Goal opens to a mixed response at the Box Office

By: Abid, Glamsham
Thursday, 29, November, 2007

This Friday will see the release of Madhuri Dixit's comeback vehicle, Aaja Nachle. The Anil Mehta directed Yash Raj project banks heavily on the (dancing) queen's star power and dance prowess. While that may work at some multiplexes and maybe in the Overseas, Aaja Nachle is not expected to be a big success. Giving company to Aaja Nachle will be a small horror project from Adlabs, GAURI-THE UNBORN. The Atul Kulkarni and Rituparna Sengupta starrer is expected to go unnoticed.

Last Friday's solo release, Vivek Agnihotri's John, Bipasha, Arshad and Boman starrer, Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal, got off to a mixed start, as we had indicated. While Bombay saw an ordinary first day (picked up during the evening and night shows), places like Jaipur and Bengal saw a fairly nice start. While overall success looks difficult for the UTV project, Goal may prove to be an average earner at a few circuits, thanks to the reasonable selling prices there. The biggest setback for UTV must be the ordinary performance in the UK, where Goal is based and was supposed to do the best. The film barely managed to gross $116,428, during the opening weekend in the UK. Even in the US it is a major disappointment, grossing a poor $91,245.

Moving on to the 'Diwali' releases, Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Ranbir, Sonam, Salman (special appearance) and Rani starrer, Saawariya, much to the shock of the makers, the film crashed by over 80 percent in the second week. Checking out the numbers, Saawariya collected 63 lakhs from Bombay, 13 lakhs from Ahmedabad, 4.25 lakhs from Rajkot, 1.85 lakhs from Jamnagar, 1 lakh (gross) from Bhavnagar, 1.85 lakhs from Nasik, 33 lakhs from Delhi city, 6.60 lakhs from Noida, 3.35 lakhs from Ghaziabad, 5 lakhs from Lucknow, 1.25 lakhs from Agra, 1 lakh from Aligarh, 11.20 lakhs from Gurgaon, 2.40 lakhs from Faridabad, 3.10 lakhs from Nagpur, 1 lakh each from Amravati and Raipur, 3.65 lakhs from Indore, 14 lakhs from Jaipur, 1.20 lakhs from Aurangabad, and 1.10 lakhs from Vijaywada. With around 3.75 crores, Saawariya has managed to get to a total of around 23.75 crores in two weeks from India. It is obvious that the movie has flopped. Even in the Overseas Saawariya has had an ordinary run, after a good opening weekend. The film has grossed $885,574 in the US and $619,404 in the UK. The performance though is much better, as compared to India.

The second 'Diwali' release, Farah Khan's Shahrukh Khan-Deepika, Arjun and Shreyas starrer, Om Shanti Om, continues its great run (even in the second week), falling by around 35-40 percent, at the major centers. Checking out the collections, Om Shanti Om obtained 4.50 crores from Bombay, 86 lakhs from Ahmedabad, 3.50 lakhs from Himmatnagar, 13.75 lakhs from Rajkot, 4.50 lakhs from Jamnagar, 6.30 lakhs (gross) from Bhavnagar, 3.55 lakhs from Solapur, 2.80 lakhs from Hubli, 11.30 lakhs from Nasik, 2.10 crores from Delhi city, 28 lakhs from Noida, 19.20 lakhs from Ghaziabad, 28.65 lakhs from Lucknow, 5 lakhs from Agra, 1 lakh from Moradabad, 2.60 lakhs from Bareilly, 4.50 lakhs from Aligarh, 35 lakhs from Gurgaon, 12.70 lakhs from Faridabad, 1.70 lakhs from Panipat, 27.35 lakhs from Nagpur, 3.30 lakhs from Jabalpur, 4.15 lakhs from Amravati, 2.90 lakhs from Akola, 4.05 lakhs from Raipur, 3.60 lakhs from Bhilai, 1.20 lakhs from Durg, 1.50 lakhs from Wardha, 2.50 lakhs from Chandrapur, 19.60 lakhs from Indore, 32.70 lakhs from Jaipur, 4.10 lakhs from Ajmer, 3.15 lakhs from Bikaner, 2.75 lakhs Guwahati, 1.30 crores from Calcutta, 14.30 lakhs from Aurangabad, 2.65 lakhs from Vijaywada and 78.50 lakhs from Hyderabad. With another 25 crores during its latest outing, Om Shanti Om has netted an astonishing over 65 crores in two weeks from India. Needless to add that Om Shanti Om has gone past Chak De India's highest total (of the year) and is a superhit. In the Overseas, Om Shanti Om, already a blockbuster, continues its record breaking run. The film has grossed $2,419,722 from the UK and a new record gross of $3,421,520 from the US.

Coming to the Shahid-Kareena starrer, Jab We Met, the movie seems to be on an inspired and rejuvenated comeback. The collections (that usually fall) saw a jump of around 30 percent from the third to the fourth week! During the week, Jab We Met collected 35 lakhs from Bombay, 10.35 lakhs from Ahmedabad, 1.80 lakhs from Rajkot, 19 lakhs from Delhi city, 6.65 lakhs from Noida, 3.15 lakhs from Ghaziabad, 5 lakhs from Lucknow, 1.30 lakhs from Agra, 7.20 lakhs from Gurgaon, 1.15 lakhs from Faridabad, 2.40 lakhs from Nagpur, 3.05 lakhs from Indore, 3 lakhs from Jaipur, 1.42 lakhs from Aurangabad and 9.50 lakhs from Hyderabad. Netting nearly 2.60 crores, Jab We Met takes its total to 26.60 crores from India and it is a hit plus from India. The movie is also a good success in the UK with $854,174, especially in view of the costs involved.

In the end, let us checkout Priyadarshan's Bhool Bhulaiyaa. The movie managed to get its distributors some additional profit, specially from the Bombay circuit. Bhool Bhulaiyaa collected 22.70 lakhs from Bombay, 4.25 lakhs from Ahmedabad, 1 lakh from Himmatnagar, 1.05 lakhs (gross) from Bhavnagar and 1 lakh from Lucknow. With another 75 lakhs in its sixth week, the Akshay, Vidya, Shiney and Rajpal starrer has so far netted an impressive 53.25 lakhs from India and is a superhit. The movie is also a good hit in the Overseas with $1,374,552 from UK and $1,097,797 from the US.