Source: IndiaFM
By: Taran Adarsh
Date: February 28, 2008
At the commencement of 2008, a few people had opined that there would be a scarcity of new releases in the months to come. A clear picture vis-à-vis the flow of releases can never be ascertained at the very commencement of the year, since a producer has to keep a lot of factors in mind before he locks the release date. Also, he has to consult his distributors/financiers before he decides on a date. As things stand today, the flow of films in 2008 is heavy and an equal number of films should be added to this exhaustive list as the year progresses.
I foresee, 2/3/4 significant films clashing week after week, starting April this year. Although no one wants a clash, it's difficult to avert clashes in the coming weeks looking at the mass production happening in Mumbai. I've often been asked, will things change for better in 2008? Also, which genre would rule the box-office this year? As an optimist, I look forward to every film that's slated for release. I've always maintained that box-office is most unpredictable and that's the beauty of this business. There's no rule that only biggies would attract big crowds.
As for the genre, any story well told will find its audience. Let's not forget, the viewer wants to listen to a gripping story unfold on screen. Rest everything is secondary! So what's the verdict on JODHAA AKBAR? Like always, the opinions are divided. UTV calls it a success, since the money invested and the money recovered proves that it's a profitable venture. I endorse their viewpoint completely. But the pessimists continue to indulge in malicious propaganda [do they have an agenda?] that it's not working at so-and-so small centre. But aren't we forgetting that even CHAK DE INDIA and TAARE ZAMEEN PAR weren't as strong at some smaller centres? If one were to go by this obnoxious theory, we should've called these two films flops as well.
Since UTV are the producers and distributors of JODHAA AKBAR, what matters is what money they eventually recover. If the cost is Rs. 50 cr. and the recovery is in the range of Rs. 70 cr., what would you call it? A flop? If that's a flop, will someone please explain the definition of a Hit to me? As for UTV, they're laughing all the way to the bank… and also at the zilch business sense of a few negative souls.
---
Supplying an audience eager for action, Jumper filled the void with a superb $29.4 million start from 30 markets last weekend, topping the foreign box office. The picture was No. 1 in the United Kingdom with $6 million from 406 screens, 67 percent ahead of the similarly-released Ghost Rider last year. It was also bigger than Ghost Rider in Spain with a fantastic $3.8 million debut from 447 screens and in Australia, beating it by 63 percent, and Ghost Rider was no slouch overseas, grossing $112.9 million overall. One sour note for Jumper was in Hong Kong where the fantastical action picture placed second with $785,954 from 39 screens, below the second weekend of Enchanted though still topping Ghost Rider by 35 percent. Jumper had no awful openings and will be in most of the world by the first week of March. Abating 39 percent, Astérix aux jeux olympiques grossed $14.8 million over the weekend from 25 territories, pushing its total to $92.6 million.
The French comedy sequel fell only 34 percent in its native market for an outstanding $44.1 million total, only a smidgen behind Shrek the Third's final tally, and it had good holds in Italy and Spain. Boosted by France's second-ranked $5.7 million opening, National Treasure: Book of Secrets placed third internationally with $12.7 million from 38 territories. Its French opening was almost double the original's start. Meanwhile, Book of Secrets opened in first place in Finland with $236,242 from 41 screens and fell an expected 40 percent in the U.K. to push its total to $11.1 million there. Over the weekend, it surpassed $200 million in total receipts, topping its predecessor's $174.5 million finish.
Another Indian picture landed in the Top 5 internationally. The sixteenth century love story Jodhaa Akbar made a solid $8.1 million from 15 markets. Although Bollywood movie have expanded into new territories recently, most of their business still comes from only two: India and the U.K. Jodhaa earned $7 million in India, which wasn't nearly as big as recent blockbusters Om Shanti Om and Welcome. In the U.K., Akbar placed tenth in a crowded market with $717,085 from only 46 screens, posting the territory's highest per screen average.
27 Dresses entered the Top Five with a $7.6 million weekend from 30 markets but showed that it's unlikely to become a bigger hit internationally than it was domestically. Romantic comedies have been topping their domestic tallies a lot recently, including P.S. I Love You with $65.4 million overseas and counting. 27 Dresses, however, posted respectable numbers and led some markets but didn't have one single breakout. It was first in Brazil with $600,240, which was half of P.S. I Love You's opening. It was on top in Mexico with $1.6 million but was third in Germany with $2.6 million.
More notable in Germany was the sudden rise of Earth to the top spot. The documentary grew a surprising 55 percent in its second weekend there to $3.4 million from just 283 screens, beating the openings of Rambo and 27 Dresses as well as unseating last weekend's champion Saw IV. All told, Earth has amassed $43.9 million thus far, including $6.4 million from Germany, $11.2 million from France and $19.7 million from Japan. On the eve of the Academy Awards, Best Picture nominees expanded and none garnered blockbuster business. With $28.8 million thus far, Juno has yet to post strong results in non-English speaking territories, while No Country has done decently across the board with $30.8 million.
There Will Be Blood premiered two weekends ago but expanded nationwide in the U.K. with an unspectacular $1.1 million for a $1.7 million total. The period drama also added 16 markets but none opened higher than fourth place. Michael Clayton's campaign has wound down for the most part and it will end up grossing less overseas than it did in America. Oscar's brightest star, box office wise, has been Atonement with $66.3 million. The romantic drama was the most translatable, akin to The English Patient, and it has several important markets ahead, including China, Denmark, Japan and South Korea. Atonement picked up a good portion of its business before nominations were announced, including a whopping $24 million from the U.K. Several movies that received lesser nominations from the Academy have had much more successful campaigns. American Gangster will likely surpass The Departed, Sweeney Todd should easily clear $100 million and La Vie en Rose was 2007's second-highest grossing non-English picture.
---
Source: New Post
UTV and Ashutosh Gowariker have good reason to feel happy. The box-office performance of their co-production, 'Jodhaa Akbar', is improving slightly, especially in Mumbai, in the second week since its release. 'Some movies which have a lacklustre opening in terms of money collected at the box-office often do well as days progress. In Bollywood, this phenomenon is called the outcome of word-of-mouth publicity,' said Sunil Boobna, a distributor. This is exactly what has happened in the case of 'Jodhaa Akbar'. The favourable viewer reports of the movie are now drawing fresh crowds.
The movie is also doing well in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. While the Andhra circuit registered a collection of Rs.24 million, the Karnataka circuit grossed Rs.21.8 million in the first week. The first week's collection figure in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, however, is rather poor in comparison. It is only Rs.8.2 million. The Tamil and Telugu versions of the movie are yet to be released. In the Middle East, 'Jodhaa Akbar' is heading towards the top-three slot, a record for a Bollywood movie released in the theatres there. Although the movie opened on an uncertain note in Mumbai, what with the multiplexes refusing to showcase it because of differences with UTV over their percentage of share from box-office collections, its gross collection in Mumbai in the first week stood at Rs.178 million.
Those who shunned the movie may be ruing the fact that PVR, the only multiplex that picked it up, received a comfortable Rs.40.8 million in the first week. But audiences in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh seem to be responding to the movie rather guardedly. 'Jodhaa Akbar' mopped up only Rs.70.8 million from the region in the first week. In comparison, the movie garnered Rs.20.4 million in the first week in a smaller territory like Punjab. Although the movie could not be released in Rajasthan due to protests by a section of the Rajput community there, its first week's box-office performance in central India-CPCI territory - comprising a part of east Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan - cannot be said to be as bad. It mopped up Rs.20.9 million. But in the second week, the movie was banned in Madhya Pradesh. 'Jodhaa Akbar' has received a lukewarm response in eastern India. The first week's collection from the region was only Rs.28.3 million. In the overseas market, the movie has fared better in the US than in Britain. In the US, it collected $1.6 million in the first three days, while making $0.4 million in Britain.