Harry Potter, ZNMD will be affected by Mumbai blast

Bollywood tradesmiths view that this weeks big banner releases in India, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and Harry Potter The Deathly Hallows Part 2's Box Office collection will likely get affected by the serial blast in Mumbai on Wednesday.

Since Mumbai contributes a huge chunk (around 40 percent) to the Box Office earnings of India, the trade on Friday will hopefully be less. However, on Saturday and Sunday the Box Office may see a little recovery. Mid Day reports that the priority of entertainment in Mumbai has gone down and security is topping the list for the commoners. Trade Analyst Komal Nahta observes, "So it all depends on how the mood is today, how much tension is there in the air. Nonetheless, it will have some effect, about 20 to 25 per cent."

Bollywood trade commentator and critic, Taran Adarsh views the same. He says entertainment is certainly not on anyone's mind when something like this happens. However, he feels that Friday evening or Saturday things may get back to normal. "Block bookings for Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara are amazing and Potter has its own audience," he says, maintaining that the films won't suffer outside Mumbai.

The exhibitors confirm that the advance booking of films are bit slow, but will pick up soon. After police notice on everything under control in Mumbai, there are chances that movie buffs will take time out to relax and refresh there minds by watching films.

Movie producer and distributor Sunil Bohra, too points out that there will definitely be a difference of 20-25 per cent on the Box Office collection of the films. "Once the fear seeps into the minds of audience it takes at least 15 days for it to get over. However, only Mumbai will be affected and not the rest of India," says Bohra.

Manoj Desai, executive director of Maratha Mandir and G7 Cineplex reveals that the fear psychosis affected occupancy on Wednesday itself. When in the evening people started walking out of the 6 pm show of Murder 2. "People were getting calls and messages informing them about the blasts. They were walking out in the middle of the show," he says, adding that Thursday saw reasonable occupancy. "The advance bookings were good in the beginning, but they slowed down after the blasts," he says.

The Producer of Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara is very optimistic about the results. Ritesh Sidhwani says, “We've seen Mumbai bounce back every time, so I hope the city is going to recover again," he says, insisting that they have a very good advance booking."