Too many films releasing on the same day has rarely, if ever, proved profitable to the industry. And that's exactly what happened last weekend when half a dozen Hindi movies in diverse genres hit theatres.
In this glut, three moderately-publicised films - Randeep Hooda-starrer 'Main Aur Charles', Kunal Kemmu's sex comedy 'Guddu Ki Gun' and debutant director Kanu Behl's critically acclaimed 'Titli' - managed to register some collections; the rest - 'Once Upon A Time In Bihar', 'Love Exchange' and 'Prithipal Singh' - sank without a trace.
Says trade expert Amod Mehra, "It was a sluggish weekend with all six films bombing at the box office. 'Titli' had to content itself with critical acclaim since very few people went to see it on the big screen."
According to sources, all the films opened to less than 10 per cent occupancy in the morning shows. Trade analyst Taran Adarsh says, "The pre-Diwali weekend is considered dull for the industry since people are busy shopping and preparing for the festival. They go to theatres only for actual Diwali release. Another reason for the dour weekend is that too many films released at the same time and their business got divided."
Despite the slow box office business, holdover hit 'Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2' continued to do well and has grossed nearly Rs 58 crore in its 17-day run. It emerged as the audience's choice with Alia Bhatt and Shahid Kapoor-starrer 'Shaandaar' proving to be a damp squib. "'Shaandaar' has completely collapsed. In fact, it happened a day after its release," adds Adarsh.
BO stats
Rs 4.10crore
'Main Aur Charles'
Rs 2crore
'Guddu Ki Gun'
Rs 1.05crore
'Titli'
(opening weekend figures)
