By Joginder Tuteja

If the weekend response to Yash Raj Films' latest release NEW YORK is anything to go by, the film is all set to enjoy at least a HIT status for itself at the box office.

This Kabir Khan directed film has taken an extremely heartening start at the box office and is seeing a rapid growth in positive word of mouth with every passing show. The film has done wonders at the box office and has clearly seen one of the most positive box office responses of the year 2009 so far.

By the time first show of the film came to it's conclusion on Friday, picture was crystal clear that this John Abraham, Katrina Kaif, Neil Nitin Mukesh and Irrfan Khan starrer was en route to the winning post.

The opening shows occupancy ranged from 60%-70% which was quite positive considering the fact that with an exception of big star cast films, majority of movies start warming up only by evening shows.

However, the trend was different in case of NEW YORK which got into third gear from the time advance booking counters opened and by the time it was evening, word had spread that NEW YORK was a quality film waiting to be lapped up.

No wonder, the evening and night shows were houseful all over and the scene only got better over the remainder of the weekend. After ages, one got to see Houseful signs at multiplexes, something that was missing ever since the year had begun.

With the film managing to take the best start of the year so far, it is all set to surpass the opening of CHANDNI CHOWK TO CHINA and DELHI 6.

Not that these two films did much wonders at the box office but on absolute terms, while CHANDNI CHOWK TO CHINA had boasted of 26 crores in the first week, DELHI 6 had netted a mere 22 crores. In this regard, NEW YORK is clearly expected to surpass these figures.

Even if that doesn't happen and NEW YORK falls short of a couple of crores or so, it would still be a remarkable feat since the film hasn't seen a huge opening like the aforementioned films.

The point is, this Kabir Khan directed film has finally broken the bad spell at the box office and brought cheers back on the faces of producers, exhibitors, distributors and of course the audiences.

As for the actors, whether it is John Abraham, Neil Nitin Mukesh or Katrina Kaif - each of them has come up with his/her career best performance in the film; something that is reflected in the manner in which audiences as well as critics are appreciating the film.

In a sensitive film that keeps it's drama and thrills intact, it was a thin rope that the actors had to walk. However, they have done exceedingly well in surpassing the expectations even when a powerhouse performer Irrfan Khan, who can seldom put a foot wrong, was amidst them.

The other release of the week, RUNWAY, has been a miserable disaster though and it won't be surprising if theaters screening the film (in the limited prints that it has arrived) replace it with NEW YORK as the week begins.

This writer just had two people for company in the entire auditorium on the first day of the film's screening which clearly tells the tale. Starring one film old Amarjeet along with Tulip Joshi, the film is a terrible affair and only adds on to the long list of insignificant non-performers of the year so far.