With a flurry of activity at the marquee last weekend, it has proved to be a disaster for all the Bollywood releases. With all of last Friday's releases falling flat on their faces, Farhan Akhtar's Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is having a dream run at the BO. The only new film to have registered a response is The Wolverine that has managed to garner Rs 10.50 crore over the weekend.
Says distributor Sunny Khanna, `Bajaate Raho was poorly marketed and did not attract attention from moviegoers. It collected approximately Rs 4 crore in its first weekend.
Nasha was below average in the single screens, but collected approx Rs 2.75 crore with one multiplex show. Issaq managed to rake in only around Rs 2.75 crore.`
On the other hand, the biopic on Milkha Singh has collected Rs 88 crore till date (Rs 53 crore in its first, Rs 27 crore in the second week and Rs 8 crores in its third weekend). It looks like the film will race into the Rs 100 crore club.
Khanna adds, `The Wolverine had a fantastic weekend.` According to the trade, Ramaiya Vastavaiya collected Rs 22 crore in its first week with Rs 4 crore earned in its second weekend, thereby taking the 10-day total to approximately Rs 26 crore.
In spite of its slow start on Friday, D-Day ended its first week run at Rs 14 crore. In its second weekend, it garnered approximately Rs 2.25 crore, taking its 10-day total to approximately Rs 16.25 crore.
According to exhibitor Girish Wankhede, The Wolverine performed the best among the lot.
Says Wankhede, `It was followed by Issaq and Bajatey Raho, which saw 30 per cent occupancy. Bhaag Milkha stayed 55 per cent full in its third weekend. It seems that getting a tax exemption is helping the film.
The Marathi release Duniyadari is having 85 per cent occupancy even in its second weekend.` Trade analyst Amod Mehra says, `Even the next week looks sad, with no major release scheduled.`
