Continuing to shine in its second week, 'Dum Laga Ke Haisha' (DLKH) reigned supreme over last Friday's releases. While 'Badmashiyaan' and 'Hey Bro' ran to near-empty theatres, the Mallika Sherawat-starrer 'Dirty Politics' managed to gross Rs 4.5 crore over the weekend.
Trade analyst Amod Mehra says, "The shows of all the three films were repeatedly cancelled for the want of audience. 'Dum Laga Ke Haisha' starring Ayushmann Khurrana and Bhumi Pednekar managed to hold its own in the weekend with somewhat respectable collections. The film has been declared a successful cult film which has fetched the makers more laurels than money."
Exhibitor Rajesh Thadani suggests that the presence of Mallika Sherawat in 'Dirty Politics' helped the film rake in the moolah across single screens. "The other two films earned very little - 'Badmaashiyan' did a business of Rs 30 lakh and 'Hey Bro' about Rs 70 lakh," he adds.
Trade analyst Taran Adarsh says films that did well in the first quarter of 2015, be it 'Baby', 'Badlapur' and now 'Dum Laga Ke Haisha', took a slow start at the box office initially but the word-of-mouth publicity helped them draw bigger crowds. "Even if the ticket rate is high, the audience doesn't mind shelling out a few extra bucks for good content. However, the industry is going through a dull phase due to the ongoing cricket World Cup and exam season," he adds.
Mehra points out that with no major film releasing this week, other than Anushka Sharma's A-rated thriller, 'NH10', exhibitors are planning to keep an audi closed than continue with losses.
Number Crunch
Rs 7 crore
'Dum Laga Ke Haisha'- (second week);
Overall: Rs 17.5 crore
Rs 4.5 crore
'Dirty Politics' (opening weekend)
Rs 2.5 crore
'Badlapur' (third week); Overall: Rs 49 crore
