Dhobi Ghat gets very good opening

Dhobi Ghat, a film catering to a niche audience, opened to a superb response at select properties across all urban centres. The opening at the main 25/30 odd properties was in 80% to 90% range, while the occupancy at non-urban centres/mass belt properties ranged from 30% to 40%. The film has been released in 325 screens in India, which, some people feel, is still on the higher side given the genre of this film [art house cinema]. However, with Aamir Khan as the producer and also one of the actors of this film, the screen count seems appropriate, since the week is very good [Wednesday, 26 January is a holiday] and the producers, who are also its distributors, feel that a tidy sum can be recovered in its initial week.

The evening and night shows of Dhobi Ghat are expected to be very good at urban centres [the advance booking has been very good] and a healthy weekend is on the cards.

What goes in its favour is its low cost. The cost of production is Rs. 5 cr [the figure has been confirmed by Aamir Khan to this writer] and an additional Rs. 2.5 cr to Rs. 3 cr has been spent on P & A, which takes the total cost to approx. Rs. 7.5 cr to Rs. 8 cr. While Aamir is in talks for the Satellite Rights of the film, he should be able to recover the entire figure [Rs. 8 cr] from Satellite itself, while the theatrical business in India, Overseas and also the revenue generated from Home Video should come as bonus.

Internationally, Dhobi Ghat, which opened on Thursday in U.A.E., has embarked on an excellent start, garnering better opening figures than Taare Zameen Par, according to UTV.