Rajkumar Hirani's 'pk' continues to reign supreme at the box office and set new records with last week's release - Anurag Kashyap's 'Ugly' - failing to woo moviegoers.
Stating that the film has collected just about Rs 2 crore in its opening weekend, exhibitor Rajesh Thadani says, "The film has received appreciation but the collection is not up to the mark. Aamir Khan's 'pk', on the other hand, has crossed the Rs 200-crore mark."
Unlike other films this year, 'pk' has managed to do well even in its second week. Trade analyst Amod Mehra says, "It collected Rs 53 crore this weekend and also recorded the fastest Rs 200 crore in Hindi cinema. Ugly got the critics' nod but failed to lure the audience. The only advantage is its modest budget and so, it won't lose much."
Mehra adds Rajinikanth's Tamil film, 'Lingaa', dubbed in Hindi has also failed at the box office. "However, its collections were better than Ugly's," he asserts.
Talking of the box office statistics for 2014, Vishal Anand, head of Operations, Fun Cinemas, suggests that 'pk' has done better than last year's X-mas release, 'Dhoom 3'. Thadani adds: "'pk' did slow business in smaller cities initially but given the controversies surrounding the film, the audience has been flocking to the theatres."
Trade pundits feel the Aamir Khan-starrer will soon cross the Rs 300-crore mark. Trade analyst Komal Nahata says, "Aamir was the first to start the Rs 100 crore record and now, he seems headed for Rs 300 crore. His 'Dhoom 3' earned Rs 285 crore last year and 'pk' is sure to beat that in a week."
