1st one...Always say bad about Salman
Box Office: Weak opening for Salman Khan's Veer
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Salman Khan's attempt at transforming into an epic action hero does not seem to be going through. The advance booking reports of Veer are extremely poor in multiplexes of India and below average in single screens so far. The combined opening is set to range from below average to dismal. Bombay multiplexes have been given high volume allocations in expectation of a huge response, but initial results show they are booked at a rate of around only 15%, on par with Mr. and Mrs. Khanna. In Calcutta the bookings are outright dismal, to the tune of 5%. Some theaters have a booking of 33 for Friday for this Salman Khan starrer, not 33% but 33 tickets total for the day! Single screens are slightly better but being a mega budget epic set against the British era, it is looking above for help unless the opening weekend word of mouth proves much better than what the box office bookings so far have indicated.
For some reference, in the 1980s released an Amitabh Bachchan starrer called 'Mard' (Nov-8-1985), which was set along similar lines and themes as Veer, in the fictional backdrop of a remote kingdom in the British ruled India with a native hero who doesn't know he's a prince. That Bachchan blockbuster, immortalized by Bachchan's horse and the famous callsigns like 'Peeth Pe Maara Hai Seene Pe Khaoge' and 'Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota' stormed the box office of 1985 shattering Ram Teri Ganga Maili's (a mega hit that year) opening collections. Bombay box office could have used some of that dynamism this week. Alas Veer has opened nothing like Mard.
Salman Khan tallied at #8/#9 in the past decade's box office rankings (click here). In the new decade it is unlikely he'll go higher if the start is to be with results like Veer.
Speaking of the original Mard, 25 years after 1985, Amitabh Bachchan will be seen as a media baron, for Ram Gopal Varma's RANN, which is releasing next Friday on Jan 29th. Rann being a media film is not the kind that typically moves box office meters (ex. Shah Rukh Khan's Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani in 2000) and media figures are not typically considered heroism-worthy for the public. However box office has proven unpredictable before and presence of Amitabh will give it a boost. The month of January has gotten off to a poor start with Shahid Kapoor starrer Chance Pe Dance, Shahrukh Khan-Sushmita Sen-Fardeen Khan starrer Dulha Mil Gaya, Uday Chopra-Priyanka Chopra starrer Pyaa Impossible, and now Veer all set to be dropping one after the other.
Also releasing along with Rann on the 29th will be Arshad Warsi-Vidya Balan starrer Ishqiyan. This film set in the intrigue of Eastern UP will be Vidya Balan's first release of the year after her hit performance in Paa.
Going back to last week, Shahid Kapoor starrer Chance Pe Dance recorded poor shares its first week netting under Rs. 10 crores. The film is 2nd flop in row for Shahid Kapoor after Dil Bole Hadippa, showing how difficult it is to put together box office hit streaks.
In other news, tentative release dates for two major releases of the year: Akshay Kumar's Housefull is set for an April 2010, and the Abhishek Bachchan-Aishwarya Rai starrer Raavan by Mani Ratnam is set for a June 2010 release.
The box office surprise between now till June may come from unexpected corners, such as the Ajay Devgan-Paresh Rawal comedy: Athithi Tum Kab Jaoge? (Dear Guest, When Will You leave?) which is releasing on Feb 26th.
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just wanted to do it LOL
