Big fight at the domestic B.O... Contd.

THIS WEEK IN 2006
[Weekend: June 30-July 2, 2006]

The first half of 2006 had ended and the mood in the film industry was upbeat thanks to the three major successes in the last one month [Fanaa, Phir Hera Pheri, Krrish]. With a number of biggies lined up in the next six months [Golmaal, Omkara, Anthony Kaun Hai?, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, Naksha, Aap Ki Khatir, Lage Raho Munnabhai, Kabul Express, Umrao Jaan, Dhoom 2, Don, Vivah, Babul, Jaan-E-Mann] and a number of talked-about medium-budget films also making their way into movieplexes, the domestic box-office was only going to witness a major boom.

Approx. Rs. 400 crores was riding on the above-named films. The dream merchants had woken up to the fact that content is the king in the current scenario. With emphasis on story, stars and promotion [in that order], the business was sure to escalate in weeks to come.

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THIS WEEK IN 2005
[Weekend: July 1-3, 2005]

After the not-too-exciting response to his last release Naach, RGV's Sarkar emerged a success story at the domestic box-office, silencing his detractors yet again. I would attribute the success to two factors basically: RGV's execution of the story and the power-packed performances.

Sarkar generated tremendous heat prior to its release. The distributors were excited, so were the exhibitors, who screened the film in 10 to 12 shows a day [at multiplexes]. YAKEEN, the other new release, was sidelined to 2 shows a day at some multiplexes.

While Sarkar had a 90% + start at major centres, Yakeen failed to garner respectable figures from Day 1 itself. The opening ranged from 15%-25% at some places, but at several cinema halls, it registered a shockingly poor start of 10%.

Frankly speaking, there was no buzz for Yakeen prior to its release and the fact that it was being released alongside Sarkar as also the fact that the pirated version of the film was out prior to its release, made a further dent in its business.

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THIS WEEK IN 2004
[Weekend: June 25-27, 2004]

The last week of June witnessed the release of the third Big B starrer in a row, Deewaar. While the much-hyped film was expected to take a fantabulous start everywhere, the opening ranged from exciting to mediocre to lukewarm in several parts of the country.

Deewaar had everything going in its favor -- a robust star cast, a producer who makes films with passion and promotes it with equal zeal, aggressive promotion prior to its release, a theme that hadn't been attempted on Hindi screen before. But man proposes, God disposes!

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