2 or Ra One are not Aamir-type hatke movies and in no way cater to Aamir’s demographic! No one except an SRK partisan will buy this silly argument. Hatke was something like TZP or RDB. Don 2 is merely sequel of a popular film while Ra One was more like Hrithik Roshan’s Krissh kind of deal!
Also, I wonder whether you consider gross or nett collections while talking of ”100-200” crore clubs! You never specify!
There is a limit to giving excuses. Anyway, it will be seen next year, if he manages to set new all-time benchmarks in Bollywood when he comes back in his ”own” genre. BTW, I never thought action was Aamir’s genre when he broke all records with Ghajini or it was even Salman’s genre. After all, Salman was mostly doing comedies or romantic films with exception of Wanted before he went on a record breaking spree with Dabangg, Ready and Bodyguard!
December 30, 2011 at 11:29 AM
When the impartial pen of history writes SRK’ faith, it will mention in glowing words that SRK managed to do with experimental movies what others struggled to achieve with massy entertainers.
Now is DG more “Hatke” is just details. Small potatoes, big potatoes, after all they are all potatoes (DG, MNIK, RA-1, Don 2)
December 30, 2011 at 1:23 PM
dg is mainstream art film based on inhabitants and inspired by kar wai wong’s brand of cinema ….
how could it be compared with ra one and don2 ….it has 1/10 th of the budget of above…its as absurd as one get
what next abbas mustan declaring he makes the most risky thriller genre just like don 2 the rip off of various thrillers
December 30, 2011 at 10:17 AM
par for the course for Joginder.. as I said sometime back feel sorry for him..
December 30, 2011 at 10:37 AM
well, this is what happens when a film records even decent collections.. 1200 word articles are manipulated and so on..
it is doing well in multiplexes but probaly at a lower end.. need to check how much is the actual occupancy
December 30, 2011 at 10:52 AM
Joginder should change his name to Jokinder.He has well and truly become a joke. Atleast that fulfills the number one requirement to be an SRK fan. Now, if he starts acting ‘queer’ and wears feminine lingerie, they might even make him the President of SRK fan club!
December 30, 2011 at 1:03 PM
who is this joker :
last time he was making mockery of rajni by making salman analysis
don has a lister actress, a sucessful and eastablished director , a sequel …festival time release… may be that comes under risky act not safe scenario ….such sort of cover up really makes mockery of indian trade as if ra one fiasco was not enough
December 30, 2011 at 11:17 AM
His fans feel why he’s being talked about like this, but for a guy who (and whose fans, sycophants etc.) claim that he’s undisputed badshah or biggest star (even bigger than Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise combined!), it is natural for everyone to talk when his films barely become hits or recover their costs while other stars’ films keep setting new records in India and even overseas!
The same media was putting up articles about how makers of MI4 are ”afraid” of Don 2, how SRK will defeat them as he is ”undisputed king” in India and also ”top favorite” in Asia etc. One site even wrote an article saying Tom Cruise came to India to aggressively promote MI4 also because MI4 makers knew he had to compete with ”King Khan”’s film!
Now the same media is defending him for at least managing a hit even as it is ”not his own genre”!
Same media was declaring since 2010 that 2011 would be SRK’s year as he has two huge films lined up. India Today and Filmfare named him Actor of the Year in advance!
After all such hype, they go back on their own words and make up lame explanations! Strange drama!
December 30, 2011 at 11:19 AM
According to BOI, Don 2 will ”probably” be a hit:
Q. Will Don 2 be another blockbuster for the year making it four blockbusters 2011?
A. Unlikely probably hit film unless multiplexes are phenomenal for next two weeks then small chance of being Super Hit.
A Akram
Link – http://www.boxofficeindia.com/youdetail.php?page=shownews&articleid=3857&nCat=
Far from being super hit or blockbuster.
December 30, 2011 at 11:27 AM
An “experimental/ non massy / limited audience” film is 127 Hours which does a business of $ 25 million at US box office , against a big budget sci-fi extravaganza like Avatar which does $ 1.5 billion.
This is for those misguided souls who need to be enlightened on what really an “experimental/ non massy / limited audience” film actually means !!
December 30, 2011 at 12:46 PM
The Ten Worst Hindi Films Of 2011
Oh dear !! After Ra.One, it is now the turn of Don 2 to enter such lists !!
http://www.rediff.com/movies/slide-show/slide-show-1-the-ten-worst-films-this-year-yearend-2011/20111227.htm
December 30, 2011 at 12:48 PM
Bollywood’s Best Actors of 2011
Very interesting & apt choices…Pitobash was terrific in “Shor in the City”…Aamir also makes the list with his wonderfully understated act in “Dhobi Ghat”.
http://www.rediff.com/movies/slide-show/slide-show-1-bollywoods-best-actors-of-the-year-yearend-2011/20111229.htm
December 30, 2011 at 12:52 PM
The Big Players of Bollywood, 2011
http://www.rediff.com/movies/slide-show/slide-show-1-three-men-and-a-babe-yearend-2011/20111230.htm
Insightful take on how SRK has fallen behind Aamir & Salman in the pecking order of the Khans.
Aamir has very aptly described in the 1st 2 paras as :
“For the better part of the last decade, it’s been almost unanimously acknowledged that Aamir Khan knows what he’s doing. Sure, he might seem too far out on a limb, but as the pieces fall, he always ends up topping himself and standing taller than before.
“So the industry — this industry that relies so heavily on what Conventional Wisdom and Trade Pundits say — has, incredibly enough, thrown in the towel and given up trying to beat Aamir “
December 30, 2011 at 1:39 PM
well summed up..
December 30, 2011 at 1:41 PM
agree
December 30, 2011 at 1:57 PM
Ha! Whether grudgingly or calmly, everyone finally has to accept the truth – including Raja Sen!
December 30, 2011 at 12:54 PM
“Small potatoes, big potatoes, after all they are all potatoes (DG, MNIK, RA-1, Don 2)”
ROFLOL !!!
December 30, 2011 at 12:57 PM
ya as predicted its more multiplex friendly but again scale of don 2 was much bigger…in india probabley it was second biggest of release of all time just after ra one and both have disappointed..
a sequel..3200 screens …festival release time
btw nahata is getting flak again in social networking sire this time by describing nepal as part of india in box office collections
December 30, 2011 at 12:58 PM
singham is the most liked movie of this year
December 30, 2011 at 12:58 PM
“When the impartial pen of history writes SRK’ faith, it will mention in glowing words that SRK managed to do with experimental movies what others struggled to achieve with massy entertainers.”…Oh really ???
It should actually be reworded as ” that SRK struggled to achieve with mass entertainers what others managed to do with experimental movies ” !!!
December 30, 2011 at 1:53 PM
A big LOL at the ”impartial pen of history”! The word impartial don’t suit when it comes to anything related to SRK. All narratives are full of foolish excuses, lame reasoning and of course, big time hyperbole!
Ra 1 and Don 2 are in same category as Dhobi Ghat! Haha! I think SRK would die in frustration hearing this sort of commentary about his mega hyped star vehicles!
A mega hyped sequel to an already successful film with the same guy in lead, which itself is a remake of another super successful film of 70s, is an ”experimental film”! LOL!
So even Ready must have been an experiment for Salman because it was a comedy, compared to action films like Wanted and Dabangg.
Note it down guys, Dhoom 3, Talaash, Agneepath, Rowdy Rathore – all should be treated as experiments for their respective stars! As D3 & Talaash have no message or issue, Aamir has never done an all out negative role, Hrithik hasn’t ever done a raw action film, Akshay has image of comedy starnow while RR has action, even Agent Vinod is an experimental film because Saif as the yuppie lover boy image – all these films must be celebrated and compared only to Dhobi Ghat – the only standard for ”experimental films”!
I am thinking now that Ajay deserves lot more respect for Golmaal series as that was a huge experiment for him – getting hits in comedy, despite having image of a serious star!
Chikni Chameli was a huge ”risk” and ”experiment” for Katrina Kaif since she has image of this NRI/urban girl, and getting success for a rustic number like CC is big achievement!
Gosh! Our stars experiment so much and we still complain Bollywood is stuck in the rut and doesn’t go forward!
December 30, 2011 at 1:21 PM
haha rotflol
December 30, 2011 at 1:38 PM
For a change–let me “save” karankumar from further attacks…
(s)he seems really isolated and cornered
Dont wish to “engage” with her anymore–but will make an exception this time
ps–nykavi, shubh, rajen, rockstar, prateek have politely told u certain things correctly
hope u will take them in the right stride and not take all this personally but learn something….
And yes….just doing this/ helping out as a ‘friend’ only this time—dont wish to ‘engage’ anymore
but have tried to be as civil and restrained as possible here….lol
December 30, 2011 at 3:48 PM
If he addresses me I will address back. Hence either delete this comment of his or ALLOW me to address back.
December 30, 2011 at 3:50 PM
I am deleting or editing very many comments.. I just edited one, deleted another.. you guys have to give me time to go through stuff.. it’s not as if I have nothing better to do than monitor your exchanges with Alex.. however this has gone too far and it’s annoying to have to address the same issue every day..I’ll just have to take sterner action if this sort of stuff crops up again.. In the meantime I’m afraid I won’t have you dictating how things are run here.. there are people to look into this stuff..
December 30, 2011 at 3:58 PM
Satyam
Why is this allowed while you delete my comments in response ?
December 30, 2011 at 4:23 PM
because I wasn’t around! As I said I cannot be here 24/7 looking intricately at what’s more fair and unfair in these interactions.. but it is definitely becoming a headache. Alex has a sense of humor and provocation in these matters that is always about gender and sexuality. Which is why I’ve told him to avoid this stuff with anyone he’s not on explicitly friendly terms with. However some habits (and natures) are not easily mended. I don’t think he means it as quite the insult some take it as. Nonetheless it shouldn’t be indulged in where it’s not welcome.
But I would also say that you need to quit complaining about every second comment. I am looking into this stuff. Your self-esteem shouldn’t depend on a tit for tat with Alex.
I am trying to be as fair as humanly possible but it gets hard if you object to bad behavior but then say you’ll respond in kind if someone initiates it. if someone abuses me on the street I am not likely to respond in kind. There is nothing macho about all this posturing.
By all means one should have a spirited debate on substantive stuff. But what’s the point in going back and forth? I agree completely Alex shouldn’t engage with you at all. But if he does why not ignore these remarks? Specially when I will look at this stuff eventually and take care of it. There is no unfairness. Things have to be looked at in context.
Bottom-line: I am trying to be very decent and ‘gentlemanly’ about all this stuff and on both sides. Hope I won’t be pushed into a more drastic position. I’ve never had this sort of problem before on the blog.
December 30, 2011 at 5:38 PM
Satyam
I don’t have to complain and bother you. I don’t want to, it is a courtesy to you, it my way if showing resoect. I prefer to take care of it myself. I am a guest, you are the host, hence I defer to you.
I understand and appreciate your dilemma. It appears with his despicable behavior, Alec has you as a hostage. But there are solutions. You can put all his comments into moderation. You can ban him. Needless to say (this I prefer) you can also let him face the music. I can take care of him for you and this blog.
Whatever you do, please dont dismiss illegal behavior. Such rotten cannot be accepted under any condition.
Furthermore, please don’t equate me to him. This not a chicken and egg issue. This is cause and reaction. If I retaliate a court would understand.
With your tacit approval, I will jrespond to the degree appropriate. Let us collectively not feed into his delusions. Remember, by not responding earlier you have put yourself up as a hostage.
Please do the right thing, atleast let justice prevail.
December 30, 2011 at 5:52 PM
Satyam–as per your request, my ‘ lips’ are sealed, as u can see.
Also i wont (temporarily) use them even for kissing etc lol
No comments from me to her, as u can see (forget about offensive stuff)
lol
I hope this emotional “blackmail”/ manipulation of moderator adds “spice” and increases TRPs to proceedings haha
ps–we are dealing with a female who seems to be obssessed with me lol
someone save me…hehe
December 30, 2011 at 11:30 PM
Karan.. here’s the issue– if you keep responding a certain way you’re contributing to the problem.. I don’t care who begins it.. because ultimately you are cluttering the forum as much as he is.
December 30, 2011 at 1:48 PM
“But then, facts are like potatoes to you, some small and some large, which can be conveniently mashed and served as a side dish to your main entree of SRK-aggrandizement. “–hahaha
brilliant nykavi
that the comment of the day
December 30, 2011 at 1:54 PM
Love the comment from NYKavi!! Well said!
December 30, 2011 at 6:01 PM
And satyam–needto catch some work and need to go as of now.
Will leave this obsessive clingy female to u and others to deal with
Hoho-gud nite
December 30, 2011 at 1:58 PM
hehehe
everyone seems to be in prime form here—cheers folks
could sense this “buildup” for the last few days
“I am thinking now that Ajay deserves lot more respect for Golmaal series as that was a huge experiment for him – getting hits in comedy, despite having image of a serious star!
Chikni Chameli was a huge ”risk” and ”experiment” for Katrina Kaif since she has image of this NRI/urban girl, and getting success for a rustic number like CC is big achievement!”
thats awesome–have to agree with it lol
December 30, 2011 at 2:13 PM
and finally-
[edited]
kishore kumar at his best—cheers n peace
December 30, 2011 at 3:12 PM
Satyam
The post I sent into moderation are for you.
December 30, 2011 at 3:43 PM
Karan, I’m not letting that stuff through as it will create another fight.
No one has been banned here as far as I’m aware though some ‘visitors’ were abusing the privilege and I had to stop all their comments.
Alex, DO NOT ADDRESS Karan in any form or fashion. Forget about him. There are others here. This isn’t going anywhere.
Karan, don’t raise a stink everytime Alex says something.. it will all be addressed.. he’s not going to engage with you and you are not going to respond. I am going to enforce this. Now at times I am not able to monitor things for hours. Hope nothing serious happens in the meantime. Because I don’t want to have to do more.
December 30, 2011 at 3:46 PM
Satyam
You have said this before without results.
December 30, 2011 at 3:16 PM
SRK hasnt had a good year and its been even worse for his fans. Probably all have been disappointed with both Ra One and Don 2 but its difficult for them to admit.
SRK ka kya hai.. he’ll do 10 more endorsements and dance at a couple of weddings and recover the losses if there are..
But for a year where Ready, Bodyguard and Singham end up being the biggest hits, we ought to be ashamed as an audience.. for the sake of humanity!
December 30, 2011 at 3:27 PM
Agree with last para but I am not ashamed but there is nothing to be proud of those movies.
December 30, 2011 at 3:48 PM
Tony.. it must be said though that the biggest hits in Hollywood every year are also fairly mediocre films. Something like the Dark Knight or Avatar is rare. Usually it’s junk level entertainment though some of it is better than others.
Do agree that Bollywood can do a lot better than some of the examples you’ve mentioned. Would easily take don 2 over those Salman films though (not least because I’ve still not been able to bring myself to see them!). But I’d also take Singham over Don barring the repellent ending (where they went much further than the Tamil original). But yes none of these films would be hallmark efforts by any means! And then people wonder why Aamir gets so much credit for so much of his stuff. I’d take Ghajini over all these films any day of the week let alone some other stuff he’s done!
December 30, 2011 at 8:09 PM
“Probably all have been disappointed with both Ra One and Don 2 but its difficult for them to admit.”
Ra one yes SRK fans are disappointed but Don 2 i don’t think so. Even SRK haters will agree that it’s not a plain bad movie as Ra one. It’s an average fare.
December 30, 2011 at 3:23 PM
Civility is a both way street. It applies to both SRK fans or people who don’t like SRK.
December 30, 2011 at 3:40 PM
well said Munna..
and here I take this opportunity to tell everyone here that even if you violently disagree with something that has been said there’s no need to get carried away in the response..
December 30, 2011 at 3:57 PM
Dont worry, satyam
u have my full cooperation on this
Wont ‘engage’ with her
[edited]
December 30, 2011 at 4:17 PM
anyhow, to change topics lol–
http://www.koimoi.com/bollywood-news/aamir-khan-unhappy-about-jokes-on-shah-rukh-khan-s-ra-one/
Aamir Khan Unhappy About Jokes On Shah Rukh Khan’s Ra.One
Can you guess, who is unhappy about how a section of the industry people went hammer and tongs against Shah Rukh Khan’s Ra.One because it did not live up to their expectations? None other than Aamir Khan! The so-called rivalry between the two Khans seems to have been put to rest – at least for the time being – as Aamir says about the bad-mouthing of Ra.One by trade people, “It’s not done. I was not at all amused by the jokes people were forwarding to one another on their mobile phones. They were in bad taste. Simply because the film did not do the business they may have expected it to do, they can’t criticise the film and Shah Rukh. Why can’t they appreciate Shah Rukh Khan’s efforts? He at least dared to make something different.”
ps-aamir does look quite happy in the photo lol
December 30, 2011 at 4:50 PM
and yes folks–lets have one more
maybe u have seen this before, but i havent
hmmm
December 30, 2011 at 8:04 PM
This was a scripted. Neil did not want to do this but was persuaded by SRK and SAK.
December 30, 2011 at 5:01 PM
^^^This may actually be preplanned 9along with neil) to raise TRPs
But if not–pathetic behavior by srk
and whats saif doing here….
HAve great respect for srks career ‘achievements’ but this sort of gutter stuff is not needed
and there have been many such instances where it was definitely not preplanned and deliberate humiliation of soft targets
ps–joking about his dad “having lost weight”–cunning
December 30, 2011 at 5:27 PM
Guys, go easy on Karan.
Sab ne milke bechare ke itne sare chhed kar diye ki pata nahin chalta kahan se potato khaye aur kahan se nikale!
December 30, 2011 at 11:23 PM
Rajen
Please dont worry about me. Worry about yourself.
December 30, 2011 at 11:42 PM
Initially i thought u are talking about Karan Johar ..
Uske bhi sar se paon tak ched hi ched hain.
December 30, 2011 at 5:30 PM
haha
December 30, 2011 at 10:12 PM
@Satyam — I didn’t want to get into the middle of this “war” currently going on between two posters here. Just read the latest round of exchanges since you haven’t yet deleted them (I hadn’t seen any before). All I want to say is, whatever action you decide upon, should be equally applied to both.
December 30, 2011 at 10:33 PM
I was away for the evening and I get back and it’s the same old stuff once more.. for now I’ve just deleted all the comments.. I’m trying very hard not to do anything more.. but my cup of patience does ‘runneth over’!
December 30, 2011 at 10:52 PM
See, one set of comments was enough to exhaust my “patience.” I don’t understand why and how you are still exercising your patience. Anyway, it’s your decision to make, but I do think you need to make a proactive decision.
December 30, 2011 at 11:02 PM
I admit I don’t really like banning anyone, specially people who’ve been here a while and who talk on a range of issues. Which is why I’ve tried to offer every possible chance. But yes all options have been exhausted at this point. I do hope the two ‘parties’ in this case will desist from engaging with each other going forward.
December 30, 2011 at 11:12 PM
Thanks. I wasn’t trying to put any pressure on you.
December 30, 2011 at 11:20 PM
Satyam
I have never given any thought over how long I can or will live. I only ask myself whether I am living ?
While I was here, I spoke my mind and expressed myself as sincerely as possible.
If you think I am responsible then sure ban me, but remember I did request you to resolve this. I took matters in my hand when you failed.
Additionally I have never been interested in anything except the content. I was merely responding to Alex, I did not start the fire.
So whatever you decide, it is fine.
December 30, 2011 at 11:44 PM
Anyways, DON 2 will probably be below average. 1500 Multiplexes screens doing well and 1600 Single screens disaster.
December 30, 2011 at 11:59 PM
@Jeevan…How it ll be below average?Just give some proof or stop taking in air.I think you haven’t checked its first week collections in India and overseas.
December 31, 2011 at 1:55 AM
Can’t you check you self that movie is disaster on 1600 Single screens ?? How can you compensate losses of those 1600 exhibitors ??
December 31, 2011 at 12:26 AM
http://www.boxofficeindia.com/boxdetail.php?page=shownews&articleid=3870&nCat=
Kya Yehi Sach Hai opened to very dull houses and has no chance at the box office.
Don 2 had very good first week at around 71 crore nett for its Hindi version and a further 2.50 crore nett for its regional version. The film did exceptionally well at multiplexes but had an average first week at multiplexes. The film has a 70-75% drop on its eight day but will pick up over the weekend and is likely to another good weekend.
Mission Impossible 4; Ghost Protocol takes its two week business to around 32 crore nett. The film is the biggest Hollywood grosser of 2011
Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows took a pretty decent opening at high end multiplexes.
December 31, 2011 at 12:41 AM
71 crore (Hindi) for Don2 in 1st week…75 % drop at beginning of 2nd week…Unless Sat & Sun really pick up now, its final nett may just barely crawl over 100 crore mark which frankly would be a disappointment !! The film needed to do 120-125 min. to somewhat make up for Ra.One’s massive underperformance.
Also, Komal’s verdict is that “The film will prove to be a plus fare”….Terms like “plus fare”, “coverage” , “commission earner”, UK/German subsidy etc. are now being increasingly associated with SRK films as against “super hit”, “blockbuster”, “all time blockbuster” etc. !!!
SRK’s next with Yash Chopra needs to be now a huge universal ( single screen + multiplex ) blockbuster…by then ETT & Talaash may have set the benchmarks even higher….never know !!
December 31, 2011 at 1:11 AM
well so called bad release time like diwali(according to trade for certain star) has 5 releases lined up so far for 2012 and even x-mas new year will not going to be one way …
December 31, 2011 at 12:46 AM
don 2 will do 120cr easily, since players will flop big time, thanks to bobby it will open decently
December 31, 2011 at 2:20 AM
Don 2 will easily show up on some channel by the time Players is released…as it is running empty house in a theater near my town!(have not seen a crap like this untill Ra1)
December 31, 2011 at 12:46 AM
Round up 2011 – Best & Worst Movies
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Entertainment/Bollywood/Mayank-Shekhar-s-round-up-2011-Best-and-worst-movies/Article1-788991.aspx
Delhi Belly, Dhobi Ghat, ZNMD all in the best list, very well deserved !!
The worst list makes for hilarious reading !!!
December 31, 2011 at 1:13 AM
wow half of the movies i havent even seen on that list…heres my personal fave’s and best of this year in no order:
1. Pataila House(most underrated movie this year IMO, the songs were great and Akki was strong in his performance.)
2. Dum Maaro Dum(Abhishek needed a solid performance and a solid movie to back it up)
3. Aarakshan(Amitabh owned this movie)
4. Dhobi Ghat(it was nice to see Aamir in a ‘regular’ role and he fit in well, one of his best performances)
5. Delhi Belly(can’t stand Imran Khan’s acting but even he was decent in this)
(have not seen Don 2, ZNMD, Rockstar, Mausam, RaOne[wont see it], The Dirty Picture)
Crap List in order:
1. Bodyguard(how this movie made all that money is beyond me)
2. Ready
3. Yamla Pagla Deewana
4. Bbuddah – Hoga Terra Baap(major disappointment)
5. Thank You
December 31, 2011 at 1:16 AM
I was just thinking if Garv(salman starrer back in 2004) released today it would’ve been a major hit. I see no difference in the crapness of Garv and Bodyguard.
December 31, 2011 at 1:23 AM
some of the small films where pretty good
shor in the city has moments, stanley ka dabba was as good as tzp, pyar ka punchnama got his radical made following so was saheb biwi or ganster ….shaitan was pretty good to
December 31, 2011 at 1:36 AM
Garv has a much more coherent story than Bodyguard and a better visual style.
December 31, 2011 at 1:51 AM
I do remember some of Garv, i saw it in 2004 and haven’t seen it since but I think I agree. I still think both are crap. BG was painful to watch. I watched it only because I was curious to find out why this movie became such a huge grosser and still I can’t figure it out. Sallu bhai is really unstoppable right now.
January 5, 2012 at 11:05 AM
I would like to share mine as well…
Favorite: (in order)
1. Don 2
2. Delhi Belly
3. No One Killed Jessica
4. Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
5. Yamla Pagla Deewana
Worst: (in order)
1. Bodyguard
2. Ready
3. RA.One
4. Mausam
5. Patiala House
December 31, 2011 at 12:57 AM
Sooooo when is Abzee going to post his annual bests of this year??? Usually its up by now..or did I miss it somewhere??
December 31, 2011 at 2:08 AM
The success of Don 2 is creditable. But Karan is clearly going overboard here., when he talks of Dhobi Ghat. What Sharukh has done with his so called experimental films lag miles behind what Aamir has done.
1. Take the case of Dhobi Ghat, made at a production cost of 5 cr, it has netted more than 15 cr in the theaters. Let Shahrukh act in a film costing 5cr and net even 5 crores.
2. Of course Shahrukh hasn’t yet acted in a 5cr film, so let us compare films where Sharukh and Aamir have made spl appearances. Always Kabhi Kabihi costing 5cr or so, with a credit title song by Sharukh made 3cr . Delhi Belly costing 20cr, with a credit title song by Aamir made 56 cr.
3. Billu a film directed by Priyadarshan, with a role for Sahrukh of length comparable to Aamir’s in Dhobi Ghat, fesaturing him in 3 songs with stars like Kareena, Priyanka and Deepika, earned , when the film’s cost was about 20cr.
4. Karan has been trying to say that films like Don 2, MNIK have been earning 70 cr or 100 cr because these were not ‘ massy’. Fair enough Don 2 and Indian Mission Impossible or Ocean’s 11 is being called not massy. MNIK, an Indian Forrest Gump is being called not massy. Ok. What happens when Shahrukh goes massy and acts in his strength genre in films that are universally accepted? OSO coming in 207, nets 79.42, which is actually less than the previous years’ highest grosser Dhoom 2 at 80 cr. It is just 12% higher than the second highest grosser of the same year Welcomne at 70 cr. Cut to 2008: RNBDJ netting 86.78 cr is just 9 % higher than the previous year’s top earner OSO at 79.42cr..
Compare that with what Aamir can do. Ghajini, which in its hard core action genre, is as new for Aamir as Don 1 and 2 are for Sharukh, does 114.67 cr. 44% more than the previous years’ highest grosser OSO at 79.42cr. It is 32 % higher than the second gighest grosser of the same year RNBDJ at 86.78 cr.
In 2009, Aamir does 3 Idiots , which actually is not at all massy. Based on an English novel by
Chetan Bhagat, based on the three engineering students and their ideological battle with the
strict disciplinarian principal and another student committed to rote learning, with no fights, item numbers, and songs like Give me some sunshine, All Izz Well, Zoobie Doobie, Behati Hawa sat ha who.. ( mind you no Munii Badanm, no Kha Ke paan Benaraswala, no Chhamak chhalo or no Thaam Lo), it is as offbeat as MNIK . But leave that aside. Take it as a massy entertainer. What does it do? It nets 2202 cr, 76% more than previous years’ highest grosser Ghajini at 114.67cr, and 200% more than yes 200% more than or 3 times that of the next highest grosser, Love Aaj Kal. !! Talk of Shahrukh’s stardom, when he comes anything close to this!!
5. Take Shahrukh’s ‘ experimental’ Ra One. With songs like Chhamak Chhalo, and Crimianl, with al that booty shaking and cleavage revealing, and a budget of 135 cr, it does 115cr. Mind you Endhiran a film in Tamil in the same genre nets more than 200cr.
6. And both Ra One and Don 2 have not been able to push the box office envelope much. It’s the reverse actually. The totals are lower than the biggest grosser of this and the last year ( Bodyguard, Ready)
7. But I still say, the performance of Don 2 is creditable. Because I do not believe that major star-actors like Shahrukh or Aamir should be expected to break records with each new film. What I expect from them is make worthwhile films that excite us. While I did not like Don 2, it is a step in the direction of good cinema and many have liked it as the 7.5 IMDB rating shows. But Ra One was a disaster and a step in the wrong direct. It was pathetic filmmaking as the IMDB rating of 4.9 shows.
December 31, 2011 at 2:25 AM
Agree with most of what is said here. I don’t know how anyone can put Don 2 and DG in the same boat. I will count DG as an Aamir Khan starrer though so his 100cr streak ends but his hit streak still continues!
on take 7, I sort of disagree, after seeing Salman Khan’s Ready break records and then come back barely 4 months later and have BG totally demolish records, we see that it can be expected for star’s to break records with each film. SRK’s RaOne broke first week records but just avalanched downhill after that. Don 2 should’ve broke that massive first week record of RaOne. But as everyone saw RaOne hurt SRK big time and it totally impacted Don 2 and its first day and opening weekend. It actually trended well during the week and ended up with a solid 71-75cr week so I agree with that.
December 31, 2011 at 2:33 AM
After Aamir made a film like TZP a 60cr hit, whereas you put any other actor in it and it wouldve done barely 10cr, I put Aamir ahead of SRK by then personally and after 2008-09 it only solidified his reign over SRK and then Aamir took a break and here came Sallu Bhai and totally destroyed everyone in his way including SRK. I say again and again, if SRK expects to be called the king of bollywood then back it up. He talks too much. You don’t hear Sallu or Aamir say ‘I’m the best, I am the king.’ That is what has totally turned me off about SRK. Then the fans are now left to say well he is still giving out hits outside his genre…blah blah…excuses. Hits are fine but if you want to be in the big boy league then back it up with big boy HITS.
December 31, 2011 at 9:46 AM
Utkal
Forest Gump is a modern retelling of the “Horatio Alger” story. It is a poster child for wide appeal. Compare that with MNIK, which is a fish swimming upsteam with a message that is in conflict with the very premise of a popular war, “The War Against Terror”. MNIK has a minority view (in all defination of the word minority) Vs Forest Gump possesor of the proven Horatio Alger appeal.
Ocean is about bad guy loosing (against lesser bad guys with some redeeming traits). MI is about an all around American Boy/Man winning. Once again I was bewildered how you can compare that with Don 2 where the most evil guy with no redeeming trait is shown as a winner.
Note, I have never disagreed to show any disrespect. Nor have I even taken a position under the influence of any affiliations. When I say that MNIK, RA-1, Don 2 are not main stream, feel good, massy entertainers thats is my “true” position. Let’s get beyond posturing, and if you don’t think it is, then come back with something that cannot be blown apart into a zillion pieces.
You mentioned 3I as not massy. Now how can that be in India where everyone is so obsessed with education that, for more than 50 years, in some cities, Mothers apply to primary school even before giving birth to their baby. Please make statements that do not trample any motivation to continue discussion.
I can expand more on this subject (SRK’s extra ordinary achievement vis a vis his contempraries) , but let’s do so only if we can discuss like adults without trying to pull each other down.
Let me know if you want to continue, I would like to because that is what civilized people do, i.e. discuss.
January 1, 2012 at 2:42 PM
”You mentioned 3I as not massy. Now how can that be in India where everyone is so obsessed with education that, for more than 50 years, in some cities, Mothers apply to primary school even before giving birth to their baby. Please make statements that do not trample any motivation to continue discussion.”
See, earlier it was not considered a massy film. Everyone said it was an urban film, had an English title, situational songs, and subject about education system won’t appeal to masses. When Indian media or trade analysts talk about masses, they include everyone – which means even the small town people, rickshaw-pullers/taxi drivers type audience etc. And no one expected 3 Idiots to do much at single screens or even overseas.
It’s actually the success and worldwide acceptance of this film which has shown how pervasive this education system issue is. It affects more people than we think.
It’s films like Dabanng, Singh is Kinng and Bodyguard which are considered ”massy films”. Action, drama, comedy, item songs, ”hit” songs, rona dhona, dialoguebaazi – films which have mish-mash of such elements are called ”massy films” – from what I understand reading commentary of Bolly trade analysts!
December 31, 2011 at 2:21 AM
Jeevan…Have you counted those 1600screens by yourself or still you are talking in air.Movie is released by distributers in theatres and every territory has many theatres whether multiplexes of single screens.Movie has not done well in single screens of B and C centres and it neither was supposed to do that.But single screens of A centres and multiplexes have compensated that loss for distributers of all territories.So first learn the boxoffice and then contribute here otherwise don’t make a joke of yourself.Pulling srk down will never make players a hit.I am not against players that can be a hit but on own merits not like this.
December 31, 2011 at 5:01 AM
Do you counted last penny of 70 crore which DON 2 collected in first week ? Obviously everything is estimates.
And let me break your one myth, if movie released widely at single screens and if it failed to perform, this gives exhibitors and distributors more losses than profits from multiplexes. SS is not easy game to exhibit movie. SS don’t share earnings, either distributor have to pay rent or they need to give some minimum guarantee of return, failing which distributor has to compensate to SS exhibitor.
Wider the release in single screens, bigger will be losses, if fail. DON 2 is DISASTER at single screens(Even at A center single screens) .. and these losses are huge to recover from multiplexes. DON 2 makers have done big mistake to release this movie in single screens. Aamir was smart in this case, his DB was released in 850 multiplex screens and just 125 single screens.
December 31, 2011 at 2:23 AM
Utkal,
Err. 3 I diots net was 202 cr & not 2202 cr !!! 202 cr is itself a daunting record… and now, the extra “2″ you have added will send SRK fanboys to hospital critical care units…ROFL…!!!
December 31, 2011 at 2:40 AM
Alright, so, just to put an end to this…here’s what I say. Aamir is the reigning king of box office hits as of recently. [Even though I found 3 Idiots JUST mediocre to decent, it did very well! No denial there].
SRK has had the most hits out of all the Khans, so, PLEASE don’t deny that.
Also, I’m an SRK fan…and please don’t even TRY to manipulate me into thinking that SRK is going downhill. And even if you think I’ll buy that, I’m an SRK fan mainly because I like the person SRK…even though I respect his acting talent, it’s the person him that completely amazes me!
SO, WANNA LEAVE IT AT THAT??? Or should we start another little squabble about that???
December 31, 2011 at 2:59 AM
To me Sallu is numero uno right now followed by Aamir and then SRK.
But noone is trying to manipulate any SRK fan into thinking that his reign is over. It’s just not as strong as it once was. Even I hesitated to think that but with his recent ‘decent’ BO prowess and others setting new standards, his reign is actually on the down slope. That doesn’t mean that he can’t come back with vengeance. YashRaj film should save him again as it has done in the past.
December 31, 2011 at 6:19 PM
Honestly, I believe Aamir’s number one. BO wise, Salman is probably # 2 then followed by SRK. I think the main reason is because Aamir has been getting the best of scripts. Salman’s films are total crap, but, it’s just people like him on the screen. Shahrukh has had a mixed bag with 2 awesome movies [MNIK and Don 2] and 1 disappointment [RA.One], but, people went to see RA.One more because of all the hype! Don 2 is released w/ relatively low hype and I think that’s why the numbers aren’t so brilliant. But, it’s nice to know that the film is actually sustaining well in India and it’s actually pretty much a rage right now where I am lol.
thanks for replying w/o offending!
January 1, 2012 at 2:56 PM
Aamir does not ”get” best scripts. It’s not like they fall in his lap! Read an article on him in HT last year, it says he reads each and every script. Even from new and unheard of names! Even if he sees a little bit of potential in any script he takes it up. Apparently he even made Raju Hirani do re-writing for 3 Idiots script! He doesn’t say yes easily or look for only for big names.
It’s nice to see an SRK fan saying Aamir is no. 1 currently. I meant ”refreshing” and unexpected from them.
I don’t think SRK is ”over” or something. Such reactions are there only due to the ”undisputed badshah” hype and some OTT stuff which media writes about him (trashing other stars in process) before release of his films.
He is currently doing well, but not as good as Salman or Aamir. But it’s just ”current” scenario. It can change any time.
December 31, 2011 at 12:20 PM
Arsh, all the 3 Khans have the largest and equivalent core fanbases. Every die-hard fan comes up with their reasons of one-upmanship, however, those reasons are barely visible at the junta level. The junta in general does not really care which of these Khan movies they watch, as long as it is decently likeable. Junta does not have any perceived #1 favorite, they feel the same about all the 3 Khans, which is totally counter to what you read on blogs with fans fighting each other till kingdom come.
There really is not much choice offered by Bwood. If a person watches 12 decent to good movies a year, 4-6 of those will be from the 3 Khans. Which is why at today’s capacity, all 3 should take a commercial movie to 100cr minm just by default, and depending on the script, they have the ability to give ATBBs.
December 31, 2011 at 6:17 PM
You are right. Actually I think it’s just that the Khans’ audience is spread out through different countries. For example, most of Salman’s audience is spread throughout India. Most of SRK’s audience is spread overseas. Aamir has fanbase just mixed in between. But this blog is giving the impression that SRK, as a star, is done. lol, but, w/e…I couldn’t care less about that. I’m an SRK fan, and I’ll stay as such!
thanks for the unbiased reply!
January 1, 2012 at 3:06 PM
Agreed sir! The Khans are the only ones who audience trusts and looks forward to their movies. Ordinary junta isn’t concerned with box office rankings, they love all 3 Khans for different reasons. These three are are most discussed and most followed stars both in India and abroad – each to different extent.
Honestly foreign fans ( I meant those who’re not of Indian origin) don’t exactly fight over them as much as we do. They rather wish to see them in a film together! Some even assume these guys are brothers (as they share same surname!).
January 5, 2012 at 12:14 PM
srk is in decline,only overseas is helping him otherwise he is judge by each films,here in UK even paheli and swadesh did well,not forgetting ashoka..over here when srk film releases its already packed houses,they do not even see any reviews ,pretty much whatever crap he makes its a sold house,typically pakistani comminities are situated well in northern part of england and particularly a town called BRADFORD ,its called nowdays brakistan,even a city like Manchester where I am living majority of shops,restaurants,takeaways,taxi-drivers is owned by pakistani comunity,they shops are even open on xmas days,amazing as what british people says to corners shops..
The point I am making is srk films will always do well ,its a “banker” even bookies will not take any odds of flopping srk film in UK, I have lived all my life here and I have never seen srk flop film..why srk likes London because his films are guaranteed sucess before its release..My wife is a srk fan and lately when watching Ra One she was appauled to see this crap..we got home and told me she will not bother to watch Don 2 at all.
srk has no monopoly nowdays,although he has challenged every stars on his way but a decline is on its way for srk..no escaping.
“what goes up must come down” srk is been at the top but its on his way down..
its good for neutrals that srk is declining otherwise bollywood would become such a boring ,imagine watching yash raj and karan johars films with a same star and same theme …
I think salman was awesome in ready and bodyguard,
amir was just superb in ghazini and 3I, would srk would have been good in these films..nope he would had looked proper idiot.
December 31, 2011 at 3:38 AM
aamir’s Fan: “on take 7, I sort of disagree, after seeing Salman Khan’s Ready break records and then come back barely 4 months later and have BG totally demolish records, we see that it can be expected for star’s to break records with each film.’
I am not saying stars cannot go on breaking records. What I am saying is that I am not interested in that and that’s not healthy fir the industry, if breaking records results in films like Ready and Bodyguard. I am happier with Don2 ( IMDB rating 7.5, REviewgang average: 5.5 . But yes, if records can be broken with film s like 3 Idiots ( 8.3 on IMDB, 6.5 on reviewganag) than that’s something else.
December 31, 2011 at 3:38 AM
Aamir can’t do Dhoom before July
http://www.mumbaimirror.com/article/30/2011123120111231020717278a21dc711/Aamir-can%E2%80%99t-do-Dhoom-before-July.html
Some interesting insight on Aamir’s next release, Talaash… “an intense edgy hard-hitting thriller. The film has music but no lip-sync songs. It has glamorous actresses Rani Mukerji and Kareena Kapoor, but none of the ingredients that go into a big Bollywood blockbuster. In short Talaash is an offbeat biggie.”
Hmmm, an offbeat biggie, this is a first of sorts…guess this may just fall under “experimental / non massy” !!! LOL !!!
As regards D3, not a big surprise at all…Aamir was originally scheduled to start from June onwards ( before Talaash was locked for June 1 )…now will wait till Talaash post & pre-release formalities…Abhishek & rest of the cast may begin shooting their portions a bit earlier. Don’t see it coming out before mid 2012 atleast…but it should be really worth the wait and will get a historic opening !
December 31, 2011 at 3:15 PM
Damn, the last chance to see Aamir as a villain expires on Dec 21, 2012. Wish he reconsiders his decision before we all die.
December 31, 2011 at 6:21 PM
uhh…Shubh, it’s an action thriller. You can’t really go too many ways with that. I think if you were judging by the trailers of Don 2, calling it a massy film, then, Talaash is practically right there.
January 1, 2012 at 3:17 PM
It is not exactly all action Arsh. Action is just a part of the film. It’s a suspense film, psychological thriller (it’s confirmed it has something related to mental illness or suicide in it as the team has been consulting psychiatrists for research). There is a probable supernatural element too (not exactly confirmed but widely rumoured). Some stuff like murder and extra-marital affairs. Aamir himself said it has a very strong emotional core.
Even trade analysts have said it’s not exactly an entertainer (as in 3 Idiots type) or massy film like a Ghajini.
I don’t think its ”massy-ness” is comparable to Don 2, which is sequel to an already successful film which was a remake of huge hit of same title in 70s.
Not giving excuses for it. But then the film isn’t even hyped up like SRK films which were hyped 2 years in advance. In real life, there is little awareness about Talaash, till 2 months ago even its title was not known. Aamir himself admits people assume his next release is Dhoom 3!
No use talking about Talaash as of now. We’ll see once the promotions begin and it finally releases.
December 31, 2011 at 3:44 AM
Is Raju’s PK inspired by Frost/Nixon?
Not confirmed yet..but Aamir & Hirani coming back again after 3 idiots sure is a thrilling prospect indeed.
Yet to see Frost/Nixon…have been dying to watch it for a long time.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/Is-Rajus-PK-inspired-by-Frost/Nixon/articleshow/11305089.cms
“Speculation is rife that the Aamir Khan-Raju Hirani’s political satire PK could have shades of the Oscar nominated Frank Langella-Michael Sheen film Frost/Nixon (2008).
But of course it will be aligned to Indian politics as against the Watergate scandal that the original threw light on. Raju’s film will also make room for a leading lady and some song-n-dance sequences that are Bollywood’s commercial format mainstay.
One hears that the film-maker’s ideal wish-list includes actors Aamir and Sharman Joshi for the roles of the journalist and the politician; Kareena Kapoor is hoping to be the female protagonist. Earlier, Aamir had said, “I don’t know anything about the film. I don’t even know if I am in it yet.”
The official spokesperson for PK said, “Nothing is known about the project. Raju sir hasn’t opened his cards to anyone; not even to his producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra.”
It is being said that Bollywood’s most respected director is still working on the final draft of PK and he will give Vinod Chopra and Aamir a narration when he is ready. However, the source who hinted to us that Raju’s next is a political satire says, “Since Raju’s film is the most awaited announcement, Naaz Building (Bollywood’s stock exchange) is full of rumours on what it could be. Everything around the project is definitely hush-hush, but one cannot discount any rumour.”
December 31, 2011 at 5:16 AM
@shub- By the way this thread has been created to discuss Don2 boxoffice and not about Amir and his movies.So my request to you is to do justice with the title of this thread at least.When a seperate thread on that topic will be created then you can dicuss him.
December 31, 2011 at 5:32 AM
actually this thread is for any box office matter and for that matter a lot of relatively unrelated stuff too that often doesn’t fit in anywhere else.
December 31, 2011 at 5:35 AM
December 31, 2011 at 5:41 AM
Players Gaining Steam?
by Foresight Analytics (December 31, 2011)
Don 2 saw reasonably good numbers at the box office in its opening week. The movie pulled the audience but put off the professional film critics. From the data in FilmTrac I do not expect Don 2 to carry through this week or the following with big numbers. It appears that most of Shah Rukh Khan’s fans have seen the film during the first week. The others in the film neither have a strong role nor have a huge fan following to keep the film running at a good pace.
Players has gained a few points on the FTI a week before its release. It has moved up from 29 to 32 on FTI. Interestingly, the improvement in FTI numbers of the film comes from Spontaneous Awareness (SA). The jump in SA is about 10.0 per cent points in just one week. With an increase in SA and FTI, Players will open in the range of Rs 20-25 crore.
What makes the film gain a substantial SA in just one week without any huge increase media visibility?
There are a number of reasons and the key reason is the star power. Don 2 had been dominating the mental space of the audience for quite some time. In fact the FTI of Don 2 was stable even on the day of the release of The Dirty Picture, the runaway hit of 2011. The stability of the FTI came from the domination of Shah Rukh Khan who was the key driver of this film. Once the film was released, both the film and he vacated the mental space of the audience. A part of this vacant space has now been occupied by Players and Abhishek Bachchan. In the coming week I expect Players to gain a few more points on FTI and become a reasonably good film at the box office. The numbers for this film will come from men and women in the 25+ age group.
What is generating the audience interest?
Over and above the lead actors, the story of the film is a strong driver. Quite often the audience cannot make out what to expect in a film based on the trailer and hence they are unable to guess the genre of the film. However, this confusion does not exist in Players. A large proportion of the audience classifies the movie as a thriller and hence the audience expects a well made movie full of action.
Will the movie go for the gold?
The first day of the opening week will show its true colours.
Among the movies scheduled for release in January, 3 Bachelors has a FTI over 10. It is doubtful whether the movie will manage to retain the FTI in this range. The FTI of the other movies is quite low and none of them is expected to show a significant improvement. Hence, apart from the first week there is little for the audience in January till the release of Agneepath.
Agneepath continues to stay on top with an FTI of 42. For the movie to become a big hit the FTI should move up to the 47-50 range. It has the potential to get in to this range in the next three weeks. The Bollywood bang in January next year will be with Agneepath, despite its association with the Indian cricket team that showed very little agni and travelled a path littered with their own wickets.
A very momentous year is ending in just a couple of days. The year saw some very big hits. Salman Khan held the reins of the box office firmly. The younger actors, Ranbir Kapoor and Ranveer Singh, have made an impact and the industry should expect a lot from them. But, the year will be remembered for Vidya Balan and The Dirty Picture who was really the game changer.Foresight Analytics wishes all the readers of Box Office India and that of this column a Very Happy New Year.
http://www.boxofficeindia.co.in/players-gaining-steam/
December 31, 2011 at 5:49 AM
check out how some of these films were being called a week ago or so (on page 13):
http://www.boxofficeindia.co.in/wp-content/uploads/magazine/issue119/index.html
December 31, 2011 at 5:42 AM
Why This ROI ROI ROI Di?
by Sagorika Dasgupta / Rohini Nag (December 31, 2011)
Unlike the year before, 2011 saw a number of successful films and, for the first time, a handful of them managed to break the Rs 100 crore mark. It was thus a profitable 12 months for producers, exhibitors and distributors. Now, before we ring in the New Year, we asked tradewallahs to name the top three films with the highest return on investment (ROI) domestically
Jaymin Panchal, ASA Productions
The top three films of 2011 would be The Dirty Picture, Singham and Murder 2. The Dirty Picture had low production costs and collected a total of Rs 82 crore in domestic and international markets. Its all-India distribution rights were sold for Rs 18 crore. With the revenue from music and satellite rights, the film must have earned more than Rs100 crore. Singham made a huge profit as well. Murder 2, with its low production costs, also had very good returns.
Girish Johar, Head – Distribution & Acquisition, Motion Pictures
This year, there were many films that did well. But if I were to rate them, I would definitely say The Dirty Picture has earned the highest return on investment, followed by Murder 2. The third spot would go to either Delhi Belly or F.A.L.T.U.. All these films did very well at the box office, satisfying the consumers and partners associated with it in all levels in the three key parameters of success…entertainment, entertainment and entertainment!
Apoorva Mehta, CEO, Dharma Productions
The three films that had the best return on investment this year are The Dirty Picture, Murder 2 and Bodyguard.
Rajesh Thadani, Multimedia Combines
The top three movies of 2011 were Bodyguard, Singham and The Dirty Picture. At Rs 75 crore, Bodyguard had the best return on investment, while Singham collected around Rs 60 crore. The Dirty Picture, with its low cost of production, had a fabulous run at the box office.
Gaurav Verma, VP Distribution-India, UTV Motion Pictures
The three films that earned the highest return on investment this year were No One Killed Jessica (NOKJ), Tanu Weds Manu (TWM) and Murder 2. All three films had low . While NOKJ grossed Rs 30 crore, TWM and Murder 2 grossed Rs 39crore and Rs 44 crore respectively. of all three films was huge hits too, so these films earned good revenue from their music too.
Ajay Bagbai, Rajvi Trade Link
According to me, the top three films in2011 were Murder2, Zindagi Na (ZNMD) and Singham. The India rights for Murder2 were sold at Rs 13.5 crore and it collected Rs 46 crore at the box office. ZNMD made double its production cost in returns and Singham, with its all-India distribution cost at about Rs 40 crore, managed to cross the Rs 100-croremark and earn excellent profits.
Balkrishna Shroff, Shringar Films
The top three films in2011 were Bodyguard, Ready and The Dirty Picture. These films have earned maximum returns domestically and made large profits.
Sanjay Ghai, Mukta Arts
Bodyguard, Ready and Singham were the top films this year, in terms of return on investment. These films also managed to woo the masses in every circuit. With high costs of production, each of these films crossed the Rs 100-crore mark at the box office and doubled returns for all investors.
Surendra Saluja, Lakshya Movies
The year 2011 has been extremely profitable for our industry. films crossed the Rs 100-croremark and many low-budget movies grossed outstanding business at the box office. The top three films were Bodyguard,Singham and the recent sensation Don 2. All are Reliance Entertainment products, hence their price is unknown, but their production costs were high and their returns exceptional.
Sarang Chandak, Shri Rang Films
Singham, Bodyguard and The Dirty Picture were the top films this year in terms of returns. Singham and Bodyguard both gained maximum profits by crossing the Rs 100-crore mark. Recent low-cost release The Dirty Picture was one film that gained 100 per cent profit.
Jeetu Khandelwal, Movie Pioneers
The top three films of2011 were Bodyguard, Singham and The Dirty Picture. Each earned exceptional returns, with Bodyguard and Singham running for several weeks in each circuit. The Dirty Picture, with its low production costs, managed to make a mark with extremely well-defined profits.
Abdul Hafiz Nadiadwala, Friends Movies– Mumbai
This year, the The Dirty Picture, Singham and Bodyguard were the most profitable films in terms of return on investment. The Dirty Picture gained around 40 percent profits due to its low cost of production. Singham had a profit of 35 per cent and Bodyguard made 30 per cent. Singham and Bodyguard both crossed the Rs100-crore mark, even though they were released within a month of each other. This hardly ever happens.
Vasudev Chachan, Sunny Films
Vidya Balan-starrer The Dirty Picture has been the best film so far this year in terms of returns on investment. Having a low cost of production and domestically costing about 18 crore in distribution, the film managed to garner more than Rs 30 crore in theatrical profits in India alone. Bodyguard, meanwhile, was a high-profile film that had a profit of more than 50 crore theatrically and Murder 2, with its low production costs, garnered Rs 20 crore in returns.
BH Basha, Bahar Enterprises
The top three films based on their all-India returns on investment would have to be Bodyguard, The Dirty Picture and the recent release, Don2. Bodyguard domestically garnered the maximum theatrical returns. The Dirty Picture, due to its low cost and price, also garnered profits. Don 2, which was released last week, has managed to gain profits in a short span and will earn more profits in the near future.
Rakesh Sippy, BRA Enterprises
The Dirty Picture, with80-per cent returns on its all-India investment, is the most successful film of 2011.Bodyguard, which garnered about 25 percent returns domestically, and Ready, with30 per cent acrossI ndia, are the other two 2011 releases that did very well. Singham and films like Murder2 tie with these films.
Debashish Dey, Aum Moviez
The top three films of 2011would be Bodyguard, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and Murder2. Each film garnered maximum eturns on investment. Bodyguard had approximately Rs 70 crore to Rs 80 crore returns across India. ZNMD had returns of about Rs 50crore and Murder 2, with its low cost of production, gained about Rs 25 crore in returns domestically.
Amod Mehra
I think this year’s top three films strictly in terms of return on investment would have to be Bodyguard, The Dirty Picture and Murder 2, strictly in that order.
Aman Gill
Based on their returns on investment, the top three films of 2011 would be The Dirty Picture, Murder 2 and Bodyguard. The Dirty Picture, had revenue of about Rs 37 crore – or 85 per cent returns. Murder 2 made Rs 25 crore, or 78 per cent returns. Bodyguard made Rs 80 crore with an investment of 45 crore, about 77 per cent in returns.
N R Pachisia
The top three films this year were The Dirty Picture, Singham and Bodyguard. These three films had the best returns on investment domestically. The Dirty Picture, which is still running in theatres, will most likely have a return of 80 to 85 per cent eventually. Singham had 65 per cent returns and Bodyguard had 55 per cent returns.
December 31, 2011 at 5:44 AM
Agneepath Is Racing Ahead
by Box Office India (December 31, 2011)
With the response Karan Johar’s Agneepath is receiving, not just in the trade but from the audience, expectations are sky high. Last week, we told you that the film was tracking fantastically in Film Trac (being tracked by Foresight Analytics) and also Trade Trac (again being tracked by Foresight Analytics).
According to Film Trac, Agneepath is the most-awaited movie of 2012 among the audience, while according to Trade Trac, it is the hottest film in trade circles. Last week, tradewallahs believed it would reach the magical Rs 100-crore mark. Now they’re confident it will cross that milestone. Way to go!
http://www.boxofficeindia.co.in/agneepath-is-racing-ahead/
December 31, 2011 at 6:03 AM
“Abhishek made us wear black jackets” – Abbas Mustan: Part 2
By Devansh Patel, Dec 31, 2011 – 12:26 IST
Abbas Burmawalla,Mustan Burmawalla 2012 Bollywood begins with a heist and talking about Players, don’t mark down Abbas-Mustan not being one. They are big time Players when it comes to chasing box office successes. Trace their last decade and you’ll know how successful they have been in their heist at the box office. The typical setting of a thriller movie is an urban city with colours used from black to grey to white to emphasise the helplessness of characters. Welcome Abbas-Mustan, the colourful duo who’ll always be spotted in crisp white from top to toe. Their thriller movies are filled with rainbow colours and their characters emphasise strength. And even though they’re masters in twisting the thriller genre in the most unexpected manner, you’ll see Abbas-Mustan sitting quietly on their director’s chair in front of the monitor, call their shots, pack up, go to the edit table and present you with Bollywood’s best thriller movies you’ll ever see on the wide ‘white’ screen, and Players is heading towards being yet another masterstroke by master craftsmen Abbas-Mustan. UK’s Harrow Observer columnist and Bollywood Hungama’s London correspondent ends the year 2011 with quite a ‘thrill’ and one of them is seeing Abbas-Mustan wearing ‘black’. Shocked? Read on and find out!
“We were in Moscow when we got a call from Bipasha and she was jovial and so excited to be a part of Players”
We had to go to Russia for some urgent work regarding Players and by that time we had already approached Bipasha to play a part in our movie. We told her to listen to the script in a narration we had kept for her rather than her reading the script. Thrillers are better heard than read we thought. We were in Moscow when we got a call from Bipasha and she was jovial and so excited to be a part of Players. The day we landed, that same evening she came over to our office and the rest is history.
“Bipasha looks hot in her bikini and she did not object one bit to wear it”
Bipasha worked out for three months before her shoot in New Zealand as she wanted to look at her ‘fit’ best. We gave her the New Zealand schedule dates and she hit the gym with full force. Bipasha looks hot in her bikini and she did not object one bit to wear it as the scene demanded it. She was very open to suggestions and she too gave her valuable inputs. When she walked out of the waters, the crowd went in frenzy. She was looking hot.
Abbas Burmawalla,Mustan Burmawalla “Every film we make is bigger than our previous movie”
It’s just not the cast who are termed as Players. We too are Players as directors. Our editor and brother Hussain too is a Player. Same with our DOP Ravi Yadav, and though we not necessarily run behind gold (laughs), we do run behind the making of a blockbuster movie. Players is one project we feel we’ve put a lot into. Every film we make is bigger than our previous movie and we’ll make sure that it’s as good an investment as gold.
“Bobby plays a magician in the movie who creates illusions”
Bobby Deol is the surprise package in the movie. He plays a magician in the movie who creates illusions. It will take the audiences by surprise. He has been a dear friend and he’s the only actor who has worked with us in most of our movies. He’s a sweet chap and his acting abilities are really underrated. We’ve got the best out of him.
“Abhishek made us wear black jackets after a lot of persistence”
The great thing about Abhishek Bachchan is that he will listen to you carefully throughout the entire narration. But on the sets, he is a complete director’s actor. He will only do what the director tells him. He told us, “I want to go with your conviction and your vision. Please tell me what to do and I will do just that”. And of course as we all know, he is a complete prankster. He did make us wear black jackets (laughs).
“We met AB’s and Aishwarya’s cute little daughter. Only time will tell whether she turns out to be a prankster like her dad”
We met Abhishek and Aishwarya’s kid. She is so cute and adorable. She did give us the look just like Abhishek Bachchan does (laughs). Only time will tell whether she turns out to be a prankster like AB (laughs).
December 31, 2011 at 6:03 AM
part 1:
http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/celebrities/features/type/view/id/2921/2921
December 31, 2011 at 6:20 AM
Trade Talk:
Vikram fans from all walks of life ensured that the opening weekend has impressive attendance. With holiday season around, the movie’s collections are likely to stabilize.
http://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movies-slide-shows/movie-4/top-ten-movies-dec-26/tamil-cinema-topten-movie-rajapattai.html
December 31, 2011 at 6:20 AM
Sify have mysteriously not even updated for the same period.
December 31, 2011 at 9:41 AM
taran_adarsh taran adarsh
#Don2 Week 1 Rs 75.32 cr. Week 2 Fri Rs 4.44 cr. Total: Rs 79.76 cr nett.
December 31, 2011 at 9:42 AM
Don 2 Heads For 17-18 Crore Second Weekend
Saturday 31st December 2011 16.30 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Don 2 is set to have a very strong second weekend as collections were very good on Friday with many places having collections better than Thursday. The second Friday collections are around 4.25-4.50 crore nett. Many multiplexes had better collections than Thursday while single screens were lower.
The drop is around 65-70% from its first day but that is very good compared to the drops seen in 2011 for major films.
Saturday and Sunday should show good growth and the weekend should head towards a 17-18 crore nett total which would give Don 2 the second best second weekend of 2011 after Ready.
December 31, 2011 at 9:47 AM
this is just spin.. if the film makes as much as they’re saying over the second weekend it will have roughly a 25 crore week. That will bring it to 100 crores roughly but this will be the final total of the film pretty much. Because Players then releases. It’s unlikely to add anything significant when it’s dropping so much unopposed. Note how going by the trending of the first Don which too started sluggishly this film should be doing 140-150 crores! At 100 crores 75% of its gross will have come in week 1. That is not a successful film by any stretch of the imagination, and certainly not at that budget. I have pointed out Salman’s poor trending relatively-speaking but his films had far lower budgets but also have minimally done 120 crores on lesser screens. There’s no comparison.
December 31, 2011 at 11:15 AM
Satyam
As we move forward, more and more of the total revenue will be collected by the end of the first week itself. Increasing market penetration by multiplex outlets will ensure faster collection.
This suits producers also because everyone prefers a higher NPV. Moreover prolonging even a sure-shot revenue stream is an exposure to potentially adverse events (no one wants that).
If possible producers would like all revenue ( Idealy ) in the first show itself. This is where we are headed by design.
December 31, 2011 at 3:26 PM
that’s true but it still isn’t so for the true blue hits. Even in Hollywood this isn’t the case. The films that truly strike a chord with the audience sustain quite well. The stuff that is merely passable entertainment makes a big run in the initial going with the right star and/or project combo and then fizzles out quickly. Bollywood unfortunately is attempting much more of the latter. Very few genuine films are made anymore. This doesn’t however mean that it’s the only way possible. In recent years films as different as RNBDJ, Ghajini, Rajneeti, 3I, Singham, ZNMD have trended very strongly and all of these had very different initials and so on.
December 31, 2011 at 3:58 PM
As the market becomes more efficient this trending factor will disappear.
In the west as Home Theatres make more in roads, we are seeing movies come faster to pay per view. Already popular movies get to discount movie halls within 15 days.
Things are changing, I don’t even see cable shows (e.g. Boardwalk Empire) at their regular times. A new world awaits us, and in that workd our present prisms will collect dust on shelves in antiques centers.
I am very worried that, in the near future, we won’t have any reasons to fight.
Happy New Year to all.
December 31, 2011 at 4:41 PM
as I said that theory doesn’t hold up.. people have been saying this for the better part of a decade and yet many films in this period have trended very well.. every year and including this one! The same goes for Hollywood.
December 31, 2011 at 5:10 PM
and by the way this sort of front-loading is not evidence of a more efficient market.. this is what the nonsensical box office reporting of the Bombay trade has one believe when they want to call films hits just off the initial. If it were possible to run a profitable business model this way it would have been done in Hollywood before all else. But it’s just the opposite. Forget about a film making 75% of its gross in week 1, in Hollywood films are routinely called disappointments or flops for doing far better than this. One of the classic examples here is Shayamalan’s the Village which opened around 60m, did 90-100m and was called a flop. The Lost World was considered something of an under-performer because though it made 220m, 90 of those came in the first 4 days or something. This was a far cry from Jurassic Park which made 60m initially and ended up at 350m or so. More recently we’ve had the Dark Knight not to mention Avatar, films that have trended enormously well in the most ‘distracted’ society on the planet. I have already provided the Bombay examples. As I said earlier Don 2 is a far cry on trending (if the BOI weekend number turns out to be correct) from the earlier Don, which itself was always a bit sluggish (though stable) and which also had JeM as competition! You can’t keep spinning the argument every which way just to favor a favorite star. These are fictitious business models which do not exist anywhere in reality. Messrs Nahata and Taran come out with phone figures and phony evaluations that make such films successes or ‘plus’ or whatever. The reality is far more complex than this. Plus there’s a certain slippage in the logic here when SRK is first of all called a huge star or whatever and is then given credit for bringing in good or better initials. That is the definition of a major star! You don’t get credit for doing this ‘basic’ stuff. Similarly throwing out a number like 100 crores or whatever without proper analysis doesn’t mean anything either. One must have the sincerity and integrity to a)have the same standards in every case b)go where the numbers and other factors lead one. To just keep spinning arguments to favor one’s star and pulling these rabbits out of a hat might be a good example in propaganda but it hardly persuades anyone.
December 31, 2011 at 7:10 PM
In Hollywood it is these days simply a matter of determining whether a movie collected a certain threshold %age of the potential. Hence if M Night was supposed to deliver 300 Mil and just got to 100 then he failed. On the other hand Tom Cruise was considered damaged goods and because MI4 performed better than expected (especially in a slow market) it is a hit. Now evn if MI4 underperforms vis a vis others in the MI series, it will still be consider a hit, only because it surpassed it’s potential.
But those issues are of a different dimension, a seperate disusion. As far as collection is oncrned, Money comes front end loaded in an overwhelming majority of the cases.
True, there are exceptions (two kinds). In one case unexected trending kicks in. In such cases, people sit up and scratch thieir heads and try to figure out how things went “wrong”. Heads sometimes roll when this happen.
In the other case, a movie is intentionally opened small to allow WOM to build. The reason for this is simply because some movies need to build an audience.
Leaving aside movies that are intentionally opened small, trending if it exist is a sign of a screw up, something not desired.
December 31, 2011 at 8:18 PM
Actually that’s not true at all. No one expected 300m from the Village. They just found the overall total poor relative to the initial. The same for Lost World. And no major movie opens small in Hollywood. That is so only for offbeat stuff or less commercial fare where it’s a series of limited engagements initials or much fewer screens. So I’m afraid you have no case in terms of this analogy at all. The bottom line is: in Hollywood they don’t consider figures like 100m or 200m or whatever absolute. It’s all relative to the scale of the film, the budget, the trending and so forth. They slice and dice things so many ways that even a film that makes 250m and is otherwise considered good might receive an asterisk for being behind its previous installment by just 20% or off by about 10% for the comparable blockbuster releasing around the same time the previous year. Because again there’s no agenda here. They’re not in to prove that Tom Cruise is a huge star or that Will Smith is bigger or smaller or whatever! Similarly if it is about Cruise the bar is higher. No one says, hey Cruise just made 100m this time but that’s still better than most films or that the film made 200m worldwide!
January 1, 2012 at 10:40 AM
Satyam
I understand that “Trending” is your centerpiece. My response is not to show disrespect.
The factors you have mentioned are important and part of pre (pre) production. Budgets are set, stars in front of the camera and behind are booked with these factors in mind. Along the way expectations increase and decrease, but once things start rolling everyone is just focused on delivering what is uniquely expected of the project/movie. Every movie has it own potential and people associated with the movie attempt to rise to this unique potential.
Just like in a shooting range you cannot fire without a target, this unique potential is the target. Everything is addressed with this as the objective.
Now when I mentioned M Night I was just using some numbers for illustratative purposes. I don’t understand why you are translating that to actual numbers. Yes there are no arbitrary 100 Mil / 200 Mil benchmarks. Things depend on the script etc etc. As stated (repeatedly), every movie has it own potential. In Hollywood an experimental movie is not expected to make the same money are a massy entertainer. Neither is the bar set higher because of the presence or absence of personalities.
Now using MI4 as an example, it was not expected to be as huge as it turned out. Remember that all this talk is relative to the movie’s own “unique” potential. Hence MI4 may not do as well as others in the MI series. Perhaps its BO will end up being very insignificant compared to Avatar, but no one really cares about those kinds of comparasion. People here would not call Don 2 a flop because it did not make as much as BG. All that matters is that MI4 has to beat its expectation/potential.
If N Night had beat the unique expectation that he himself was working towards, his movies would have been a hit. Same for the other movies that you ave mentioned. The good part is that there is no surprises and no hurt feelings. Right from the get go everyone knows what is expected. There is a completely absence of irrelevant BS associated with any movie. A movie makes it or breaks it based on clear benchmarks.
On a tangent, I am perplexed that you say that there is nothing like a small release (limited) except in case of off beat movies. Maybe you define all movies that start off on a limited basis as off beat, and that is fine, but the list of movies that intentionaly start on a limited scale is very long. Just a sub set of those movies that start on a limited release (not for reasons we have mentioned previously) to qualify for awards is long (e.g. War Horse).
The point is that trending does not make or break a movie.
January 1, 2012 at 11:18 AM
no trending is not ‘my’ centerpiece.. it’s the way things are done in every ‘professional’ industry in the world. But it’s not only about trending. even on the budget these are very expensive films and the stuff Nahata and others throw out is quite false. They make the numbers match somehow, doesn’t mean they’re being truthful.
January 1, 2012 at 11:39 AM
We may not be contradicting each other. Trending does proved insights, it is important, but people get paid for delivering or surpassing “quotas”.
Trending is like the smoke after sex, but no one gets together for that opportunity to smoke, also that smoke is only enjoyable if you “hit” the spot, otherwise it is just blame game.
January 1, 2012 at 11:42 AM
I don’t think we’re saying the same thing at all.. I am very much contradicting you! A film that makes most of its money in week 1 and is profitable on that score is to my mind the stuff of fiction for any industry of the world. Unless it’s of course a film with a low budget or a film which has at least a modest budget relative to the terrain and so on.
January 1, 2012 at 12:00 PM
Clearly then we disagree.
I am emphasizing the bottom line while you are not satisfied till all the numbers above it are properly “right aligned”.
January 1, 2012 at 12:33 AM
sat and sun both are holidays ..from 48 cr to 17 cr is hardly that glittering and there is a big release next week which will capture most of the screens (infact most )
may end up at 100-105 cr
disappointing
January 1, 2012 at 12:36 AM
also yesterday on media every known analyst had decared ra one as flop to average ….nahata was again an exception calling it above average
how the heck some site has hit as verdict when trade unanimouslly has decaled it as big failure
such sort of thing doesn’t left you with any credibily whatsoever
December 31, 2011 at 10:25 AM
Don2 week 3 is likely to effect first week collections of players as there is no big star in the film.Don2 is doing quite well and particularly in overseas and collecting 125cr in its first week itself suggests that film is on its way to become blockbuster worldwide.I wonder why people who once used to be writers for communal site IBOS, are still feeling that hangover.
December 31, 2011 at 12:14 PM
i think it was BOI that reported that Don 2 could be cross 4 million in the US. i dont think there is any chance of that happening, the movie has no repeat value. Based on the reviews from some non SRK fans on this forum, I actually ventured out to the theaters to watch the movie and was sorely disappointed. To think that SRK fans actually consider his performance to be once of his best makes a mockery of his body of work (however limited it may be). His facial expressions were OTT, I actually thought performance in the songf mujhko pehchaan lo was better than any scene in the movie. IMO the first movie was so much better than this one.
As far as SRK is concerned, the fact that this act is applauded and that the movie is a relative success does more disservice to him. I would rather watch him in Swades or CDI or even OSO.
December 31, 2011 at 10:30 AM
I shall feel extremely happy if players could cross 30cr in its life time.
December 31, 2011 at 10:30 AM
Happy new year Satyam and all
Chillin out tonite
Party hard
But be safe : don’t drink n drive
And say no 2 drugs (but not to …)
Hahaha
December 31, 2011 at 3:26 PM
thanks Alex, the same to you..
December 31, 2011 at 10:53 AM
Also special new year greetings to the uncles,
Prateek, shubh, rockstar,Q, nykavi, aamirfan and the ladies
Amy ,Sm, oldgold
And others I’ve forgotten
C’mon any new year resolutions?
And atleast for this party day–give Srk/ box office a break folks
Let the fun n games begin ……
December 31, 2011 at 12:43 PM
What The fuck? Everything’s going to the gutter these days on Indian Television..
Watching Star Plus right now and watching an awards function (Big Star Entertainment Awards) in which Bodyguard wins most entertaining music award (whatever the hell that means) and Ladies V/s Ricky Bahl wins Best Choreography award.. !!
Its beyond being cringeworthy.. unless you can sit back and want to revel in the awesomeness in a guilty pleasure sort of way ! like you’re watching Gunda or Jaani Dushman..
December 31, 2011 at 1:38 PM
Happy New year sattu
and all fellas!
December 31, 2011 at 1:39 PM
satyam :- i am still facing problem of posting from mobile, any idea? why this is happening?
as now i use a tab phone, i use that, and unable to comment here
December 31, 2011 at 3:23 PM
no idea Rooney, others regular comment here through their mobiles.
January 1, 2012 at 10:55 AM
cool man!! i will get it check by a mobile expert friend of mine! its reallly irritating to type a comment and cant be able to send thru, there might be a need for a different browser may be.
December 31, 2011 at 3:23 PM
thank you Rooney, wish you the same..
December 31, 2011 at 1:54 PM
HAPPY NEW YEAR rooney, satyam, rajen, ideaunique, sm, saket, alexadams,kingkhan, karan, arshkalra, oldisgold,jayshah, qalandar, abzee, shubh, jeevan, utkal, aamirsfan, munna, Bhalomanush, Nykavi and others..
Its been a treat reading all your discussions and POVs on this blog..
May we get to see some outstanding cinema both from India and the ROW..
Lets rock 2012 !
December 31, 2011 at 3:22 PM
thanks much Tony.. the very same to you..
January 1, 2012 at 5:24 AM
Thanks Tony.
January 1, 2012 at 10:55 AM
Thnks Tony!!!
January 2, 2012 at 5:27 PM
Happy belated new year to all!
January 2, 2012 at 6:24 PM
thanks Jay… wish you the very best too..
December 31, 2011 at 2:32 PM
Happy New Year to all especially Satyam for maintaining this site!
December 31, 2011 at 3:23 PM
thanks much Tyler.. the same to you..
December 31, 2011 at 4:35 PM
Decay in second weekend is faster than I had expected.Not more than 110 crores at this rate.
December 31, 2011 at 8:12 PM
No disrespect to Salman fans…usually, I don’t like this kinda stuff, but, I found this funny!
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=245829205489269&set=a.243659802372876.57066.243561762382680
December 31, 2011 at 8:15 PM
I’m behind all of you guys…I’m still stuck in 2011 for another ~ 6 hours.
December 31, 2011 at 9:28 PM
Happy new year to all friends and members of this site and thanks a lot tonymontana for remembering me on this occassion.
December 31, 2011 at 11:51 PM
don 2 3rd week willl be good, it should reach 120cr, players has no buzz or good music, and to top it all it has a investment of 80-85cr, BOI and komal are anti bachans, so a big flop will be declared by them on day 1.
January 1, 2012 at 5:09 AM
DON 2 is Disaster in 1600 single screens, and huge losses of these 1600 single screens is not possible from collections from1500 multiplex screens. Overall below average.
January 1, 2012 at 3:14 AM
All said, what are the actual Fri-Sat numbers?
BOI havent said anything..
January 1, 2012 at 5:23 AM
BOI even forge first week numbers. From Friday to Wednesday, they had 65 Crore, they didn’t report for Thursday, but on 8th day Friday, they said 4.25 Crore which is better than Thursday. This means Thursday should be less than 8th day ? and should be 4 Crore at best (as per BOI commentary). So first week comes to 69 Crore at best. So from where remaining 3 Crore came ? 7 Crore on Thursday was not possible at all, and even if it was 7 Crore Thursday then Friday can never be 4.25 Crore given that number of screens are same and no new release.
And mind it, i just caught their Thursday forgery, what about remaining days ??
January 1, 2012 at 6:29 AM
I don’t think it’s “forgery.” That extra 3 cr probably comes from the dubbed versions. People are not always being explicit when they are giving numbers for the Hindi version only, and when for all languages together.
January 1, 2012 at 6:50 AM
“Don 2 had very good first week at around 71 crore nett for its Hindi version and a further 2.50 crore nett for its regional version.”
http://boxofficeindia.com/boxdetail.php?page=shownews&articleid=3870&nCat=
Even if its 71 Crore, from where these two Crore came ? And as i said, i just caught Thursday forgery, god knows how much daily numbers be manufactured. Amod mehra on news channel is claiming 62 Crore for week one.
January 1, 2012 at 7:29 AM
I stand corrected.
January 1, 2012 at 7:59 AM
No .. you was wrong. They are saying 71 Crore Hindi version, while it shouldn’t be more than 69 Crore based on my above calculations ?
January 1, 2012 at 6:29 AM
January 1, 2012 at 9:19 AM
It does invite suspicion that they’re not providing day by day numbers..
January 1, 2012 at 9:35 AM
suddenly Taran too isn’t tweeting the daily numbers! These guys are all so predictably compromised..
January 1, 2012 at 6:56 AM
I don’t understand if DON 2 is doing well, how come multiplexes reduces the show .. just to half ?
6 Shows this week :
12 Shows last week :
January 1, 2012 at 6:56 AM
Satyam, please correct the images.
January 1, 2012 at 7:13 AM
12 was too much. 6 is good. It’s still collecting well. No sense in scattering them around.
oops! It wasn’t my plan to comment when I came here with very good intentions.
January 1, 2012 at 7:31 AM
Great to see you back, Old Gold! I’m glad you did comment.
January 1, 2012 at 8:27 AM
Happy New Year everyone !! Have a great 2012 ahead !!! Here’s looking forward to some really quality films in the new year !!!!
January 1, 2012 at 9:56 AM
shaileshkapoor Shailesh Kapoor
Gosh, so much negativity against Players. New Year mein kuch toh positive socho
3 hours ago Favorite Retweet Reply
shaileshkapoor Shailesh Kapoor
See! RT @agntsmith007: @shaileshkapoor New dialogue promos show it will be unintentional comedy . #players
3 hours ago Favorite Retweet Reply
January 1, 2012 at 9:57 AM
shaileshkapoor Shailesh Kapoor
@
@c_aashish Official remake hai. Kitna spoil kar paayenge?
3 hours ago Favorite Retweet Reply
January 1, 2012 at 9:59 AM
Players is 167m, so around 3h, so it will have less number of shows
CilemaSnob fightclub
. aur opening weekend bet? sm1 tweeted its 167min long!!! @Navjotalive
@
@shaileshkapoor great! duniya umeed pe kayam hai
3 hours ago Favorite Retweet Reply
January 1, 2012 at 10:25 AM
@shaileshkapoorShailesh Kapoor
I may be in minority, but I have good expectations from Players. The men in white generally don’t dish out bland stuff.
@shaileshkapoorShailesh Kapoor
In this case, even the source material is reliable. May not get the best opening, but may just end up sustaining well beyond Sunday #Players
January 1, 2012 at 10:12 AM
Aamir’s Talaash most awaited 2012 film
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Entertainment/Bollywood/Aamir-s-Talaash-most-awaited-2012-film/Article1-789740.aspx
“If trade experts are any measure to go by, this year seems cut out for Aamir Khan. The actor tops the most-anticipated film list with his forthcoming release, Talaash, where he plays a cop.
Talaash marks Reema Kagti’s second outing as a director. And although, her first, Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd (2007), didn’t exactly set the cash registers ringing, Reema’s upcoming thriller remains widely awaited. Backing her this time is the Dil Chahta Hai (2001) team — Farhan Akhtar, Ritesh Sidhwani and Aamir Khan— who will co-produce this film.
Co-written by Zoya Akhtar and Reema, Talaash is being made within a budget of Rs 40 crore and its satellite rights have already been sold for Rs 40 crore, six months before the film’s release.
The excitement among fans is no less — three fake posters are already doing the rounds online. The film is expected to release on June 1.
Salman Khan, whose film Ek Tha Tiger (ETT) is being directed by Kabir Khan, came second on the list. It marks Salman’s entry into the Yash Raj camp, and will see the Dabangg (2010) actor with former ‘girlfriend’ Katrina Kaif after five years. Incidentally, last year, his films Ready and Bodyguard (2011) raked in Rs 130 cr and Rs 150 cr respectively. ETT is slated to release on Eid, which has proved to be lucky for Salman for two years — Dabangg and Bodyguard.
Dabangg 2 at number four seems to be another crowd-pleaser in the making. Poor reviews of RA.One and Don 2 are not reason enough to write off Shah Rukh Khan just yet, say trade experts. This year will see King Khan return to what he does best — romance. He will be seen in Yash Chopra’s untitled Diwali release, after the director’s seven-year-long hiatus (Veer Zaara, 2004).
Karan Johar’s Agneepath, which revisits the 1990-Amitabh Bachchan blockbuster, stands in fifth place. Hrithik Roshan plays the lead in this film directed by newbie Karan Malhotra. This Republic Day release is already creating a buzz with its slick promos and Katrina Kaif’s item number Chikni Chameli… Some trade experts feel, if this film works, Hrithik could give tough competition to the Khans.
Ajay Devgn’s Singham was his first film to cross the Rs 100 crore mark in 2011, and the actor teams up again with Rohit Shetty in Bol Bachchan, which releases on July 6 and is ranked number six.
After a string of flops like Thank You and Desi Boyz, Akshay Kumar desperately needs a hit. With seven films slated to release in 2012, and maximum money riding on him, it could well be a make-or-break year for the Khiladi. Prabhu Deva’s Rowdy Rathore (at number seven), releases on June 15 and could help break his jinx.
Method:
Fifteen top trade and industry experts were asked to name the three films of 2012 they’re awaiting the most. Number 1 film was given three points, number 2 got two points and number 3 got one point. Then these points were added up. Aamir Khan’s Talaash led by six points making it the number one film of 2012, followed by Salman Khan’s Ek Tha Tiger and Yash Chopra’s next with Shah Rukh Khan.
Talaash: 26 points
Ek Tha Tiger: 20 points
Yash Chopra’s next: 19 points
Dabangg 2: 13 points
Agneepath: 9 points
Bol Bachchan: 2 points
January 1, 2012 at 11:05 AM
Let’s not expect the same BO as BG/Ready/Dabang from Talash, but lets see if Aamir can break Don 2′s BO with Talash ? If he does, we all gain. If he does not, I will feel his pain. I am rooting for Aamir.
I am also rooting for Abhishek to shatter all BO records with Players, a massy entertainer with songs & dance, multiple heros, multiple ladies, Abbass-Mastaan, a remake of major BO hit. If he does, we all gain. If he dies not, well I won’t be dissapointed, because Abhishek never raises to the level we exect of him.
January 1, 2012 at 10:20 AM
How & why Aamir Khan will define India in 2012
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-company/corporate-trends/how-why-aamir-khan-will-define-india-in-2012/articleshow/11317457.cms
Aamir Khan
46 years, Actor/Producer
Sector: Entertainment
Career Milestones:
First big hit: Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988).
Home production Lagaan nominated for Oscars (Foreign Film) in 2001.
First directorial outing, Taare Zameen Par, a big hit (2007).
3 Idiots (2009) became the highest-grossing (Rs366 crore) Bollywood film.
Highest-paid brand ambassador, Rs14-15 cr a year; charges Rs15 cr a film
Why Him:
Because the quiet Khan will become a game changer across entertainment formats. This year, he will cross over to the other side, television. He’s also ready with his first film as an actor in two years, Talaash, and will round off the year with Dhoom 3.
Lately, Khan has become infallible. Everything he touches turns into gold, making him the highest paid brand ambassador in Bollywood charging Rs15 crore a year per endorsement. It will be interesting to see if 2012 will add to his sheen.
His 2011:
Produced Dhobi Ghat which launched wife Kiran Rao as director and branded him as a ‘thinking’ producer.
Became the national brand ambassador of Unicef to promote nutrition & child rights.
Named his new-born son Azad Rao Khan: it might start a new trend of gender parity in naming kids.
Delhi Belly, another production, created space for intelligent toilet humour in Bollywood.
What Next:
Unlike other actors, Khan hasn’t picked a reality or a game show to make his TV debut. Instead, he will be anchoring a show on social issues. It will be dubbed in eight languages – a first for any Indian actor’s TV venture.
When not working on the show, Khan will be busy with Reema Kagti’s Talaash, due to hit theatres in June 2012. It is a co-production with Dil Chahta Hai team Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar’s Excel Entertainment.
Co-starring Kareena Kapoor & Rani Mukherjee, Khan plays a cop in the movie. He’s also the new bad guy in the third edition of Yash Raj Film’s super successful biker-cop franchise Dhoom. Plus, he is planning a spinoff of his character Disco Fighter from Delhi Belly.
Aamir was the original choice for SRK’s role in YRF’s Darr (1993). When it didn’t work out, he refused to work for the Yash Raj camp until Fanaa in 2006.
Who Else: Anurag Kashyap (39 years) & Dibakar Banerjee (42 years)
Two indie directors who aren’t Bollywood sellouts. Kashyap hit jackpot with Dev D. In 2012, he will be directing Gangs of Wasseypur and producing Aiyaa.
Kashyap has a knack for spotting new talent: from directors Raj Kumar Gupta, Bejoy Nambiar and Sanjay Singh to music director Amit Trivedi and actors Kalki Koechlin and Rajeev Khandelwal.
Banerjee, unlike typical Bollywood directors, makes slice-of-life movies – simple stories, simply told. In January, he will be out with Shanghai. After LSD, India’s first film on digicam, any film Banerjee makes is to watch out for.
January 1, 2012 at 11:05 AM
@rajeevdash
Rajeev Dash
@shaileshkapoor pathetic choice of cast for the movie..Its destined to fail..
shaileshkapoor Shailesh Kapoor
Point. RT @my_name_is_tilu: @shaileshkapoor those men in white directed TARZAN … You remember ???
4 hours ago Favorite Retweet Reply
January 1, 2012 at 11:21 AM
Power, don’t clog up the forum with two tweets per response.. either wait and collect more or show more restraint.. this also doesn’t mean that you start putting up every negative tweet from every Tom, Dick and Harry because this has no value.
Amused to see some of the old-timers return.. yourself, RajeevDash (through you).. ha! The SRK fans can never quite bury the Abhishek ghost!
January 1, 2012 at 11:06 AM
@Abinash03111992
Abinash Gupta
@shaileshkapoor but d promos of players r so DULL, like a small budget film! Also its short n none of d songs r being played!
4 hours ago via Mobile Web
Favorite Retweet Reply
Abinash03111992 Abinash Gupta
@
@shaileshkapoor just hope its not another GAME, KHALEY HUM JEE JAAN SE, DUM MARO DUM, RAVAN 4 abhishek bachchan!I’ll b 5 disasters in a row!
4 hours ago Favorite Retweet Reply
January 1, 2012 at 11:16 AM
compared to Shailesh Kapoor (Ormax Media) Nahata is a huge Abhishek fan! But if he’s being forced not to agree with the ‘mob’ out there it’s probably good news for the film!
January 1, 2012 at 11:07 AM
Players shd easily do more than Don 2. It has a much younger cast which suits the thriller genre better. Also with Abbas-Mustan at the helm, it shd appeal to single screens as well. Anything less than 50 cr weekend is unacceptable considering Don 2 itself did 48.
January 1, 2012 at 11:16 AM
Prasad
Nothing less than a new BO record is expected. Even a dime less than the high water mark, no lets make it even a penny less, makes Players a failure. At least that is how SRK films are judgged.
It is not enough for Players to make as much as Don 2. Players is a massy entertainer. Players has to break the all tine record of BG/3I. Overseas it has to break MNIK/3I’s records. Even a penny less makes it an utter flop.
January 1, 2012 at 11:20 AM
Just so that people understand, I am being sarcastic. I just expect good entertainment.
Realistically I don’t think it will make much at BO, Abhishek films never do. But if it entertains than that is OK
January 1, 2012 at 11:24 AM
Given Abhishek’s recent box office run 50 crores over the weekend is too high a bar.. it would be possible if he had a better box office run leading upto this.. and this is so for any star.. Wanted didn’t open like Dabanng or Ready or BG.. but today it too would open the same way and probably trend better than at least two of those films.. DMD was a positive for Abhishek but not enough in box office terms.. surprises can always happen but it’s rather unlikely here.. a 50 crore weekend means he’s opening films at the level of Aamir or Salman. That’s not really probable at this point.
January 1, 2012 at 11:52 AM
DMD just reconfirmed the fact that BO cannot be and will not be Abhishek’s calling card. BO is extreme high heat grilling and Abhshek does not even enter the kitchen. People have to move beyond BO (vis a vis) Abhishek. Try and find something you can enjoy in his movies or move on. Pointless making same arguments. There is no forced requirement to see his movies and hence no need to bitch. See it if it brings joy or stay away. But let’s not expect to extract blood out of stone, it not gonna happen.
January 1, 2012 at 11:16 AM
@Prasad….I shall be more than happy if it crosses 30cr lifetime as it has been since Guru when any jr B’s movie has crossed this magical figure.
January 1, 2012 at 11:46 PM
Guru and B&B was close to 50 Crore in 2005 and 2007.
January 1, 2012 at 11:19 AM
komal nahata is anti bachans, same with BOI
January 1, 2012 at 11:24 AM
@Prasad….I shall be more than happy if it crosses 30cr lifetime as it has been since Guru when any jr B’s movie has crossed this magical figure.So lets hope this movie ll do it this time.
January 1, 2012 at 2:58 PM
Prateek and shub are new guys/girls making v good points
Keep it up
And oldgold–best wishes
Welcome back
Plz give us some gossip/what were u upto(when not in the H)
Lol
January 2, 2012 at 4:48 PM
Not a ”girl”.
January 1, 2012 at 3:28 PM
I’m not a regular here, still Happy New Year everyone! Nice to read the blog, engaging debates. Already a fan of Mr. Satyam’s writing!
January 1, 2012 at 8:43 PM
Tom Cruise Is Again a Box-Office Draw
By BROOKS BARNES
LOS ANGELES — Tom Cruise appears to have left behind his weird period, at least at the North American box office.
“Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol,” which features the 49-year-old Mr. Cruise scaling buildings and sprinting through sandstorms, repeated as the No. 1 attraction at movie theaters over the holiday weekend, taking in about $31.3 million for a three-week total of $134 million. “Ghost Protocol,” directed by Brad Bird (“The Incredibles”), has sold over $200 million in scattered release overseas.
The upshot is that Mr. Cruise, with lots of help from Hollywood public-relations wizards, has restored sizzle to a career that was cold just a few years ago because of reactions to his strange public behavior (the “Oprah” couch-jumping moment), controversial views on the use of antidepressants and his belief in Scientology.
A blockbuster is a big moment for Mr. Cruise, whose most recent event films (“Knight and Day,” “Valkyrie”) have disappointed an industry used to stratospheric results from him. Notably, Paramount’s corporate owner, Viacom, blamed Mr. Cruise’s behavior and subsequent mockery by the news media for a weak opening weekend for “Mission: Impossible III” in 2006.
Movie-ticket sales across the board for this past weekend totaled $164 million, a 3 percent increase over the same period last year, according to Hollywood.com, which compiles box-office data. Contributing were better-than-expected results for two films that struggled in recent weekends: “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” (Warner Brothers) was second, taking in an estimated $22.1 million for a new total of $132.1 million, while “Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked” (20th Century Fox) was third, selling about $18.3 million in tickets for a new total of $94.6 million.
But it was another aging star — Steven Spielberg, 65 — who caught Hollywood’s attention over the weekend. Proving naysayers wrong, Mr. Spielberg’s “War Horse” caught wind and finished a surprisingly strong fourth. “War Horse,” which drew prerelease scorn from many in Hollywood for its overt embrace of old-fashioned cinematic storytelling, took in almost $17 million for a total of roughly $43 million since opening on Dec. 25.
A Walt Disney release of a DreamWorks Studios production, “War Horse” probably benefited from solid word of mouth; moviegoers gave the film an A– grade in exit polls.
Exactly what type of moviegoer supported the film was unknown. Dave Hollis, Disney’s executive vice president for distribution, said standard demographic information was unavailable because of the holiday. “It’s playing well in both upscale and heartland theaters,” Mr. Hollis said, adding that he expected “War Horse” to have a “steady run” in theaters over the coming weeks as attention focused on contenders for the Oscars.
“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” (Sony Pictures Entertainment) continued to underperform expectations in fifth place, selling about $16.3 million in tickets for a two-week total of $57.1 million.
January 1, 2012 at 8:44 PM
must take back some of my earlier words… MI4 has held up a lot better than I expected.
January 2, 2012 at 6:50 AM
thank you satttu!!
This is tom cruise, the last superstar of hollywood! and boy he is back!
January 1, 2012 at 8:46 PM
It’s Sun night and still neither Taran nor BOI have any of the day by day numbers. This is classic. This film probably isn’t adding much at all at this point. BOI predicted a 17-18 crore weekend. They would have mentioned had it been more than this. It might even be less than they’ve predicted. Fri was already called at 4-4.5 crores with jumps expected on Sat/Sun. Perhaps these didn’t materialize. Nahata is also totally silent on it.
If I were a betting man I’d say this film isn’t going to touch even 100 crores in all probability. Even the week one 70-75 crore number is I suspect a bit inflated. But in any case the game now is to just drag it somehow to the 100 crore finish line.
January 1, 2012 at 8:48 PM
ok Taran now has Fri at 4.44 crores and Sat at 6 crores and his numbers have been higher than BOI’s. That basically 10 crores for 2 days. and according to taran this includes the Tamil and telugu numbers. It’s really nothing much for a second weekend given all the contexts. He’s calling it at 85 crores through the second Sat using the highest numbers and including all versions and I suspect even with all of this he’ll find it hard to drag it to 100 crores.
January 1, 2012 at 9:09 PM
@Satyam…In second weekend no trade site updates collections daily for any film and why do u think they ll do it for Don2.You seem to be more curious than makers about knowing its second week collections.Anyway film has collected more than 8cr on Sunday and it is very good.This film is going to hold well in weekdays of second week also.Just be patient as the figures are being updated by all major trade sites in a couple of hours.
January 1, 2012 at 10:18 PM
Alex,
LOL…Am very much a boy…thanks !!
January 1, 2012 at 10:26 PM
Satyam,
Don 2 most likely will cross 100 crore…however the larger issue which has been raised earlier, is that a final domestic tally of 105-110 cr. ( Hindi )is simply not good enough considering the magnitude of release, favourable release period & most importantly coming after a major disappointment like Ra.One.
January 1, 2012 at 10:53 PM
Also must add here that I had gone on Sunday to catch “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” at nearest multiplex…was fairly packed with New Year crowd queuing up for Don 2…So Sunday figures would definitely be higher than Saturday & weekend should end approx. 18 cr. How the film sustains post-New Year & through 3rd weekend is what is going to decide whether it crosses 110 cr. and touches Ra.One’s final tally. “Players” is going to take away a substantial chunk of multiplex screen space in coming week, which is another factor.
Wow !!…Tinker Tailor made for fascinating viewing & is unlike any spy thriller in recent memory…challenges the viewers’ sensibilities to the utmpst..may not appeal to everybody especially those who prefer fast paced variety like Bourne & MI series…the film boasts of some of the finest British actors who are in top form. Will surely watch this again ( assure you that it is difficult to absorb many of the plot points & twists on first viewing !! )
January 1, 2012 at 11:02 PM
Shubh
Does the high print count change the population of India ? How about the size of the market ?
Just by itself high print count only makes access easy/convinent, but not much more ? Unless increase in print count is also accompanied by increase in locations that were previously not serviced at all by movie theatres.
Think for a moment, if tomorrow BMW, which already has showrooms in NYC, punches 10 more showrooms in NYC will that significantly increase the sales of its car ? Not really because the extra showroom does not increase the disposable incomes of people in NYC. When incomes rise, sales of BMW will also rise. We can likewise list other relevent factors that would influence sales for BMW, but number of showrooms is not a significant factor at this point for BMW.
January 1, 2012 at 11:48 PM
DON 2 second weekend comes at 13-14 Crore for Hindi version. 10 Days total is 74 Crore now. Don’t think this will cross 100 Crore now.
January 2, 2012 at 12:13 AM
Karankumar,
Couldn’t get exactly the point you are trying to make…huh ???
For your information, there has been an increase in no. of screens by way of new multiplexes being set up in many new towns/ smaller cities in India. It is not as if screens are getting added only in major metros / larger cities. So your argument of “increase in locations that were previously not serviced at all by movie theatres” & market not expanding does not hold at all !! The fact is that many new locations in India have add substantial screens added in last 4- 5 years.
January 2, 2012 at 8:16 AM
Shubh
I am sorry, I thought I had made the correlation issue very simple. Let me explain again. The increase in the number of screens does not have the kind of impact you think it does. Hence stick with what you know.
January 2, 2012 at 12:29 AM
@Jeevan…I think you haven’t still come out of BHTB hangover as the lifetime collections of that movie were 13-14 cr.
January 2, 2012 at 5:48 AM
SRK ko 70 saal mein kaam bhi nahi milega .. forget 50 Crore collections at age 70 in Aarakshan.
January 2, 2012 at 8:41 AM
King
A lifetime collection of 13+ Cr is very sad, but in today’s world with the freshly re-calibrated yardstick, it is beyond pathetic. Today, for some, 50 Cr in one weekend is not good enough, hence 13+ Cr is extreme rejection.
Hopefully the same crowd that went nuts that Don 2 MEREY collected 50 Cr in its first domestic weekend, the same crowd that termed 75 Cr first domestic full week as outright rejection, WILL be kind to Abhishek’s Players.
January 2, 2012 at 2:25 PM
If Abhishek and Shahrukh are stars of the same magnitude perhaps the same standards can be used..
January 2, 2012 at 10:37 AM
Yeah, you are right. Life time collection of 3.5 Crore(Dulha Mil Gaya) is beyind pathetic. In today’s word when even 70 years old man can generate 50 Crore on his own(Aarakshan) .. A self proclaimed king not even able to fetch 3.5 Crore, this is really beyong pathetic.
January 2, 2012 at 12:33 AM
Don 2 Has Excellent Second Weekend
http://www.boxofficeindia.com/boxnewsdetail.php?page=shownews&articleid=3876&nCat=
Don 2 had an excellent second weekend as it collected around 18.50 crore nett plus as per early estimates. The collections for the Hindi version were 4.25 crore nett on Friday, 6 crore nett on Saturday and around 8.25-8.50 crore nett on Sunday.
The second weekend is the second best of the year after Ready which grossed around 20 crore nett on its second weekend. The collections for the Hindi version in ten days are around 89.50 crore nett. If we include the regions version then its around 92 crore nett and in all its versions it will cross the 100 crore nett mark in two weeks while the Hindi version will be close to the 100 crore nett mark and possible hit it if weekdays hold up very well.
Don 2 has held up very well at the box office and its second week collections are likely to be the fifth best ever after Three idiots, Dabangg, Golmaal 3 and Ready. The holiday period has helped but it any film putting up big numbers today is helped by holidays apart from a rare case like Ready.
January 2, 2012 at 12:37 AM
Pretty much on expected lines what we have been discussing…Sunday being New Year’s Day has expectedly shown a larger jump…now to wait for week-days & 3rd weekend for likely final tally.
January 2, 2012 at 12:39 AM
I told 2 hours before BOI that this film has collected more than 8cr on sunday.
January 2, 2012 at 12:50 AM
Don 2 Week One Territorial Breakdown
Don 2 (Hindi) collected 70.75 crore nett approx in week one. The first week distributor share is 41 crore approx. Below is the first week territorial breakdown of the film.
Mumbai/Thane – 10.04 crore
Gujarat – 5.92 crore
Saurashtra – 1.41 crore
Maharashtra – 4.95 lakhs
N Karnataka/Goa – 80 lakhs
Mumbai Circuit – 23.12 crore
Delhi City – 7.01 crore
Delhi/UP – 14 crore
East Punjab – 6.20 crore
West Bengal – 4.60 crore
Bihar – 1.64 crore
Assam/Orissa – 1.17 crore
CP Berar – 2.79 crore
CI – 2.28 crore
Rajasthan – 4.06 crore
Nizam/Andhra – 4.17 crore
Mysore – 4.93 crore
TNK – 1.95 crore
TOTAL – 70.91 crore
January 2, 2012 at 12:51 AM
Sorry, didn’t add the link to last one
http://boxofficeindia.com/boxnewsdetail.php?page=shownews&articleid=3875&nCat=
January 2, 2012 at 2:51 AM
Shub: don’t be sorry ^^^
U r doing v well, ‘buoy’
Cheers
An not a big office afficianado
So what’s the summary till now-for ra1&don2
Total gross and net ( till now) in one sentence plz-thanx
January 2, 2012 at 3:05 AM
^typo-not a ‘box’ office aficionado
Meanwhile somewhat happy to see cruise back in form after all that Scientology and antidepressant weirdness
And good to see dragon tattoo underperform-somehow never really interested
War horse needs to be checked out anyhow-it’s spiel mate!!
It’s been the year also of the
Puss in boots and
The puss with boobs (dirty picture -haven’t seen/won’t see ever)
shub : thanx for reminding about tinker soldier…have been trying to ignore I for a while. One do my friends found it good but somewhat ‘slow’ & tedious
(no wonder: she is an Srk fan)
Is it worth checking out
January 2, 2012 at 3:19 AM
Alex,
As I mentioned earlier,Tinker Tailor is a 60-70′s style complex, cerebral spy thriller which moves at a unhurried pace ( not tedious by any means !! ) but will not appeal to majority of today’s young audiences who have got used to the fast paced spy thrillers. The period setting, background score, art direction, performances all top notch !
Have been told by people that prior reading of John le Carre’s classic novel of the same name would help in understanding the finer plot points.
Definitely worth checking out !! Planning to read the book now.
January 2, 2012 at 3:26 AM
Definitely looking forward to War Horse & Hugo by the 2 modern day masters, Spielberg & Scorcese.
Both look like strong contenders for the Oscars.
January 2, 2012 at 3:35 AM
Shub : have seen Hugo on 3d
Went for a premier showing
A v good film with definite appeal and amongst scorceses best
Had put up my views somewhere on this blog
Maybe it was sleep deprivation or what -but slept for half of it ….lol
But then with me -u never know…
Better check it out and let us know what u feel
January 2, 2012 at 3:31 AM
Thanx shub
Yes: never had doubts with this films ‘class’& ‘merit’
Only have doubts about my own ‘patience’ lol
As for reading the book-I admire and envy u
Neither have the time nor the patience for any fiction
Typing quick stuff on keyboards is more than enuf hahaha
Ps did anyone check out rum diary–dont think anyone saw it (other than Depp!!)
January 2, 2012 at 5:47 AM
Its better than DON 2.
January 2, 2012 at 7:13 AM
Midweek: ‘Don 2′ heads towards 100 cr
January 2, 2012 at 7:27 AM
Btw some of the nominations have just been announced by Zee Cine Awards. Not surprisingly (going by the awards’ standards), SRK has been nominated for both Ra One and Don 2, and Bodyguard is in race for Best Film!
Zee Cine Award for Best Film
Singham
Bodyguard
Don 2
Rockstar
Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
The Dirty Picture
Zee Cine Award for Best Actor
Ajay Devgn – Singham
Ranbir Kapoor – Rockstar
Salman Khan – Bodyguard
Shahrukh Khan – Ra One
Shahrukh Khan – Don 2
Hritik Roshan – Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
Zee Cine Award for Best Actress
Kangna Ranaut – Tanu Weds Manu
Katrina Kaif – Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
Kareena Kapoor – Bodyguard
Priyanka Chopra – Saat Khoon Maaf
Vidya Balan – The Dirty Picture
Zee Cine Award for Best Director
Imtiaz Ali – Rockstar
Milan Luthria – The Dirty Picture
Farhan Akhtar- Don 2
Rohit Shetty – Singham
Zoya Akhtar – Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
Siddique – Bodyguard
Zee Cine Award for Best Song (Sa Re Ga Ma Pa song of the year)
Character Dheela – Ready
Oh La La – The Dirty Picture
Chammak Challo – Ra One
Sadda Haq – Rockstar
Senorita – Zindagi Milegi Na Dobara
Char Bajh Gaye – Faltu
Zee Cine Award for Male International Icon
Ranbir Kapoor
John Abraham
Farhan Akhtar
Imran Khan
Akshay Kumar
Zee Cine Award for Female International Icon
Katrina Kaif
Sonam Kapoor
Kareena Kapoor
Anushka Sharma
Vidya Balan
http://www.indicine.com/movies/bollywood/zee-cine-awards-nominations-2012/
January 2, 2012 at 7:04 PM
Three idiots of bollywood SRK, Karan johar and Aditya chopra spoiled award system for their films to win awards.Before 90s filmfare awards equated to oscars awards.Its amazing how these guys getting support from every one including award organizers ,reviewers,TV channels and now websites Now articles floating everywhere to support Srk’s Don2. Trade guys like Taran ,Komal and fake box office site like BOI and SRK’s sycophants like Abid and Joginder tuteja try their level best to prove that Don2 is hit .
January 2, 2012 at 7:45 PM
Even during the 80s, the award system was a sort of quid pro quo between stars and magazines. During his self-imposed media ban, Amitabh got nominated every year, but never won for any movie at the peak of his superstardom. I think he went almost 10 yrs without any Filmfare award. The Indian Awards Circus has always been a circus only.
January 2, 2012 at 7:29 AM
Shah Rukh Khan to work with Ghajini director?
If all goes well, SRK will work in another action film, directed by AR Murugadoss, after the success of Don 2. A remake of south film Ramana, the film deals with an anti-corruption theme, reports Subhash K Jha.
The film would be produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali who has acquired the remake rights of the 2002 Tamil hit. SRK has apparently already said yes to the project, according to Jha.
“I will be directing the Hindi version of Ramana. Shah Rukh and I have talked about the film,” Murugadoss confirmed to Jha.
About Ramana
Ramana, made in Tamil, was a blockbuster directed by AR Murugadoss. The film starred captain Vijaykanth and Simran. The film was remade in Telugu as Tagore with Chiranjeevi in the lead and then in Kannada as Vishnu Sena with Vishnuvardhan in the lead role.
Plot
Ramana is all about Vijayakanth who decides to abolish corruption once for all with the help of his students who are now working in various government offices. The reason behind this powerful decision is told in the flashback.
January 2, 2012 at 7:47 AM
I thought Tagore (Telugu) came before Ramana (Tamil). In any case, after Tagore released and became a hit, I remember reading that Sunny Deol had acquired the rights to remake it in Hindi. This being 2002 or so, it would have fit him perfectly, and I was looking forward to seeing it. But the film never got made for various reasons (including Sunny’s back injury, I guess). I must say I can’t see SRK in this role at all.
January 2, 2012 at 7:48 AM
And how come the oh-so-artistic Mr. Bhansali is remaking all these Telugu masala flicks?
January 2, 2012 at 8:19 AM
The artist woke up and found hs fridge empty
January 2, 2012 at 7:18 PM
But when did Bhansali made original films except perhaps Khamoshi?
Regarding the news hope it’s not true. SRK should not go for these south remakes.
January 2, 2012 at 9:27 PM
Looked at that way, I suppose it makes sense.
Even Khamoshi is believed by some people to be a copy of a European film.
But in that case I guess it’s the choice of subject matter that baffles me, though perhaps his sensibilities as a producer are bound to be different from those as a director.
January 2, 2012 at 9:55 PM
“perhaps his sensibilities as a producer are bound to be different from those as a director.”
Completely agree here. And also i will say it’s very good move by him. He also needs finance to make movies like Guzarish or Black which are considered not quite safe at the BO.
January 2, 2012 at 9:14 AM
Aniruddha Guha picks the top 10 movies of 2011
http://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report_aniruddha-guha-picks-the-top-10-movies-of-2011_1631967
ZNMD, Delhi Belly, Stanley ka Dabba & Dhobi Ghat present in most lists..quite deservingly so !!
“Each year, Bollywood comes up with films that move you and ones that you’d not even want to be paid to watch. Aniruddha Guha picks some of the best films of the year.
10. Dirty Picture
Vidya Balan. That’s what makes The Dirty Picture a must-watch. Unabashed and daring in her portrayal of southern siren Silk Smitha, Balan charted territories Hindi film heroines stay away from usually. The film had its flaws (the second-half meandered into pointless sub-plots), but it’s still a great watch, thanks to some good dialogue-baazi, courtesy Rajat Aroraa, great performances by Balan, Naseeruddin Shah and Emraan Hashmi, and two good numbers, ‘Ohh La La’ and the Tamil song, ‘Nakka Mukka’. The Dirty Picture, number 10 on this list, is the crowd-pleaser of the lot.
9. No One Killed Jessica
Rajkumar Gupta’s cinematic telling of the Jessica Lal murder case gave Hindi film audiences a chance to bite into a rare well made life-inspired drama (we needn’t look far, RGV botched up the Neeraj Grover murder case in his Not A Love Story this year). Gupta, while keeping the essence of the event intact, made NOKJ a compelling watch, and gave us an unlikely hero – Rani Mukherjee.
8. I Am Kalam
I Am Kalam, for me, was the surprise package of the year. The first I heard of it was when child actor Harsh Mayar won a National award for it. However, I wasn’t still prepared to be blown away by Nila Madhab Panda’s moving tale of a boy who works at a roadside dhaba in Rajasthan, but yearns to be educated. Chances are you haven’t watched the film yet. Source it from where you can and give it a look. You won’t be disappointed.
7. 7 Khoon Maaf
Contrary to some very contrasting opinions about the film, 7 Khoon Maaf was one of my favourite films this year. Daringly different from what most other filmmakers have to offer, Vishal Bhardwaj chose not to take the safe route in his fifth feature film. The strange tale of Sussana Johaness, who killed her six husbands one after the other, the dark and trippy film may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but is brilliant in its own way. Thank you Bhardwaj for not opting to make Kaminey 2 instead.
6. Rockstar
Ranbir Kapoor delivered what will probably go down as a career-defining performance in Imtiaz Ali’s modern adaptation of Heer Ranjha (the filmmaker says the influence was unintentional.) In spite of Nargis Fakhri in the worst debut imaginable for a lead actor (she was so bad, Ranbir came out looking even better), Rahman’s soulful music and Ali’s dexterity at handling a slightly complex subject made Rockstar immensely enjoyable. Again, not a film lapped up by everyone, Rockstar did get a lot of cinema enthusiasts talking though.
5. Dhobi Ghat
Kiran Rao’s debut film worked for its myriad characters, and the presentation of Mumbai in a manner hitherto unseen. A different kind of cinematic exercise than what we are used to in our films – more character-driven than plot – Rao drew us into the world of her characters, leaving us curious bystanders wanting to know how their stories unfolded. Yasmin the Muslim girl from a small-town discovering Mumbai was my favourite of the lot. Gustavo Santaolalla’s lilting score was among the best of the year.
4. Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster
Tigmanshu Dhulia, having shown tremendous potential in his debut film, Haasil, delivered and how. His modern take on Bimal Mitra’s novel Shaheb Bibi Golam was riveting, to say the least. In Jimmy Shergill and Randeep Hooda, Dhulia got two strong lead actors both of whom played off each other’s contrasting personalities beautifully. The film, though, was a real benchmark in dialogue writing in contemporary Hindi cinema – entertaining, but with depth. The Dirty Picture’s dialogues may have won over the front-benchers, but SBAG was the film with the best dialogues in 2011.
3. Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
Zoya Akhtar can now claim to have made a truly memorable road film, a rarity in our movies. The beauty of Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara wasn’t in its story, but in the little moments Zoya managed to capture deftly. With three good actors in the lead, Abhay Deol being the pick among them, Zoya transported us to Spain in a journey that proved to be life-altering for her characters. The film reminded me of Sofia Coppola’s Somewhere, and is probably the one you’ll enjoy re-watching the most in the list.
2. Delhi Belly
Delhi Belly, easily, was the most entertaining film of 2011. Also, contrary to other Bollywood success stories, this film saw the writer getting the maximum adulation after release. Akshat Varma wrote what is probably the most irreverent film in recent times, breaking a number of stereotypes along the way. With some really enjoyable dialogues (‘Sir, londry’), a song that became the anthem of the year (‘Bhaag DK Bose’) and some great performance by Kunaal Roy Kapur and Poorna Jagannathan, DB was a hell lot of fun.
1. Stanley Ka Dabba
Stanley Ka Dabba is a real cinematic triumph. Amole Gupte shot the film with school kids over weekends on a Canon 7D and with minimal fuss and budget. But it had soul, and touched you in a way few films do. Gupte, who had written the stirring yet slightly over-the-top Taare Zameen Par, kept the hyperbole minimum, letting his heartwarming story take over instead. Simple yet brilliant, Stanley Ka Dabba was the knockout film of the year. And very easily, the best.
January 2, 2012 at 10:19 AM
http://www.hindu.com/mag/2010/08/29/stories/2010082950040200.htm
Unmatched innings
With his fourth biography to be published soon, actor Dilip Kumar looks back at his seven decades in Bollywood.
“This is one of the stories in thespian Dilip Kumar’s fourth biography, written by his wife Saira Banu. This comprehensive biography of one of India’s greatest actors has initiated a lot of curiosity since it was announced five years ago.
Films like “Andaz”, “Jogan”, “Daag”, “Foot Path”, “Devdas” and “Ganga Jumna” stand testimony to his versatility. Even today viewers remember his ro Nina ro in “Andaz”, as he shows Nargis the photo of her late father and helps her get over the shock of his death.
He sips a cup of black tea and gears up for an interview about his biography and glorious career spanning around seven decades in films.
Tell us more about your biography.
It will not be repetitive. I do not believe in or allow repetitions. My earlier biographies were by Vinita Lamba, Sanjit Nawrekar and Lord Meghnad Desai.
Saira Banu who knows me the best has written exhaustively about my childhood at Peshawar, education, family fruit business, the pains of Partition and my career at length with special mention about my Bengali films, Pari and Sagina Mahato.
It also does not hide my famous romances (laughs). I am confident it will be of interest for readers and my admirers for whom the book is really meant.
Satyajit Ray described you as the ultimate method actor…
Did he? I consider it a great compliment from India’s most acclaimed director. We shared a warm rapport and I feel bad I could not work under his direction. Had I, perhaps my greatest performance would have been extracted by him.
My tragic performances required method acting as there was a matter of meter and chord for each shade in my performance. But when I shifted to light-hearted, comic characters in “Aan”, “Azad”, “Kohinoor”, “Leader” and “Ram Aur Shyam” I tried my best to transcend method as it has its limits.
I learnt to play the sitar for one and a half years before the Madhuban mein Radhika nache re sequence in “Kohinoor”. It had to be spontaneous yet real. Similarly, when Salil Chowdhury requested me to lower my voice by three notes to sing Lagi nahin chute Ram in “Musafir”, I did not opt for any method.
How did you succeed in Bengali films?
I wanted to learn Bengali and deliver my dialogues with conviction after being influenced by talented directors like Amiya Chakrabarty, Nitin Bose, Bimal Ray and Hrishikesh Mukherjee. Script writer Nabendu da, who penned “Devdas” and “Yahudi”, was also instrumental in my learning Bengali.
The other director from Bengal with whom I felt satisfied as an actor was Tapan Sinha. For the sequence in “Sagina Mahato” where I plead innocence in the people’s court, I dubbed 19 times. I was so inspired by the scene and felt I was not able to modulate my voice properly. Tapan finally said, “Yusuf, enough” and used my 18th take during the dubbing.
Tell us about your relationship with Raj Kapoor and Dev Anand?
If I am a legend, so are they. We shared a mutual set of unspoken ethics, had a deep silent regard for each other’s works and never believed in cut-throat competition.
Whatever we achieved was due to merit and not publicity gimmicks. Raj with his plastic face was unforgettable in “Gopinath”, “Jaagte Raho” and “Teesri Kasam”. Dev, the most handsome actor I have seen on the Indian screen, was peerless in “Kala Pani” and “Guide”.
Your memories of Suchitra Sen and other co-stars?
My memories of working with Suchitra Sen in “Devdas” are as fresh as ever. Her beautiful eyes responded like live electric wires in certain shots and only Devika Rani earlier had that kind of dignity.
My other co-stars were also highly gifted: Meena Kumari was seeped with emotion, Nargis was truly versatile, Nimmi still unmatched in intensity, and Vyjayantimala and Waheeda Rehman were highly talented performers as well as dancers.
Your favourite actors and directors?
From Hollywood, with deep respect, I would like to mention Sir Charles Laughton, Paul Muni, Marlon Brando and Richard Burton. Greta Garbo, Ingrid Bergman and Katherine Hepburn are my all-time favourites.
From India, I consider Ashok Kumar, Motilal, Balraj Sahni, Chabi Biswas and Pahari Sanyal as icons of natural performances. Uttam Kumar and Shivaji Ganesan were very powerful actors and I must mention the polished performances of Sabitri Chatterjee and Arundhati Sinha. From the past four decades, Amitabh Bachhan, Aamir Khan and Tabu are gifted performers. Among the directors, Amiya Chakrabarty, Nitin Bose, Bimal Ray, Zia Sarhadi and K. Asif and Mehboob Khan were unforgettable.
Your hand gestures along with dialogues ushered in a revolution…
I used my hands only to justify certain dialogues, which had intensity and meaning. It was spontaneous, not a conscious effort. If I used my arm with every dialogue, it would have seemed phoney and contrived. In films like “Jogan”, “Babul”, “Footpath” and “Devdas”, I avoided unnecessary use of my hands.
Lastly, did you ever feel nervous while performing romantic scenes?
(Smiles) Yes, I did. In the initial years, I felt awkward especially when I found the scenes were peculiar and meaningless. A romantic scene without reality does not impress me.
To perform my romantic scenes I relied on my eyes and then my dialogue delivery. Depth and reality came into romantic scenes from the 1950s onwards.
January 2, 2012 at 10:23 AM
Happened to find this rare interview of Dilip Kumar, one of the greatest living actors in India…Big B, Aamir & Tabu are some of his picks of last 4 decades when it comes to his favourite actors…great interview overall !!
January 2, 2012 at 2:41 PM
Awesome..thanks for finding this. very good read. ofcourse loved the part about his fave’s being bachchan and aamir.
January 3, 2012 at 4:46 AM
Don2 seems to be unstopable at boxoffice as per its trending in second week.
January 3, 2012 at 5:57 AM
Don 2 Second Monday Territorial Breakdown
http://www.boxofficeindia.com/boxnewsdetail.php?page=shownews&articleid=3883&nCat=
Don 2 (Hindi) grossed a very good second Monday of nearly 3 crore nett crore and the film heads for a 28.50 crore nett second week. The second weekend territorial breakdown is as follows.
Mumbai – 75 lakhs
Delhi/UP – 70 lakhs
East Punjab – 29 lakhs
West Bengal – 20 lakhs
Bihar – 8 lakhs
Assam/Orissa – 3 lakhs
CP Berar – 10 lakhs
CI – 7 lakhs
Rajasthan – 14 lakhs
Nizam – 18 lakhs
Mysore – 24 lakhs
Tamil Nadu/Kerala – 12 lakhs
TOTAL – 2.90 crore
January 3, 2012 at 7:38 AM
taran_adarsh taran adarsh
#Don2 Week 1 – 75.32 cr. Week 2 – Fri 4.48 cr, Sat 6.09 cr, Sun 8.7 cr, Mon 3.01 cr. Total: Rs 97.6 cr nett. Includes Tamil + Telugu biz.
January 3, 2012 at 7:52 AM
‘Don 2′ team can heave a sigh of relief
By: Hiren Kotwani Date: 2012-01-03 Place: Mumbai
Trade experts are optimistic about the King Khan starrer to recover the high cost and make some money over that as well
Going by the latest box-office numbers, the team of Don 2 can heave a sigh of relief. The movie did decent business in its second weekend.
Trade pandits point out that the price for satellite and music rights, combined with the overseas figures, ensure that the investment will be recovered. Meanwhile, ex-cop YP Singh’s directorial venture, Kya Yahi Sach Hai which released last week, sank without a trace.
Komal Nahta, editor of koimoi.com, terms the collections of Don 2 on Saturday-Sunday as “superb.” “Whether it’s December 31 or not, Saturday-Sunday is usually good.
After netting about Rs 75 crore in all languages in the first week, Rs 18 crore in the second weekend, the film should touch Rs 100 crore by Thursday. Overseas, it will yield a distributor share of about Rs 25 crore,” he summed up, adding that Reliance, which is co-producing and distributing the film, will make more than Rs 12 crore.
Equally optimistic is Delhi-based distributor Sanjay Ghai of Mukta Arts Ltd. “I had predicted that it will do Rs 100 crore in two weeks. The film held well from Monday through Thursday in the first week. Had that not been the case, it would not have done even Rs 15 crore in the second weekend,” he asserted, adding that he expects the Shah Rukh Khan starrer to yield a distributor share of Rs 50 crore in India.
The film that cost Excel Rs 80 crore to make, cost Reliance another 10 crore on 3D conversion and 15-20 crore on prints and publicity. Of the Rs 105 plus crore the company has put in, it is said to have already made R 35 crore from satellite rights and Rs 10 crore from music.
However, another distributor who released the movie for Reliance in one of the territories is skeptical about the company profiting from it. On condition of anonymity, he explained, “On the strength of overseas and satellite, they will break even. But you don’t make a movie to break even.
Also, Don 2 was part of the package deal with Excel, along with Rock On!! and Luck By Chance. Both those films incurred a loss of over R 25 crore to Reliance. And don’t forget the rate of interest on their investment in Don 2.”
Veteran trade analyst Amod Mehra says that the SRK film has done well overseas and average in the second weekend in India. “Christmas and New Year has saved Don 2. So it will make some commission besides recovering the money. Also, it benefitted from having no competition from another release,” he concludes.
January 3, 2012 at 8:32 AM
Don 2 is indeed doing some good business in multiplexes.. how else do you explain it going housefull on weekdays in PVR .. that too in afternoon shows?
SRK can breathe a sigh of relief for now.. though would’ve been much better for him if it had found acceptance in single screens too
January 3, 2012 at 12:51 PM
Tony
Why just Don 2 all movies are showing a dimihsing trend on SS, beacuse the market is changing, SS are making way for MP. This is how the market has expanded (not due to expansion of number of screens in alreday saturated locations).
At the end of the day even with the new re-calibrated yardstick approc 95 to 100 Cr in the domestic market after second wekend is BB. It says that everyone has loved Don 2.
January 3, 2012 at 8:23 AM
Nahata reliably anti-Bachchan:
http://www.koimoi.com/bollywood-news/players-box-office-opening-depends-on-abbas-mustan-s-name/
“Players has not become much ‘hot’ in the trade and among the public, but director Abbas-Mustan’s name might just do the trick as far as the box-office opening of the film is concerned.”
that one line is his entire analysis here! One notes the Abbas-Mustan escape hatch! This was from today. On the other hand elsewhere:
Players Gaining Steam?
http://www.boxofficeindia.co.in/players-gaining-steam/
this is from Dec 31.
of course given Nahata has never accepted an Abhishek success in the popular media whether it’s BnB or Guru or anything I will hardly hold my breath for this one!
January 3, 2012 at 8:36 AM
Nahata lost his conscience somewhere up SRK/KJo’s ass long ago !
January 3, 2012 at 12:58 PM
Satyam
Honestly, how many people have accepted Abhishek as a commercial success ? Why then just single out Nahata ? When one observes the lifetime BO of Game and JHJJS etc, the only conlcusion one arrives at is that Abhishek’s problem is that just like Nahata, people don’t accept him as a star.
When the mighty & unbiased pen of history writes Abishek’s faith it will call him an “Accidental Tourist” in Bollywood.
January 3, 2012 at 9:02 AM
Don2 has collected 2.9-3cr on second Tuesday which is quite good and it has touched the magical figures of 100cr in eleven days itself.
January 3, 2012 at 1:13 PM
King
But how much of that was from SS ? We need to know that becasue the money earned from MP has lesser purchasing power than the money from SS. If you think all money is equally green than you are wrong. Also note that the money earned overseas is absolutely useless becasue the concept of foreign exchange is an idea from the future, for the moment all overseas money is useless, hence don’t even talk about it. Overseas money does not add anything to the status of SRK, never did, never will.
All simply want to know the following
1) How much money did Don 2 make at SS in places that no one has heard about
2) Dubious Reports on Don 2 from “analyst” who have not yet quit their day time jobs.
January 3, 2012 at 9:11 AM
@Satyam…Where is Nahata wrong here?This is a universal fact that the film has no major star and it is only its directors who can pull some crowd on basis of their part work.How come he is anti Bachchan?And you never spoke a word when IBOS declared Don2 a flop in its first weekend.Why such double standards?When anyone says something negative about you favourite,you start crying from rooftops.
January 3, 2012 at 9:16 AM
‘King Khan’ one day I shall learn the arts of unbiased argument from you! In the meantime bear with me..
January 3, 2012 at 9:12 AM
Bollywood’s New Business Model Explained
(by Komal Nahta)
http://www.koimoi.com/bollywood-news/bollywood-s-new-business-model-explained/
It’s too bad he doesn’t talk about whether this new mindset is a result of the heavy corporate investment in films these days.
January 3, 2012 at 9:18 AM
this whole piece could be called an ‘apologia’ for Ra One and Don 2.
January 3, 2012 at 9:23 AM
You can think of it as “apologia” if you want. It can equally well be viewed as an admission that those films haven’t worked at the box office. From that point of view I found it surprisingly blunt.
January 3, 2012 at 9:34 AM
It is that at a ‘literal’ level but then when you call it the ‘new business model’ and say at the end that a film needs to be profitable however it does this there’s something sly going on. Because look at the examples here. Does an Aamir or Salman hit or a Singham (so many other films) need to be justified this way? This only comes up when the box office returns are good enough. so you’re right on this score. But he’s also making lemonade out of lemons here by saying ‘this is the way things are’ when they clearly aren’t so for very many films. Leaving this aside it’s factually wrong to say (and he knows this very well) that profits coming off theaters or off these other deals is not at all the same thing for all sorts of reasons. And of course even the numbers are in many cases simply untrue or at least presented in very distorted ways to as it were balance the budget! But again ask yourself: who is really benefited by this representation of a profitable film?!
Of course BOI have called Ra One a hit in their yearly ratings. Don 2 could even be a superhit according to them.
January 3, 2012 at 10:38 AM
I don’t really disagree with anything you said, nor was I unaware of the “apologia” aspect. But still what struck me was the need felt by Nahta to justify calling these films (note he also scrupulously listed Desi Boyz each time) “successes” — and note that, too, btw, *not* “hits.” To me it was still amazing that he basically said straight out, and multiple times, that the films did not get much viewership. Even his comment on the subsidies being dependent on enough people seeing the film to generate increased tourism, and yet failing in this objective, was reiterating the lack of a viewing audience. So overall I was more struck by this fact (which to me seemed to be trying to mitigate some of his earlier spin on the collections). Obviously, YMMV.
January 3, 2012 at 10:51 AM
fair enough…
January 3, 2012 at 1:16 PM
Indeed they need to appologize for maing 200 + Cr worldwide
January 3, 2012 at 10:00 AM
“King Khan’ one day I shall learn the arts of unbiased argument from you! In the meantime bear with me..”
LOL Satyam !!!
January 3, 2012 at 10:22 AM
King khan,
Firstly, please desist from taking the high moral ground & give sermons on the virtues of “unbiasedness”….quite laughable knowing your past history !!!
Second, please hold your excitement & stop distorting facts !! Don 2 is yet to reach 100 crore mark as of Tuesday & is still a few crores short..expected to touch 100 crore only by Wednesday/Thursday and this has been endorsed by most of the trade reports.
Lastly, merely reaching 100 crore today is hardly “magical” when the benchmark was set a good 3 years ago !! Not to mention that films like Singham & Golmaal 3 have already achieved this distinction…won’t even go into the higher benchmarks set by Salman & Aamir & the even more frightening ones expected to be set by ETT, Dabangg 2, Dhoom 3 & Talaash.
Don 2 crawling to 110-115 crore after a colossal disappointment like Ra.One is definitely no cause to celebrate !! You may choose to do so, of course…so good luck !!
January 3, 2012 at 11:42 AM
>Lastly, merely reaching 100 crore today is hardly “magical” when the benchmark was set a good 3 years ago !! Not to mention that films like Singham & Golmaal 3 have already achieved this distinction
So lets be clear here.
What you are saying is that the target has been reached
- 3 years later,
-and only after this one, this one and that one, have already achieved it.
Yes?
But then you aren’t denying that;
- nevetheless the target has been achieved, or will be achieved in the next couple of days?
So this shows, what you are really trying hard here is to make the achievement look like – “not much of an achievement”, –
*because*
it has been reached
- 3 years later,
-and only after this one, this one and that one, have already achieved it.
LOL!!
Then, of course, there’s this sympathy angle for distributors who speculate, gamble, and don’t get what they want.
People!!??….Who cares??!! THey don’t matter. So what if enogh people went to watch it to give it a certain total??
OT
BTW I watched Don2 in Muscat where I’m holidaying. Unfortunaely I’ll be leaving the day ‘Players’ will be released, and no I didn’t come here to watch Don 2
To my inexperienced eyes it seemed fast paced, slick, and very non Bollywoodish, very very non Golmaal 3ish too which has the strength of achieving high targets. LOL.
January 3, 2012 at 10:29 AM
Distributors On Advance Response To Players
by Harshita Vaishnav (January 3, 2012)
Now that we have rung in the new year, all eyes are on the first release of 2012, Players. The multi-starrer, featuring Abhishek Bachchan and Sonam Kapoor in the lead, is the solo release this week and the buzz around it is so-so. Advance booking at multiplexes opens tomorrow.
In Mumbai, Rajesh Thadani of Multimedia Combines says, ”The buzz the film has created is not that great. Advance booking at multiplexes will begin tomorrow. Only then will we be able to gauge the fate of the film.”
Sanjay Ghai of Mukta Arts says the film has generated a loud enough buzz in Delhi, which means it should take a good opening. “The weekend will be excellent. Advance booking in Delhi starts tomorrow,” he says.
Punjab distributor Dharam Pal of Paramount Pictures says Players is lukewarm in Punjab though Sunil Bansal of Yash Raj Jai Pictures says it has generated a lot of excitement in Rajasthan. “It will do good business at the box office. It will take a good opening and also enjoy a great weekend as it is a solo release. We do not have advance booking here,” says Bansal.
In Assam, however, the audience appears indifferent to the film. Siddharth Goenka of Goenka Enterprise says, “The film looks very technical while people look for entertainment. Also, the Christmas vacation has just concluded and hence, people may not look forward to the film.”
B H Basha of Bahar Enterprises adds, ”The Mysore audience is looking forward to Players. It looks good and it will have a descent opening with a good weekend as well.”
January 3, 2012 at 11:29 AM
surprised to see the delhi distributor most positive here (by the way if this pans out BOI might have to shift away from their Delhi strategy for once! Much as they quite love Rajasthan too but might not for this one!). But of course these things are somewhat arbitrary too. It depends on who one talks to, specially in the big territories. And as I have said many times in the past the market is much more splintered now. So you will see a Fame cinema in one Bombay locality showing enormous response for a film while another one in the very same chain revealing great weakness.
With these reports unless everyone is very positive or very negative the rest is a lot in the details.
January 3, 2012 at 12:28 PM
Well the truth is that Players has not revealed even single solid punch bag in all promotional materials so far. compare this to Dum Maaro Dum or Raavan. Every promo of both movies always comes with more promise. But in case of players, its reverse, with each next promo, hopes are dying. I will be hugely surprise if Players work at boxoffice .. and i am ready to get surprise, but i am not pinning any hope for surprise ..
January 3, 2012 at 12:46 PM
Raavan was a different ballgame altogether.. few promos if any can be compared with those of Rathnam.. the first DMD theatrical promo was super too.. but note that didn’t help the latter get a big number.. when a star has faced serious box office damage there are two ways to get out of it.. either get a success with a more commercial subject.. something the audience is less resistant to even when it might not be bog on the film.. or a more topical film that truly excites a certain cross-section but is not for everyone.. The thing with the latter is that a box office star with damage will find it harder to get the core very excited and in the meantime will not win over skeptics (who might feel that other ‘weird’ stuff that looked promising did not work out). The bigger commercial blockbuster kind of deal presses some buttons instantly (some of the skeptics are then on board). But here the bar is higher too. Even if one doesn’t get the biggest opening possible relative to the genre and film one has to be at least respectable on this score. In other words you could open DMD to 20 and go to 50 and that would seem like a great result (within the contexts of Abhishek’s damage) but you can’t open Players to 30, go to 60 (and hence have good trending) and then have it considered a great result. Because a film like Players isn’t made to simply make a decent amount. You can even get away with this to an extent with the Rockstar kind of deal. But Players is really for everyone. It’s been mounted that way in terms of the subject and the scale.
My own sense here is that a film with the right grip will show a big jump over the weekend. First day should be good or good enough even if not massive. And again the entire wildcard here is Abhishek’s form. Players would be good (assuming a passable enough entertainer for the genre) for 120 crores easy if the star at the center were is reasonably good form. Not peak form or anything, just not ‘damaged’ (and there are different definitions of this). Which is why this is hard to call. However my standard here nonetheless remains a fair one. I have a 100 crore mark here. Doesn’t mean exactly that. 90 is ok too. 70 wouldn’t be though it would still be the biggest Abhishek number in a while (and perhaps the media might feed off this). Because again a film of this scale needs bigger numbers. Race in today’s money would easily do a 120 or something and I’m taking off 20-30 crores here.
Having said that there is another scenario that’s possible too. The Wanted/Dabanng deal (forgetting London Dreams in between for a moment). A star who’s been down for a while gets a credible film that also interests the audience but the star is not in the zone at that point to maximize the initial (to an extent this happened with DMD.. don’t think trending would have been too different in any case because I think that more people were disappointed with his dying in the end than not.. the opposite of BM in some ways.. that ending ‘made’ the film, this ending weakened the film.. I’m only talking box office here). Hence Wanted becomes a hit but the overall number is not that impressive compared to some other films. However more people like the film than the numbers would suggest. People watch the film in other ways but are not interested enough to go to the theater. The right film later on can then feed off this result and this time around the audience shows up in big numbers. Abhishek does have a great follow-up in Bol Bachchan which irrespective of all the agenda-laden writeups (that pretend a film called ‘Bol Bachchan’ with Abhishek in the the Amol Palekar ‘double’ part in a loose Golmaal remake is simply about Devgan and Shetty) is not one where the audience will ever think that the title is just a coincidence there or what have you. They’ll call a success as a Devgan one only and so on but that drill we’re familiar with. Now D3 is a different deal because Aamir is a different game altogether and the D2 history doesn’t reflect kindly on Abhishek. The only way he can be taken seriously as a factor here is if both Players and BB are very successful.
In any case Players has become a far more critical film for him that would have seemed the case going in because of where he is currently but also because of what he has following it.
January 3, 2012 at 2:25 PM
hahaha…90 crores for players!… 60 would be too much to ask for here..its a mockery in all conversations!
January 3, 2012 at 10:32 AM
Don2 has collected 9.5-10cr in second weekend hence taking its ten day total to 60cr which is phenominal.The film is likely to put huge 80cr in its first phase and if it continues like this in second shape then sky is the limit for this movie.
January 3, 2012 at 10:38 AM
The above collections are from overseas
January 3, 2012 at 10:53 AM
All trade sites will update these figures tomorrow.
January 3, 2012 at 12:52 PM
Oldgold,
Welcome back !!! no discussion on SRK is complete without your “valuable” inputs…LOL !!!
Alex : Buddy, please don’t mind my responding to your girlfriend…LOL
“People!!??….Who cares??!! THey don’t matter. So what if enogh people went to watch it to give it a certain total?? “….wow, what a priceless, utterly asinine & insensitive remark to make…wonder how SRK’s loyal hordes of fans ( people !! ) flocking to cinemas to contribute to Don 2′s “certain” total will react to this !!
As usual, you have completely missed the context of my earlier comment. Don 2 of course has done well but not good enough considering it stars the so called”King” (???), its release on record screens in India in Christmas/New Year period & 2 open weeks without any competition. Keeping all these factors in mind, the film has hardly any significant record to boast of in India.
Consider the below 3 measurement parameters which trade & “people” ( yes dear, they “DO” matter ) most commonly consider to gauge a film’s domestic BO performance :
A) Did the film come anywhere close to the domestic opening day record ?
B) Did the film come anywhere close to the domestic opening weekend record ?
C) Did the film come anywhere close to the domestic opening week record ?
The answers are a resounding No !! The plain & hard fact is that SRK today is in no position just to be satisfied in giving “break-even” , “commission earners” or even “Hit” films !! What he desperately needs are “BLOCKBUSTERS” which his last 3 films MNIK, Ra.One & Don 2 have failed to come close to in India…And it was SRK fans who were going orgasmic from the beginning of 2011 on how Ra.One & Don 2 were going to set new standards of film making/box office, smash Salman/Aamir’s records in India. It is exactly in this context I had made the earlier remark of Don 2 being “hardly” the kind of success it is being made out to be.
But even leaving aside all these, how can I deny you your solemn right to bask in the glory of Don 2′s “success”
January 3, 2012 at 1:23 PM
The answer is a resounding no, really ?
January 3, 2012 at 5:56 PM
>Don 2 of course has done well but not good enough considering it stars the so called”King” (???),
I hope you’ll express the same thoughts if Talaash or Dhoom3 don’t make more than 200cr, as;
“Talaash/Dhoom3 of course has done well but not good enough considering it stars the so called “Mr perfect ace emperor(???), who has shown that he’s capable of collecting 200cr, but ends up getting only 170cr, which is ‘only’ 20cr more than the highest by Salman.
Then continue questioning;
A) Did the film come anywhere close to the domestic opening day record ?
B) Did the film come anywhere close to the domestic opening weekend record ?
C) Did the film come anywhere close to the domestic opening week record ?
….if the film fails to do any of the three.
>how can I deny you your solemn right to bask in the glory of Don 2′s “success”
Oh, good!! I was afraid you’d be a spoil sport and deny SRK fans this pleasure
OT
It seems I’ll be able to watch ‘Players’ FDFS because the films release here on Thursdays, not Fridays.
January 3, 2012 at 6:08 PM
Oldgold,
It is such a pleasure seeing you back that I am not going to argue, eve if I disagree quite a bit.
January 3, 2012 at 6:53 PM
Ditto.
January 4, 2012 at 1:56 AM
rajen, here I disagree with me too, just as I disagree with a similar comment I was responding to, and parodying.
January 3, 2012 at 3:01 PM
“Lastly, merely reaching 100 crore today is hardly “magical” when the benchmark was set a good 3 years ago !! Not to mention that films like Singham & Golmaal 3 have already achieved this distinction”
- well you see, there you go.
The films you mentioned are actually LIKED by the audience. Its not that our “mature” audience didnt think much of these films and yet they crawled past the 100 crore mark making the figure look like ‘not such a big deal’.
Sarcasm taking aside, we live in a country where Golmaal has been more liked that a Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. You know, coz despite being a well-made film that has found its way in every year-end article of the ‘Best Films of 2011′, the poor film didnt cross 90 crores. So who’s to blame.
Don 2′s final gross may ultimately be a success for its makers. Coz as much as I didnt think of it much (it has got to do a lot with the fil’s pace and it being boring), I wont argue with someone if they call it well-made. Yes ma brother, its much, much better than the other top grosses of the year.
But a 100 crore plus list that includes the likes of Ready, Ra One, Singham and Bodyguard shows a lot to do with mind-numbing ridiculous tastes of audience. Let’s stay away from i, shall we?
January 3, 2012 at 3:34 PM
all this while Rockstar, DMD and some other well-made films of the year were struggling at the BO.. In an effort to satisfy our egos in box office discussions, we tend to support other fucked up films that continue to revel in their glory at the BO.. Its disheartening..
January 3, 2012 at 3:17 PM
Sometimes its assuming to see that how we’ve lost ourselves to box-office discussions. the former have become a priority and even on intellectual blogs like these, a Salman is forgiven for the trash he’s doled out for his past couple of films just ecause he crossed the 100 crore mark ! Everyone seems to e talking good about him, irrespective of the shockingly poor quality of his films, his films get nominated for awards and cinema takes a ackseat
With SRK the case is even worse. What he did with Ra.One was preposterous. Just to e in the race for giving the iggest grosser (it crossed 100 crores all right) he plays with the media, goes for ballistic in your face promotions and makes a circus of his film Ra. One. Don 2 somewhat salvages his self-destructive former effort ut what the heck !
The only genuine star who does seem to actually respect the audience is Aamir. I wont say he makes ground-breaking cinema all the time, but his film’s grosses do compliment the film under question. But then, how many do we have like him in the industry..? Its either the race for giving the biggest grosser (everyone from trade pundits to media people to even us bloggers) support it ~ n filmmakers knowing how degraded the system has become, continue to dole out trash, signing major stars (ajay, salman) to help themselves realize this dream.
January 3, 2012 at 4:47 PM
You’re quite right Tony.. unfortunately it’s come down only to this.. the box office is of course always important for a commercial industry, it’s always part and parcel of the game but online the whole discourse has been hijacked by box office considerations whether it’s by bloggers or in media outlets and so on. I am as interested in these matters as anyone else but one’s entire estimation of cinema cannot be reduced to the box office specially when in the history of this medium the ‘great’ or ‘greatest’ films are very often those that were initially box office failures and/or panned by critics. Not just in India but everywhere around the world. The box office is important everywhere but in the absence of a critical film culture in India the box office becomes the only legitimate discussion. One can’t praise films too much that fail, even people who sometimes pride themselves on being above the fray in these matters fall prey to this structure. It is true that being a very successful box office star in the absence of other ‘authentic’ virtues doesn’t mean anything. Stardom is ultimately something mysterious and the audience often loves very ‘unworthy’ figures. Again not just in India. Over the last 15 years or more though along with everything else a very crass kind of discourse has been fostered online and otherwise that makes the box office the ultimate tool to engage in all kinds of agendas. And we see the results.
Will say as a larger cultural matter that it’s not only about the film industry. The ‘new Indian’ audiences that are the dominant ones in multiplexes do not dislike anything as much as they do failure. They are terrified of this. They have all kinds of anxieties about it. This isn’t just about the normal fear of failure all of us have as humans but it is much more specifically refracted along the whole ‘new India’ liberalization economies. India finally emerging in the world as a big power, the successful nation. the designer brand nation after decades of rickety Ambassadors and what not.. the nation of models that is not embarrassed before the West.. the multi-national corporation culture, on and on.. there is a whole abrasiveness to all of this but also a great deal of anxiety and fear.
The online world in any case breeds fanaticism but in the absence of a larger critical film culture things just become worse. It is a virtue of this technology that it allows everyone a certain space but by the very same token it makes possible the ultimate tyranny of the viewer. It presents every kind of Philistine attitude, every gross kind of vulgarity as ‘opinion’ or a legitimate perspective. and this attitude is celebrated because these are of course consumers. But as a result we see the absurd spectacle of every star being called an actor, every film being called meaningful, the real meaningful films dismissed for all sorts of reasons, so on and so forth. The online world facilitates the ‘mob’ in precise ways. Not least because no matter how ‘crazy’ your proposition might be you will find the site or the blog or chat group or forum where there are those who subscribe to that view. It’s rather hard to have any sort of sane conversation in these circumstances. Sure all of this happens elsewhere too. In the US you have fanatical film fans or sports fans or political junkies holding all sorts of views and willing to kill others over these. However there is also a proper critical culture where for example no one calls Will Smith an ‘actor’ in the true sense no matter how many 200m hits he has. Similarly no other country on the planet slices and dices the box office in greater detail and yet there is never a confusion between this and the critical worth of a film. It is this apparatus that’s missing in India. Not just the trade figures but even the other ‘critics’ lacking the training and the education for what they’re discussing in 99% of the cases tend to either follow the box office or else are completely capricious like the viewers of those films. So if one doesn’t like or enjoy something at an individual level one attacks it, the job becomes easier when there are others attacking it too. There’s never any degree of self-reflection, any attempt to consider that one might not even have the tools to sound off intelligently on a film. And why should there be? Forget a proper critical culture, you have just the opposite. The media is simply an arm of the film industry with all kinds of corruption and compromise. and even within the industry the same kind of Philistine attitudes are rampant in the most socially advantaged classes (not just in the film industry incidentally). Once upon a time people knew their arts, let alone their cinema. Today the same filmmakers have probably watched at the most half a dozen greats from the past when their not busing cloning Hollywood and foreign films on the international circuit.
I could expand on all of this (and have in the past) but given the rotten state of this entire structure one could perhaps forgive those who were born yesterday and who think the industry was invented yesterday with their favorite star. It’s just a very diseased system and we see the results of this in every sense.
January 3, 2012 at 5:24 PM
Agree entirely.
January 4, 2012 at 1:30 AM
Satyam, I find it quite ironic to see you saying this, not because I disagree with it, but because you yourself are one of the chief contributors to this change of discourse. I was first attracted to Naachgaana (or should I say, I had been searching for it for a while after the old Indolink forum broke up, which is where I first encountered your film writings) because of the discussions that focused on cinema, its impact and potential, its artistic merits and craft. You were a chief contributor to those discussions. But, no sooner than I had rejoiced at once again finding the authors and their forum that I had lost track of, than the NG forum turned into huge box office oriented discussions, to the exclusion of almost everything else. Surely you remember the complaints and protests from some members that NG had turned into nothing but a box office site. Again, you yourself were one of the chief contributors to these discussions, too, in your championing of JayShah’s box office models, your upholding of IBOS over BOI, your detection of agendas in Nahata and Adarsh.
When those discussions got too heated for various reasons and you started Satyamshot, once again I was happy to find the new blog space where I hoped for a return to saner discussion of cinema. But it is the rare post here that talks of such matters (you have contributed to those, too, but not enough, from my point of view). Instead there are, if not star wars, certainly agenda driven posts and discussions regarding certain stars, and of course all such arguments buttressed by relentless box office discussions, with exactly the kind of “slicing and dicing” you deplore above.
Why not start the trend away from such discussions and return to a focus on pure cinema? Why not eschew these box office threads entirely and highlight the merits of quality from all over India and the world, as you used to do? Why not show the way to others, instead of blithely following them, while at the same time condemning them?
January 4, 2012 at 7:53 AM
Guilty as charged SM!
But more seriously I have never not been interested in the box office. Nor have I ever stated otherwise. It is certainly true that as a polemical matter I have often got more involved in these discussions than I ought to. But I’d also say there’s a difference in being genuinely interested in the box office as a cultural index (trying to understand why a film did or did not do well at any point in time) or being invested in it as a way of arguing against the usual suspects and/or restoring a sense of sanity in these matters (Jay’s model) and on the other hand simply using it as a political tool to begin or end debate on a star. So for example Dabanng notwithstanding I am not a greater fan of Salman than I was 5 years ago or 10 years ago. Haven’t even seen Ready or BG. But this doesn’t prevent me from accepting without any issue whatsoever his red hot box office status currently. So one can separate these two matters. I follow box office analysis in the US with great interest too. That’s the sort of thing I would like to see in India (though a trip to Mars next week is more probable) but I think that this kind of interest in the box office is ‘legit’. Yes this isn’t what usually happens online and these discussions become pointless too but I have never not been a ‘polemicist’ in this sense. In fact on Indolink there was far more of this and even on NG (as you’ve just said) there was a lot more debating (on my part) with frankly some very insane folks. Over here I have actually done this least. From time to time I do get ‘excited’ enough to do so, specially if I think things are being distorted beyond belief, but by and large I am just not as bothered. It is also true that I should be doing more comments/pieces on other stuff and quite honestly it has always been an ambition to do something like this every single day but I tend to get exhausted with some of my other pursuits (for want of a better word). Now one might wonder how I come up with these lengthy comments nonetheless but these are really done in a very impromptu manner. Harder to do this with a piece or something. But yes I also have lower energy at some points than at others. Hence never got around to the Aarakshan piece, more recently didn’t do one on Don 2. Do agree nonetheless that I need to do more on this front.
January 4, 2012 at 8:32 AM
Thanks for taking my comments in a good spirit, Satyam.
I agree on the cultural implications of box office, but I don’t see that happening here. To take the same Salman example that you have, the usual statement here is “I don’t understand how crap like Bodyguard can gross so much” or “I pity the execrable taste of the Indian audience that can make films like Bodyguard a blockbuster!” Surely not much quest for understanding or cultural insights there, you will agree. Where I differ from you is that, in the current context, I don’t think it’s possible to have “neutral” box office discussions about cultural implications. So, why not eliminate them, instead of starting the first step onto a slippery slope of invective?
I still harbor the hope that, if you weren’t spending your energies on pointing out agendas by Komal & Taran while posting every single one of their box office reports, or deleting comments from over-invested posters, you might have enough left over to write the kind of posts many (not just me) look to you for.
January 4, 2012 at 8:49 AM
Sm seems to b in ‘top’ form
Also noted how Salman fans are generally less over the top and ‘ chest thumping ‘& somewhat more ‘ down 2 earth ‘ following his recent unexpected over performers
I maybe wrong though
Seems a pattern
The aamir fans are even better
Eg aamirsfan-sensible, rational
As for Srk fans- they pack in lots of passion and loyalty ( in general)
Can only extrapolate that they r good in bed as well- anyhow that’s unrelated here lol
January 3, 2012 at 7:13 PM
I have argued that one should leave aside BO discussion for Abhishek movies.
But
The buzz on Players seems unusually silent even for an Abhishek movie, leave aside a big budget masalla movie. At this rate Players might struggle to post in its first weekend even as much as Don 2 did in its second weekend.
Say if that happens (not out of the realm of possibilities, in fact quite likely). What will that say in this environment where a movie makes 200 + Cr wordwide and that is still not enough. What will Players making 10 to 20 Cr first weekend say ? Will it say anything new ? Will it just re re re confirm once again what we all know (including Nahata) ?
January 3, 2012 at 10:25 PM
Satyam & Tony,
Agree entirely with your last few comments…it is indeed disappointing to see wonderful films like Stanley ka Dabba & Udaan ( best of 2011 & 2010 respectively in my book ! ) earning peanuts at the box office.
But at the same time it is very heartening to see a new breed of film makers like Anurag Kashyap, Dibakar Banerjee, Kiran Rao, Vikramaditya Motwane etc. making films the way they want & making minimal compromises to suit the box office tastes.
January 3, 2012 at 11:17 PM
Films like Udaan n Stanley ka Dabba dont find much of an audience in the west too.. But a good film ultimately achieves a cult following there- bu cult I mean authentically cult.. Here such films will enjoy patronage from a section of the pseudos who behave they’re classic stuff but will forget about them later.. and get back to their favourite stars’ fascination. That much explains why commercial filmmakers of today’s generation continue to come up with nonsense in the name of entertainment.. They know the audience is always ready to lap it up
January 4, 2012 at 1:33 AM
Shubh: “But at the same time it is very heartening to see a new breed of film makers like Anurag Kashyap, Dibakar Banerjee, Kiran Rao, Vikramaditya Motwane etc. making films the way they want & making minimal compromises to suit the box office tastes.”
Unfortunately, the impression I have from their interviews is that people like Anurag Kashyap et al want the kind of box office collections that the films of the big commercial stars garner, while adhering to their “uncompromising” cinema. Certainly I keep reading bitter diatribes against the taste and maturity of the Indian audience from these directors, as I do from the members on this blog.
January 3, 2012 at 10:44 PM
Lol@seeing Kiron Rao in above list.May i know why she has been kept there?Is this coz of Amir?
January 3, 2012 at 10:48 PM
She has made just one film so far and that too was thrashed by critics.So let her pove her talent in film making first then you can praise her.
January 4, 2012 at 2:01 AM
I think Dhobi Ghaat was an interesting debut by Kiran.. I did like the film.
January 4, 2012 at 7:53 AM
Liked it a lot myself.. and would certainly be interested in her next effort..
January 4, 2012 at 3:49 PM
She wasn’t thrashed by critics. Mostly DG got very good reviews.
January 3, 2012 at 11:11 PM
“Over the last 15 years or more though along with everything else a very crass kind of discourse has been fostered online and otherwise that makes the box office the ultimate tool to engage in all kinds of agendas. And we see the results”
That summed it all Satyam. Exactly the point I was trying to make.
About your later part of the argument I much agree witl all points you’ve mentioned. Just for instance a Spiderman or a Harry Potter film might be a biggest grosser around but on IMDB boards you won’t find fans of Radcliffe or Maguire who will go ballistic over who is a bigger draw of the two ! or how much the films grossed overseas and in the US, taking Slovakia or Melbourne into consideration.. After a point it becomes ridiculous n tiring
A Scorsese of an Eastwood film won’t be such a major grosser but these films do trigger some healthy, detailed discussions among fans and those interested in ‘quality’. An Avatar does come once in a while that makes viewers drop their jaws in awe in terms of its overall gross.. and is a good enough film overall to ‘deserve’ all that attention on the ticket window – something that’s synonymous to the Aamir brand in India.
In online discussion groups in India, most of the discussion is restricted to ‘how the box office equations’ change after a major star’s release.. n you wont many arguments centering around, for example, theLagaan characters.. Fuck it -even when a good percentage of an online Indian bloggers swear by the awesomeness of Lagaan, they’ll discuss Salman n SRK’s BO pull more than the former ! While international cinema lovers would consider it more worthwhile to discuss the contents of the briefcase in Pulp Fiction than diss Tom Cruise for its domestic ‘Knight and Day’ gross !
January 4, 2012 at 3:10 AM
brilliant! comment tony!
January 4, 2012 at 1:02 AM
@Is any moderator watching here how Shub is attacking me personally?Is it allowed here then pls let me know so that i can return the favour to him/her.
January 4, 2012 at 1:52 AM
Yes, these kinds of comment was what made me leave temporarily.
What makes the sayer think his comments don’t belong to the category he’s accusing the other of?
Because one is in the majority here?
Because bashing SRK automatically puts one in the ‘intelligent’ category?
January 4, 2012 at 1:02 AM
Btw how much total subsidies will Players be getting from Russia & New Zealand…just asking
January 4, 2012 at 11:45 AM
Shubh
Does it occur to you that they are fully aware of the power rankings and potential in Bollywood. Why would they give any subsidy to a film with Abhishek, that would be a waste of money. Do you expect them to give any subsidy to a movie by say Aftab Shivdasani ?
January 4, 2012 at 1:10 AM
Hrithik lays out Diwali plans with ‘Krrish 3′
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/hrithik-lays-out-diwali-plans-with-krrish-3/895618/
“Everyone knows Rakesh Roshan has started work on his new project. However, here is some exclusive information on the film:
Title clarity: The film is titled ‘Krrish 3′, not ‘Krrish 2′. “Koi Mil Gaya was the first part, ‘Krrish’ was the second. Hence, ‘Krrish 3′ now,” said Rakesh Roshan.
3D or no 3D: There has been a lot of buzz that Roshan is shooting the film in 3D. “That’s untrue. I am not shooting the film in 3D. As for converting it to 3D, this is one decision I will take once I complete the principal shooting of the film,” the veteran film-maker divulges.
Current status: “Krrish 3 will complete the principal shooting in October this year. I plan devote an entire year thereafter for special effects and post-production work. I am in no hurry to release the film,” Roshan Sr. reveals.
Release date: ‘Krrish 3′ will release in Diwali 2013. “Yes, that’s the release date we are looking at,” the successful film-maker discloses. “
January 4, 2012 at 1:15 AM
So Hrithik’s much awaited Krrish 3 coming in Diwali 2013…considering Agneepath is coming in Jan 2012, its a pretty long gap between the 2 releases…unlikely whether he has signed any other film apart from Krrish 3.
January 4, 2012 at 2:24 AM
Relax guys.. Here’s something to cheer you up !
Bollywood as always manages to walk away with all the honours year after year, gloom or no gloom. Few dare to dishonour it. While there are a whole lot of followers inside theatres, on ground, on ‘insider’ blogs and in social media who are devoted to the Bachchans, Khans and all those who can, only few celebrate the trash tinsel town had to offer. The Golden Kela Awards, India’s version of the Hollywood Razzies, awards the worst movie, worst actor, worst song… The 4th Annual Golden Kela Awards will be announced in March next year, voting for which will open on January 2. Log on to http://www.goldenkela.com to cast a vote for vengeance… Here’s a list of the contenders for the not so-coveted titles made exclusive to ET:
WORST FILM
Ra.One
Ready
Bodyguard
F.A.L.T.U.
Mausam
Singham
WORST ACTOR (MALE)
Jackie Bhagnani for F.A.L.T.U.
Emraan Hashmi for Murder 2
Ranveer Singh for Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl
Ajay Devgn & Sanjay Dutt for Rascals
Imran Khan for Mere Brother Ki Dulhan
WORST ACTOR (FEMALE)
Sonam Kapoor for Mausam
Deepika Padukone for Aarakshan
Kangana Ranaut for Tanu Weds Manu, Rascals and Miley Na Miley Hum
Nargis Fakhri for Rockstar
WORST DIRECTOR
Roshan Abbas for Always Kabhi Kabhi
Rohan Sippy for Dum Maaro Dum
Anees Bazmee for Thank You and Ready
Puri Jagannadh for Bbuddha Hoga Tera Baap
WORST DEBUTANTE
Chirag Paswan for Miley Na Miley Hum
Sachiin Joshi for Azaan
Nargis Fakhri for Rockstar
Taaha Shah for Luv Ka The End
The cast of Always Kabhi Kabhi for Always Kabhi Kabhi
Esha Deol for Tell Me O Kkhuda
MOST IRRITATING SONG (Played Endlessly on Radio and TV)
Chamak Challo from Ra.One
Shadai from Mausam
Teri Meri from Bodyguard
Dhinka Chika from Ready
Fully Faltu and Char Baj Gaye from F.A.L.T.U
MOST ATROCIOUS LYRICS
Jaideep Sahni for Dum Maaro Dum (Dum Maaro Dum)
Amitabh Bhattacharya for Jigar Ka Tukda (Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl)
Sameer for Mango (Damadamm)
Amitabh Bhattacharya for Pyaar Do Pyaar Lo (Thank You)
Amitabh Bhattacharya for The Mutton Song (Luv Ka The End)
Irshad Kamil for Mere Brother Ki Dulhan (Mere Brother Ki Dulhan)
Anu Malik for Tinku Jiya (Yamla Pagla Deewana)
BAAWRA HO GAYA HAI KE AWARD
Amitabh Bachchan for Bbuddha Hoga Tera Baap
Hema Malini for Tell Me O Kkhuda
Sagar Bellary for Bheja Fry 2 and Hum Tum Shabana
Pankaj Kapur for Mausam
Govinda for Naughty@40
SPECIAL AWARDS
Lajja Award for Worst Treatment of A Serious Issue: Aarakshan
Bas Kijiye Bahut Ho Gaya Award: Pritam
Shakti Kapoor Award for Misogyny – Pyaar ka Punchnaama
There are special ‘Anti-Kela’ awards too for the ‘Saving Graces’. The awards are for the films that were meaningful and entertaining, while still being in the mainstream
ANTI KELAS
Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster
Shaitan
Shor In The City
Yeh Saali Zindagi
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/media/entertainment-/entertainment/Golden-Kela-Awards
January 5, 2012 at 12:45 AM
1. SRK’s films will win most the awards here.
2. I guess last year Vishal Bharadwaj was one of the guests in this award and who supported this. So we can see 7 Khoon Maaf is not getting any nominations here.
3. Since Cyrus Broacha is the host so we can see Shor In The City in Anti Kela award category. He was there in the film 99 directed by the same director duo of Shor in the city.
4. This award concept itself is a copy razzies.
5. Interesting nominations for SS members
Rohan Sippy for Dum Maaro Dum
Puri Jagannadh for Bbuddha Hoga Tera Baap
Amitabh Bachchan for Bbuddha Hoga Tera Baap
Jaideep Sahni for Dum Maaro Dum (Dum Maaro Dum)
Lajja Award for Worst Treatment of A Serious Issue: Aarakshan
January 4, 2012 at 2:28 AM
Ghost Protocol Still #1 in 2012
http://www.boxofficeguru.com/weekend.htm
“THIS WEEKEND Tom Cruise rang in 2012 by being the top draw around the world once again as his latest action sequel Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol topped the box office over the long Friday-to-Monday New Year’s holiday weekend. The Paramount release saw its four-day gross dip 13% to $38.2M. according to final studio figures, which lifted the cume to a sturdy $141.2M allowing the new chapter to surpass the $134M final domestic take of the previous film in the series, 2006′s Mission: Impossible 3, in a mere 18 days of release. Successfully reviving a franchise that was thought to be dead, the $145M-budgeted Ghost Protocol is now on track to reach the $200M mark while the global gross is on a trajectory to smash the $500M barrier.
Overseas, the newest Mission: Impossible ruled for the third consecutive frame with an estimated $37M over the standard Friday-to-Sunday period from 54 markets for a robust international cume to date of $225.3M and global tally of $366.5M. Leading territory totals include $35.7M in Japan, $34.8M in Korea, $14.8M in France, $12.7M in the U.K., $12.2M in Russia, and $10.1M in India. With key markets like China and Italy still to open, the overseas tally will climb well above $300M.
Finishing the long weekend in second place was the season’s other star-driven action sequel, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, which experienced an identical 13% slide to $26.9M over the Friday-to-Monday period. The big-budget Warner Bros. film has now grossed $136.9M after 18 days of play and is running 18% behind the $166.4M of its 2009 predecessor with Christmas and New Year’s included in both totals. A final of $175-200M seems likely putting it below the $209M of the first Sherlock.
Following Robert Downey Jr. for the third straight weekend, the G-rated kidpic Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked enjoyed a 10% bump to $21.5M boosting the sum to $97.8M. The Fox pic is running 34% behind the pace of the first Alvin from 2007 which also opened in mid-December before the big holiday bump family films receive when schools close for Christmas. Chipwrecked may end up in the $130-140M range.
Holiday holdovers hope to keep the cash rolling in through mid-January since most college students are still out of school. Plus only one new film opens wide next weekend – the horror film The Devil Inside in 2,000+ theaters – so there will be little competition from new players until January 13 which is the start of the lucrative four-day Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend which tends to be very busy at multiplexes.
Holding fourth place was 2011′s top-grossing R-rated drama, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which took in $19.2M over four days raising the 13-day total to $60M. The Friday-to-Monday take was off a scant 2% giving the Sony title a better hold than the other two major movies playing to mature adults – Mission: Impossible and Sherlock Holmes – which each saw a decline of 13%. The American remake of the popular Swedish crime thriller should easily reach $90M and could possibly even hit the $100M mark in North America.
In its first full weekend of release, Steven Spielberg’s War Horse grossed $18.1M over four days from 2,547 locations for a solid $7,091 average. Disney’s release of the DreamWorks production has resulted in $44.1M in the nine days since its Christmas Day debut last Sunday. A final take of around $75M may result unless it shows strong legs.
Matt Damon’s family dramedy We Bought a Zoo followed with $17M representing a nice 16% jump over its Christmas weekend debut. The Fox title has banked $44.5M in 11 days. Close behind was Spielberg’s second offering of the season, The Adventures of Tintin, with $15.4M – up 2% – raising the total to $51.4M in 13 days.
The Warner Bros. dud New Year’s Eve profited from its namesake holiday and saw sales soar by 46% to $7.6M. With $47.3M to date, the all-star comedy should see its numbers tumble into the new year now that its story is no longer relevant. Bad word-of-mouth won’t help either. The 3D alien attack thriller The Darkest Hour ranked ninth with $5.2M, up 3%, giving Summit a modest $14.2M thus far. Oscar hopeful The Descendants rounded out the top ten surging 31% to $4.3M putting the Fox Searchlight hit at $40.3M with much of awards season still to go. Golden Globe wins and key Oscar nominations could keep the George Clooney film going all through January.
Sneaking in right before the end-of-year Oscar deadline were some awards contenders in platform release. Leading the way with a bang was Meryl Streep’s Margaret Thatcher pic Iron Lady which bowed to $285,809 from just four locations for a scorching $71,452 average over four days for The Weinstein Co. Sony Classics opened the acclaimed Iranian film A Separation in three sites and grossed $86,518 for a strong $28,839 average over the long weekend. The film has been a dominant force during awards season in the foreign language race and is one of 63 films vying for the five Oscar nods in that category. The critically acclaimed lesbian drama Pariah bowed to $65,348 from four houses for a respectable $16,337 average and $101,755 since its Wednesday launch.
The top ten films grossed $173.3M over four days which was up from last year’s three-day frame when Little Fockers stayed in the top spot with $25.8M; but down from 2009 when Avatar remained at number one with a huge $68.5M in is third round. Monday was not an observed holiday in those years. The overall marketplace over the long holiday session was up only 3% from six years ago when New Year’s Day last fell on a Sunday indicating a substantial drop in attendance since ticket prices have climbed by more than 20% during that time.
Compared to four-day projections, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows were both on target with my respective forecasts of $39M and $26M while Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked came in a little ahead of my $23M prediction. War Horse and We Bought a Zoo each came very close to my $20M and $17M projections and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo finished higher than my $16M forecast.”
January 4, 2012 at 2:32 AM
Looks like MI : 4 may well end up grossing well over $ 500 million worldwide at the end of its run…terrific !!
Sherlock Holmes : Game of Shadows also doing well. Looking forward to watching this tomorrow.
January 4, 2012 at 5:52 AM
LOL…Golden Kelas are indeed back with a vengeance !!!
Kangana Ranaut for Tanu Weds Manu, Rascals and Miley Na Miley
Hum…ouch !!!
Shakti Kapoor Award for Misogyny – Pyaar ka Punchnaama….priceless !!!
January 4, 2012 at 7:31 AM
Hahaha
Pyar KA punch nama surely deserves to be rewarded
Not entirely convinced about giving the ‘kela’ award to kangna (for the same of the ‘kela’)
Noticed -”Alex : Buddy, please don’t mind my responding to your girlfriend…LOL”
Hmm
What will happen to the others lol
Anyhow :folks be polite with oldgold
And that is non negotiable haha
January 4, 2012 at 6:22 AM
Success of 3 Idiots breaks China’s Bollywood Great Wall
http://www.thehindu.com/arts/cinema/article2766764.ece
“Indian visitors to Beijing are, more often than not, greeted by taxi drivers with passionate renditions of ‘Awara Hoon,’ a song that has, for decades, defined India in the Chinese imagination.
But today, Indian visitors will increasingly find younger Chinese welcoming them with: ‘All izz well?’
Few films have made as deep an impact in this country since the days of Raj Kapoor as Rajkumar Hirani’s 2009 film, 3 Idiots. The film struck an instant chord with China’s famously overworked students, so much so that some Chinese universities were, last year, even prescribing the film in their coursework as a kind of stress-relief in their classrooms.
“Rote learning made me rigid, stupid and I ended up like a machine,” one blogger, named Nei Yi Guo Jiang, wrote last year in praise of the film. “I felt like a real idiot compared to the three in this wonderful movie.”
Last month, the popular film finally made it to big screens in China — one of the few Indian films that have been screened publicly here since the 1970s, following subsequent censorship restrictions.
‘New-year release’
3 Idiots was also the first Indian film to be accorded the sought-after status of a ‘New Year release.’
In the first two weeks of its release, the film has raked in Rs. 11 crore at the Chinese box office, according to recent media reports — a rare success that has given Indian movie houses renewed hope of penetrating the lucrative but challenging Chinese market.
The film was also released in Hong Kong in September, and raked in 17 million RMB (Rs. 14.4 crore) in its first three months.
Movie posters in Beijing promoting the film described it as the “longest new year celebration film and a film that can make you laugh for three hours.”
Chinese analysts say its box office performance is no mean feat considering that its release comes almost two years after the film first became a hit in China, already being viewed widely on popular video-sharing websites and accessed through the thriving pirated DVD market.
High Internet rating
On Douban, a widely-used web portal similar to YouTube, the film received 224,668 views as of Sunday, with an average rating of 9.1 out of 10 — among the highest for any film on the website.
The film was imported by the state-run China Film Group, which is one of the Chinese film industry’s biggest players.
Besides the film’s already cult status among Chinese students, its early success has also been driven by the China Film Group bagging a big-name Chinese star, Tang Wei, to provide the voice for the female lead character.
Ms. Tang rose to prominence following her much-praised, and controversial, role in Ang Lee’s award-winning Lust, Caution. This marks her first involvement in a foreign film, Chinese media reported, highlighting the A-list, red-carpet welcome accorded to the Aamir Khan film.
The success of 3 Idiots, as well as the widely popular Slumdog Millionaire, has created a new push for Indian cinema in China, film industry experts say.
Film import curbs
Indian films were widely popular in China up until the 1970s when Raj Kapoor was a household name in this country. Few Indian films have since been released widely in Chinese theatres.
According to China’s import restrictions, only 22 foreign films can be screened every year.
Hollywood imports
The quota is usually filled by Hollywood imports. While Bollywood remains popular, it is not seen as having among Chinese youth the mass appeal of Western films, industry analysts have argued.
Shah Rukh Khan’s My Name is Khan was released here in 2010, but performed below industry expectations, in part because it was not seen as fitting the mould of light-hearted and colourful Indian films that are popular in China.
Indian officials have long pressed the Chinese government to loosen restrictions on Bollywood imports. If 3 Idiots does well enough, they now hope, Chinese distributors will begin to rethink their reluctance to import Indian films.
There are signs that this is already beginning to happen following the popularity of Slumdog Millionaire and 3 Idiots.
Joint projects
The China Film Group last year lent its backing to a first-of-its-kind joint film project backed by Indian and Chinese investors, for the first-ever made in China Bollywood film. The $10 million Gold Struck will not be considered an import since it is being co-produced by the China Film Group.
Joint productions, experts say, can become the formula to bring Bollywood to China.
Cindy Shyu, CEO of Light House Productions, which is behind Gold Struck, said the success of 3 Idiots played a big part in giving her enough confidence that Indian films had a big enough market here.
“Chinese audiences are interested in Indian films and dance, but have little opportunity to experience Indian cinema,” she told The Hindu in an interview last year. “This film, I hope, will fill that gap.”
January 4, 2012 at 7:55 AM
Don 2 Second Tuesday Territorial Breakdown
Wednesday 4th January 2012 16.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Don 2 (Hindi) had its first noticeable fall on its second Tuesday but the job is done. The film grossed 2.15 crore nett on its second Tuesday. The second Tuesday territorial breakdown is as follows.
Mumbai – 54 lakhs
Delhi/UP – 50 lakhs
East Punjab – 22 lakhs
West Bengal – 14 lakhs
Bihar – 7 lakhs
Assam/Orissa – 3 lakhs
CP Berar – 9 lakhs
CI – 6 lakhs
Rajasthan – 13 lakhs
Nizam – 12 lakhs
Mysore – 16 lakhs
Tamil Nadu/Kerala – 9 lakhs
TOTAL – 2.15 crore
January 4, 2012 at 8:04 AM
Note how ‘the job is done’ because of course, and as I said before, the game was always about dragging it to 100 crores! If 80 were the bar or if 150 were the same it would be done a different way. from day 1 this ‘anxiety’ has fed all these various sources on both Ra One and Don 2. Of course the amusing thing is that this never crops up when Salman opens a film these days because of course the first weekend/week makes it very clear that 100 crores is a given even in the worst case scenario. But here from Taran to Nahata to others it’s as if the moment you touch 100 crores it’s all ok! Which of course raises suspicions about the numbers in the first place. If you’re that desperate to get a film to 100 crores wouldn’t you be trying quite hard?! And again this film is more or less doing 70-75% of its gross in week 1 (unless it does something significant over the third weekend). If this constitutes a hit I have lots of moon cheese to sell folks! Which is not to say that it wasn’t liked by segments and so on but the bar is now so low that unless it’s a disaster it’s called a hit! And a star who’s first asserted as ‘huge’ and what not is given credit for producing an initial that is clearly behind the highest benchmarks around but otherwise strong enough. And then in an even more perverse display of logic the star’s ‘bigness’ is reasserted because supposedly he’s done so much in an underperformer or flop whereas his peers have done so in ‘hits’! But didn’t we just say that these films were hits?! No! we only said so in the first half of the sentence. In the second we examine life from the other side! Eventually in the followup we just assert that this very same film is an arthouse flick. Of course some of us have argued that Ready and BG and for that matter even Dabanng did not quite match Aamir’s level of trending. Certainly with those first two ‘underperformers’ at a quarter the budget seem to be doing far more. Aamir let us accept always plays dirty because he goes for those straight hits that trend very well and distorts the record this way. If he did a lot more underperformers then we’d know!
January 4, 2012 at 8:05 AM
as you can see SM some old habits die hard!
January 4, 2012 at 8:36 AM
Yes, I was just thinking the same thing.
January 4, 2012 at 8:08 AM
and here we go again!
http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/trade/specialfeatures/id/173
January 4, 2012 at 11:24 AM
BOI is painting such a lovely picture for Don2. And it did a great job on Ra.One too.
But plain facts don’t lie in India. Both films are barely in Ghajini range and films as daft as Golmaal 3 made 100 crores.
SRK is supposedly the “biggest” star around but his films are falling short of films that released 3 years ago. And the same arguments used by those to diminish Ghajini or 3 Idiots (xmas release, hiked prices) are gloating at the underachievement of Ra.One and Don2. Such low standards!
January 4, 2012 at 11:51 AM
but also some of the same sources refused to give Ghajini an outright blockbuster status based on some perverse ‘costs’ argument. All these years later Ra One is a ‘hit’ and Don 2 apparently could be more than this.
January 4, 2012 at 8:06 AM
taran_adarsh taran adarsh
#LadiesVsRickyBahl *India business* Wk 1 – 24.93 cr, Wk 2 – 8.04 cr, Wk 3 – 1.04 cr. Total: Rs 34.01 cr nett.
January 4, 2012 at 8:06 AM
taran_adarsh taran adarsh
Agent Vinod – Tezz clash averted on 23 March. Tezz now shifted to 27 April.
January 4, 2012 at 8:52 AM
Overseas, the film seems to be headed to a 11-11.5 million finish.
And a 105-110 crore from India.
The film will be just about revenue earner but niot much revenue and certainly not enough in the face of the amount of investment.
The classification of hit/superhit is just arbitrary these days and based on total collections as opposed to return on investment.
Komal put up the lame article about the change in business model
which did make some good points. The makers of these big budget extravaganzas need to look closely as to whether there is enough business to be done to justify the costs. The satellite rights, the infamous subsidies and other revenue streams should be the cherry on the desert and not the main meal.
January 4, 2012 at 9:20 AM
@Rajen,This is boxoffice my dear and let the experts decide where film is going.
January 4, 2012 at 11:49 AM
Shubh, I have a deleted your earlier troll comment. Don’t think there’s a point in the constant back and forth. If there are too many pointless comments on the other side as well I’ll take care of it.
January 4, 2012 at 12:15 PM
Jaju is on a tear against Don2:
https://twitter.com/#!/prakashjaju
a whole series of tweets..
leaving aside the debate of whether he’s right or not beats me why a Samajvadi guy is so obsessed with the box office. Unless he’s also in the business.
January 4, 2012 at 1:25 PM
Surprise surprise-My local multiplex
IS showing players -didn’t show many Bollywood biggies
May just catch it if reviews are ok & get some time
Guess who was most prominent on their onlinse site
The great bobby deol…
Also don2 squeezes into another week (though only for a show a day !!)
But v few have survived onto the third week
January 4, 2012 at 1:35 PM
btw where is the great Bobby Deol? Last heard he used to post regularly here as a guest, before Players happened for him .. anyone??
January 4, 2012 at 2:31 PM
January 4, 2012 at 4:39 PM
Dhobi ghaat was perhaps the film I liked the most from Bollywood this year along with rockstar and znmd…
And find kiran rao quite talented and has an original perspective-definitely a maker to watch out for…(if she gets more choices)-not sure if she has got another movie to direct!!!
Ps—Old gold is back but her voice has been ‘drowned’ by even more vocal SRK fans, it seems
But old gold is the ‘original’ SRK fan
Old gold- btw can we have your views/ review on don2
January 4, 2012 at 10:17 PM
@satyam…Thanks for taking action.
January 4, 2012 at 10:49 PM
Alex,
Agree…Dhobi Ghat was outstanding & was one of my favourite films of 2011 along with Stanley ka Dabba, Delhi Belly & Shor in the City.
Kiran Rao has a lot of talent & potential…hope she continues to make the kind of cinema which she believes in…the market today has space for all kinds of films.
Also not to forget she was the one who actually happened to come across the script of Delhi Belly & realised its tremendous celluloid potential. This aspect was highlighted in many of the Delhi Belly pre-release interviews.
January 4, 2012 at 11:02 PM
Karan Johar brings Meluha to life
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/Karan-Johar-brings-Meluha-to-life/articleshow/11350653.cms
“Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions has landed the film rights of Amish Tripathi’s best-selling debut novel, The Immortals of Meluha. The book had attracted much attention since Amish announced he was on the lookout for a producer to adapt his book. Producers from Hollywood and Bollywood were vying for the film rights, even as his second book in the Shiva Trilogy, The Secret of the Nagas was launched.
Says an insider, “Karan credits the buying to the CEO of Dharma Productions, Apurva Mehta, who had been negotiating for the book rights for months.” The emotional content and the love story between Shiva and Parvati are very strong elements in the novel. Karan will look into finer details, apart from the screenplay. Since it deals with religion and mythology he will make sure that the subject will be treated with sensitivity.
That search has now ended. Says a happy Amish, “I believe that my books are a result of Lord Shiva’s blessings. He is a God who excites intense passions. If one wants to tell His story, it can only be done with intense passion and commitment. And that is what I saw in Dharma Productions towards The Immortals of Meluha. I believe that my book is in very safe hands with Karan and his team.”
Says Karan, “I was blown away with the world of Meluha and rivetted by Amish’s creation of it. I think the book lends itself beautifully for celluloid and we are very excited to promote Amish’s labour of love effectively.” Now the big question is who is going to direct a film of this magnitude from Dharma and which big star will play Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati?
The Immortals of Meluha The first book in Amish Tripathi’s Shiva Trilogy, Immortals of Meluha tells the story of a Tibetan immigrant named Shiva who is invited to the kingdom of Meluha where he discovers his destiny. A retelling of the legend of Lord Shiva, this work of fiction found many fans.
The Shiva Trilogy Three books in all: The Immortals of Meluha, The Secret of the Nagas and The Oath of the Vayuputras.
January 5, 2012 at 2:58 AM
I am yet to get my hands on this book. Has anyone on the blog read it?
I kinda admire Karan’s decision here but dont think its the sort of subject that’s movie version will not create some amount of controversy !
January 4, 2012 at 11:09 PM
Huge fan of 1st time author Amish Tripathi’s Shiva Trilogy, the first 2 books have created quite a few publishing records in the Indian literary fiction scene.
Have extreme reservations though on the celluloid adaptation…having read the book, can safely conclude it needs to be made on the scale of “Lord of the Rings” trilogy requiring staggering budgets & resources…that in itself is a daunting proposition !!
January 5, 2012 at 2:59 AM
Amish does seem to hae broken quite a few barriers in Indian fiction with this book.. I guess its a trilogy that might equate with the LOTR.. been hearing lots of good things about it
January 5, 2012 at 12:30 AM
Players Likely To Depend On Word Of Mouth
Thursday 5th January 2012 09.30 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Players will the first release of 2012 and the year will start with a big budget action thriller but the opening is not looking good. The advance all over is pretty dull and the film is likely to depend on word of mouth to get a jump in collections on Saturday and Sunday and come out with a decent weekend.
Players is getting a huge release of around 2000 screens so the potential to collect is there if it can manage good public reports.
The first day should do around 6 crore nett and that sort of collection gives a huge chance of big growth considering the release of the film. The directors Abbas Mustan have a good track record at the box office with these type of films and their last film Race (2008) was a huge hit so even with a not so happening cast and music, the content of the film may work.
Another advantage for the film is that there is no major release until Agneepath on 26th January so it has plenty of time to make a mark even with a low satrt.
January 5, 2012 at 12:34 AM
BOI is a Bachhan hater.
January 5, 2012 at 12:39 AM
Think it should be higher than 6 crores (this was Raavan on day 1, according to them.. and this had terrible WOM) but given their usually commentary on an Abhishek film this is actually quite positive since they seem to be stressing ‘growth’ quite a bit!
ZNMD had 7.3 crores according to them.
January 5, 2012 at 12:44 AM
yeh hui na baat … liked it how commentry has changed and emphasis is now on screens (2000 a rather big release now ) FOR COLLECTION.
and ya 5000 for ra one and 3500 for don 2 where hardly any thing in matter of collection
this is called twisting the thing as it suits you… next 2 or 3 days will be funny as their commentry will contradict their other claim only
January 5, 2012 at 12:49 AM
well the game always is that when it’s a success someone else is responsible, when it’s a failure it’s just Abhishek’s baby! And watch out for some total reductions also. Because when the film does well they all pull this sort of stuff. They grudgingly accept it as a success eventually having stressed the negative at every turn. By those standards this is pretty surprising. And this only means that the reports on the film are good. So might as well give abbas-mustan the credit!
Incidentally Ra One was also in the 3000 range, perhaps a typo on your part.
January 5, 2012 at 1:04 AM
2000 screen release for Players is huge…that would mean Don 2′s screen count gets significantly knocked off for week 3…reaching even 110 crore appears to be daunting now…let’s wait & watch.
January 5, 2012 at 1:55 AM
Don2 is the 15th blockbuster of srk in overseas.There are only 23 blockbusters so far in overseas and deducting srk’ 15 there remain only eight for rest of the stars.The story does not end here as looking at overseas all time blockbusters there are eleven in total and nine belong to srk.This shows the star power of this man which no one in Indian film industry has enjoyed so far.Just check http://www.boxofficeindia.com
January 5, 2012 at 3:39 AM
grow up..
January 5, 2012 at 4:35 AM
If story not ends here, it was not even started by this man either. Overseas run was started way back in Awaara days. It was big blockbuster there .. and then there is history of blockbuster movies in overseas. Yes, market is growing as Indians are migrating fast every where. But still there were bigger Hits in overseas even before 90′s. None of SRK movie has crossed biggest blockbuster run of MARD in overseas for more than 3 years. Heck, SRK even need to cross Aamir Khan’s three idiots, leave aside Amitabh.
January 5, 2012 at 9:22 AM
partly true,
Amitabh would have topped overseas if it had not been piracy of video tapes and mid eighties to early nintees videos were boomong and almost all cinemas died out,All Amitabhs and other stars films suffered and if Amitabhs films were released like Mard,Sharabi,Aakhree Raasta or kalia,naseeb and khuddar then I am sure that all these films were huge box-office collection..Why ? because I was born and bred here in UK and I have seen the craze of Amitabh and also I also had video shop in eighties ..
Every films in videos we use to rent £1.oo per/night but Amitabhs films were straight to £2.50 per/night..People use to pay also.
amitabhs overseas started declining when piracy started,there was a craze to watch a film of amitabh in your living room..
January 5, 2012 at 9:45 AM
think some of these films were big in the late 70s, i.e. theatrically.. MKS’s UK run is famous..
of course when people say overseas they mean US/UK. otherwise Indian cinema, especially Bachchan have been huge in the Middle East and North Africa.. in fact in other parts of Africa as well (I remember this film from Mali I believe where they have a theater screening Pukar in the 80s). The there’s the Caribbean, SA. Of course things have now changed because there’s a bigger diaspora. So it’s a demographic shift which enables all of this and allows a greater presence.
do think though that the overseas impact is often exaggerated. The grosses of most of these films are blips on the radar. Barring a UK where there is great concentration of Indians/Pakistanis in certain towns and where the cultural presence of the same is in any case greater. Hindi cinema is not ‘new’ for the many of those other parts I mentioned. The Mideast especially was in fact for the longest time the most dependable foreign territory before the advent of the VCR and then it took off again over the last 20 years or so. Again you have pockets elsewhere. Australia’s certainly coming up with more desi influx, you have a very prominent Sikh population in Germany (those who left in the 80s for the most part at the height of the Punjab troubles), you have a great Tamilian diaspora in Canada but also in Malaysia. So on and so forth. These demographic shifts can come about rather dramatically.
All of this doesn’t mean that Bollywood doesn’t have a much higher profile in the West than before. Certainly it gets very regular coverage in very many mainstream avenues. But I think that in many of these debates, and not only for agenda-driven reasons but also because of colonization anxieties, the whole ‘overseas’ deal is exaggerated greatly. One could be forgiven for thinking that it was a great big Tom Cruise film releasing in Hong Kong the way it’s spun. One forgets that on the other side sure Bollywood is getting more attention but many other industries around the globe are getting vastly more of it. If anything we have still not got our act together in terms of putting out films of true value. Tamil cinema continues to be shockingly underrepresented. I say this because here’s a commercial cinema that on its best day beats Bollywood in most departments. But also there have been more arthouse movements from Bengal to Kerala. There’s been the resurgence in Marathi cinema. Most of this just doesn’t get any institutional support in India in terms of being sent out around the world in the right ways. It still begins and ends with Hindi cinema and this is a great disservice to the possibilities out there. Even if one only wants to restrict oneself to commercial over the top masala entertainers you still have a great deal in the South that I think would be appreciated more by many of the Western reviewers than the Hindi stuff.
January 5, 2012 at 2:57 AM
“This shows the star power of this man which no one in Indian film industry has enjoyed so far”….ROFLOL !!!
Satyam : I am really sorry !!…How silly of me to make that troll comment, when actually we are getting our daily dose of entertainment by way of such hilarious & priceless remarks…oldgold needs to pull up her socks as she has some serious competition now !!!
As regards the BOI story, it is hardly a surprise coming from them. Tom tomming “this man”s overseas achievements is a fantastic way of diverting attention from “this man”s increasingly floundering BO status in India & recent colossal Ra.One fiasco. Since RNBDJ in 2008, “this man” has not given even a “Super Hit” ( forget blockbuster ) in India !! Star power, indeed !! Ha !!!
And regards “this man”‘s much touted overseas clout, that too has received a severe & embarassing jolt from “other actor”s film :
1) 3 Idiots is the highest grossing Indian film in the US which is the largest overseas market ( $ 6.4 million )
2) 3 Idiots is the highest grossing Indian film in China which is the 2nd largest overseas market ( $ 2 million & counting )
3) 3 Idiots is the highest grossing Indian film in entire overseas market ( whopping $ 23.5 million & counting )
Of course, not to forget, “other actor” has numerous other overseas achievements which “the man” has not even come close to : walking the red carpet at the Oscars, part of the prestigious Berlin Film Festival’s select international jury, showcasing Peepli Live at the Sundance Film Festival ( only Indian film so far to achieve this distinction at Sundance )……etc.etc.etc.
No, wait ! I am being unfair to “the man”…he too walked the red carpet at Cannes ( which has become an annual mela for our film fraternity ) with Devdas…the film got an amazing reception too…most of the audience walked out halfway through the film !!!
January 5, 2012 at 3:08 AM
Lol@”the man”&”other man” haha
“oldgold needs to pull up her socks”-oldgold doesnt wear socks anymore lol
January 5, 2012 at 4:18 AM
>when actually we are getting our daily dose of entertainment by way of such hilarious & priceless remarks
Are you sure you mean to use this very simple and *harmless* word ‘entertainment’?
Because according to the dictionary ‘entertainment’ means;
“Something that amuses, pleases, or diverts, especially a performance or show.
The pleasure afforded by being entertained; amusement: ”
The feeling that is obvious from your comment can’t be described as ‘pleasure’ or ‘something pleasing’.
So is it amusement? Which in turn means the same;
“To occupy in an agreeable, pleasing, or entertaining fashion.
To cause to laugh or smile by giving pleasure”
So IMO what one is looking for to say is;
“the daily opportunity of being able to mock, ridicule, because we don’t like what we read, and allso a great daily opportunity of rubbing in our claim to intelligence.”
January 5, 2012 at 4:25 AM
Good return shot by oldgold ….
January 5, 2012 at 3:38 AM
Top Films 0f 2012
http://forbesindia.com/article/special/top-films-0f-2012/31682/1
Top 5 Indian Films
Gangs of Wasseypur-I and II
A three-generation gangster epic in Jharkhand’s coal mafia. Directed by Anurag Kashyap, this could be India’s equivalent of The Godfather series. It features Manoj Bajpai, Piyush Mishra and Nawazuddin Siddiqui and explores dynasty dynamics, a coming of age story, and the legacy of a philandering father.
Miss Lovely
Debut directorial feature by the gifted Ashim Ahluwalia, the film is set in the sleazy, Mumbai C-grade film industry. It is about two brothers who produce raunchy horror films with titles like Dolly Darling and Lady James Bond. It features Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Anil George and Niharika Singh.
Shanghai
A political thriller based on Greek author Vassilis Vassilikos’ novel Z, the film follows three characters looking to benefit from the changing fortunes of a small town. But they face a dilemma when they realise the locals are being exploited. The film stars Abhay Deol, Emraan Hashmi, Kalki Koechlin and Prosenjit Chatterjee.
The Ship of Theseus
The film is named after a philosophical paradox — whether an object that has all its parts replaced remains fundamentally the same object — and what happens if this is applied to people.
The debut film by Anand Gandhi features Neeraj Kabi and Soham Shah.
Tasher Desh (Land of Cards); Laptop by Kaushik Ganguly; Kokkho Poth (Sound of Old Rooms)
Tasher Desh by Q is a post-modern, psychedelic take on Tagore’s dance-drama about the adventures of a prince who incites a feminist revolution in group of playing cards.
Laptop by Kaushik Ganguly is a superbly told tale of how a stolen laptop changes hands, including a delicately observed relationship between a blind writer and his typist.
Kokkho Poth (Sound of Old Rooms) by Sandeep Ray is a moving documentary, shot over 20 years, on the joys and dilemmas of being a poet in Kolkata.
Top 5 Foreign Films
Life Of Pi
Tobey Maguire, Irrfan Khan, Tabu, Adil Hussain — and Suraj Sharma as Piscine Molitor ‘Pi’ Patel, named after a swimming pool in Paris. It is a magical adventure in which the zookeeper Patel family moves from Pondicherry to Canada by ship. But the ship wrecks, and Pi finds himself adrift in the Pacific on a big lifeboat with a zebra, a hyena, an orangutan and a Bengal tiger. A tale of faith, hope and survival.
The Dark Knight Rises
The third instalment in Christopher Nolan’s Batman series after Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, the film stars Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway and Tom Hardy. Following Harvey Dent’s death, Batman takes responsibility for Dent’s crimes to protect his reputation and is hunted by police. He must face the terrorist Bane, and discover the truth about enigmatic Selina Kyle.
The Great Gatsby
Baz Luhrmann, who earlier directed Moulin Rouge and Romeo+Juliet, casts Leonardo diCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Tobey Maguire and Amitabh Bachchan in this adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel. Mid-westerner Nick Carraway is lured into the lavish world of his neighbour, Jay Gatsby but soon sees through the cracks of Gatsby’s nouveau riche existence. Bachchan plays Meyer Wolfsheim, a shadowy figure.
The Artist
A wonderful, uplifting, elegant French comedy that won Jean Dujardin Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival, and the adorable doggie Uggy the Palme Dog Award. It is a love letter to silent cinema, in black-and-white. Hollywood silent movie star George Valentin (Dujardin) is rendered obsolete by the rise of the talkie, until rescued by the love of rising star Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo).
Midnight’s Children (Aka Winds Of Change)
An adaptation of Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children, which won the Best of the Booker award. It is about a pair of children, born within moments of India gaining independence from the British, who grow up in an India that is nothing like it was in their parent’s generation. The film stars Satya Bhabha, Shahana Goswami and Rajat Kapoor. Mehta filmed in Buddhist Sri Lanka to save herself grief from both Hindu and Islamic fundoos.
Read more: http://forbesindia.com/article/special/top-films-0f-2012/31682/1#ixzz1iZUJKgIt
January 5, 2012 at 5:13 AM
Hmmm….so 1st reaction to Players has come in..
“@amul_mohan Players Rock!! A bit too long but a typical Abbas-Mustan flick. Endless twists turns keeps you on the edge”
This guy is from Super Cinema trade magazine if I am not wrong.
January 5, 2012 at 6:27 AM
yes he’s the editor of Super Cinema. Posted it yesterday.
January 5, 2012 at 6:53 AM
read few more comments about length and too many songs.
January 5, 2012 at 5:45 AM
The Top Directors 2011
http://www.boxofficeindia.com/npages.php?page=shownews&articleid=3890&nCat=
Thursday 5th January 2011 15.30 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
The top directors at the box office for 2011 are listed below. The directors worth is proved from Monday onwards as it is the film collecting and not the hype and star power. The top directors have been ranked by the business there films did from Monday onwards. Films that had extended weekends have 25% of the weekend total added as hype and star cast is a major factor before Monday and too include Saturday or Sunday business will give an incorrect picture.
1. Anees Bazmee
Ready – 79 crore
2. Farhan Akhtar
Don 2 – 70 crore (expected)
3. Rohit Shetty
Singham – 68 crore
4. Zoya Akhtar
Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara – 62 crore
5. Siddique
Bodyguard – 59 crore
The above were not only the best directors of the year but their respective films were also probably the best of the year having the most appreciation from the public in India..
January 5, 2012 at 5:49 AM
Wow…must say BOI have surpassed themselves today in posting crap articles !!
Mystifying criteria of judging top directors & even more funny choice of directors…Bazmee ( for Ready ) & Siddiqui ( Bodyguard ) in top 5…with Bazmee as No. 1 !! Good heavens !!!
January 5, 2012 at 5:52 AM
So basically you have to be the director of a big budget film to be in with a chance of winning BOI’s coveted best director award
January 5, 2012 at 9:32 AM
Nahata’s 2011 verdicts:
http://www.koimoi.com/box-office-bollywood-films-of-2011/
January 5, 2012 at 9:33 AM
Ra one and Don 2 are “plus” (that’s a new term!) while ZNMD is no better and Rockstar is “losing”.
GIVE ME AN F….ING BREAK!
January 5, 2012 at 9:38 AM
thats a flaming joke,nahata & taran are like 2 peas in a pod,
” laurel & hardy” couple of morans
January 5, 2012 at 9:40 AM
and then people wonder why I keep going on about these sweetheart deals SRK gets in the media.. forget Abhishek who’s constantly abused by them.. ZNMD had fantastic trending, did 90 crores.. and look at this verdict. Does anyone have the slightest doubt this movie would have been called a superhit with SRK in it or that Rockstar would have minimally been called a hit? I could dispute some of the other verdicts here too. But these jump out more. But of course in this absurd world Nahata and Taran nurture we are supposed to believe that the more disappointing the big films are at the box office the better their satellite deals are and the more they’ve been subsidized by Germany and the UK (Merkel hasn’t come up with the big move on the Eurozone crisis because she’s busy taking care of SRK’s films). Meanwhile ZNMD despite the numbers has evidently no such deal that can take it to hit status. Or even Rockstar. The film’s 70 crores.. are these not worth more than Don2′s 100 or Ra One’s 118 (using Nahata’s numbers in each case)?
January 5, 2012 at 10:23 AM
And bigger Joke is Aarakshan as loser and Desi Boyz Average … Lolzz, both are in 45 Crore range and equally budgeted. This Nahta has become biggest joker ever.
January 5, 2012 at 10:06 AM
@Satyam…If Nahata calls Don2 and Ra.one flops then will he regain crediblity?
January 5, 2012 at 10:14 AM
Just returned from watching ‘Players’.
Except for the overlong chase scene at the end, and some loose ends it is very engaging. Abhishek plays his role calmly, which might draw criticism, but at least I detected expression in his eyes, and suitable body language. Iliked his interpretation which suits him just as SRK’s interpretation of Don2 suits his personality.
THe cinema hall was about 50% full for the 3.30 show.
The film had quite a few funny dialogues AND funny moments (which Don 2 lacked).
It’s pretty lively most of the time with some interesting twists.
OK can’t say more. Have to catch a flight.
January 5, 2012 at 10:54 AM
50% is good for a 3:30 show.. this would imply much higher attendance in the evening shows..
Abhishek’s been stressing on the humor here too.
January 5, 2012 at 10:37 AM
Hope this film works for juniorb and 2012 starts with a goodwill note for bollywood.
January 5, 2012 at 1:03 PM
Outrageous nonsense…Nahta’s box office verdict column for 2011 is even more pathetic than his earlier column on so called new business model for films.
“@Satyam…If Nahata calls Don2 and Ra.one flops then will he regain crediblity? ”
Ha ! Frankly, these guys have lost so much credibility that no one gives a damn now what they say about SRK’s current films or even Aamir / Salman’s forthcoming films this year !!!
This basically is a telling commentary on the sorry state of box office reporting in our country. Contrast this with the reporting on something like Boxofficemojo.com / Boxofficeguru.com and the difference is so evident.
January 5, 2012 at 1:36 PM
you’re right in the sense that (and I’m basing this on a lot of anecdotal evidence) when you talk to people in India they assume these guys are about as honest as politicians. So yes hit or flop most of the time no one sets great store by what these people say. Of course online there’s more credibility because people have their agendas too and not just because they naively believe the likes of Nahata.
January 5, 2012 at 3:59 PM
All the verdicts should have investment and revenue. I am sure many verdicts have satellite and other revenue and others it is not considered.
January 5, 2012 at 1:21 PM
Satyam,
“Plus” is indeed a new box office concept invented by Nahta for 2011, to keep all the Khans happy & be in their good books…so Dhobi Ghat, Ra.One & Don 2 are all “Plus” !!
January 5, 2012 at 1:35 PM
Well Aamir is a different deal.. first of all DG is an arthouse effort so I can accept leniency on this score. But also they’ve never been exactly in the tank for Aamir. SRK and Salman are a different matter. Aamir had to earn his stripes the hard way.
January 5, 2012 at 4:02 PM
You think media/trade were/are “in the tank” for Salman? Interesting.
January 5, 2012 at 4:05 PM
The major trade figures have always been very favorable toward Salman. He’s had extensive lean periods and there’s always been the ‘it takes one hit for Salman to bounce back’ refrain. This narrative has been spread in the media too. Sure they’ve reported on all his bad boy stuff but they’ve never gone negative on him for this reason. There’s a salacious angle to all this stuff and of course the media indulges in it but his star value is never questioned because of it. And the moment he has a big one it’s like this was always the ‘norm’.
January 5, 2012 at 4:11 PM
Lion King baits the King Khan
Ajay Devgn declares war, moves the release date of Son Of Sardar ahead to clash with SRK’s film at the box office this Diwali
Kunal M Shah
Posted On Friday, January 06, 2012 at 02:04:21 AM
One has always struck gold at the box office on Diwali. The other went a little off balance last year. But both Ajay Devgn and Shah Rukh Khan have yet again decided to hit the theatres during the festival of lights. While it is known, that SRK’s film with Yash Chopra and Devgn’s home production Son Of Sardar is ready to clash at the BO, this Diwali, Mumbai Mirror tells you why Devgn decided to choose the very date for the release of his opus. Son Of Sardar that was supposed to release on November 30 was pushed ahead by two weeks to meet SRK’s film head on. And that too at Devgn’s insistence.
A source close to the film Son Of Sardar informed Mumbai Mirror, “Ajay Devgn has had a dream rum at the box office over the last couple of years with films like Golmaal 3, Rajneeti, Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai and Singham. He is extremely confident about Son Of Sardar. The film, which is also his home production, was supposed to release on November 30. However, once Don 2 released during Christmas, Ajay decided to release his project during Diwali alongside SRK’s film.”
The industry insiders are already laying their bets on the big clash at the box office. “After Singham, Ajay Devgn has been nicknamed Lion King in the industry. SRK, as we all know, is called the King Khan. It will be interesting to see the two Kings clash at the box office now,” said an industry insider.
According to the industry insider, Devgn’s decision to bring ahead the release date of his next release, especially to meet SRK head on at the box office, is a clear indication of taking their rivalry to the next level. “SRK and Ajay have never been the best of friends. Though none of them have ever talked about their rivalry, the fact that Ajay has decided to meet SRK head on this Diwali indicates that their fight is now out in the open,” said the source.
While Ajay’s last film collected over Rs 100 crore at the box office, the combination of Yash Chopra and Shah Rukh Khan might just be a little too tough to handle. We will only have to wait and watch to see who wins this Diwali.
January 5, 2012 at 4:13 PM
Dumb move by Devgn if this is the case. YRF + SRK + Katrina is a BIG movie. Even if SRK has been hurt a bit.
January 5, 2012 at 4:21 PM
yes and Son of Sardar doesn’t look like the most promising deal around. with that title it will be hard for Devgan to attract the multiplexes. There might be a single screen/multiplex split in the audience. SRK isn’t hurt because he doesn’t get anything else anyway! Devgan will easily lose this matchup. If things go ahead this way.
On that note there are three releases currently on July 13. Bol Bachchan, Barfee, Saif’s Homi Adjania film. The first one is the big ticket film here of course. Conceivably one of the other two could go with it as the ‘smaller’ alternative. But not both. And even though the market allows it it would be better for both those films to move and really prosper with a solo release or something.
Having said that a lot of these clashes don’t pan out eventually. Tezz was supposed to release with Agneepath, then with Agent Vinod. Neither thing is happening.
January 5, 2012 at 5:02 PM
Is Son of Sardar the remake of Maryada Ramanna? (Telugu) If so, I can’t really see Ajay in the role. Or is Akshay doing the remake? There was some tussle over the rights to the title, but I haven’t kept up with how that panned out and who’s doing what.
January 5, 2012 at 5:25 PM
don’t recall to be honest.. vaguely remember hearing something about it.. actually come to think of it I believe it is the Devgan film.