Showing posts with label Ek Din. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ek Din. Show all posts
Dhurandhar and then what? Bollywood's box office blues return after one big hit
10:38 AM
Posted by Fenil Seta
Outdated story formulas, fading star power bring string of failures soon after the success of Dhurandhar 2
Rajesh N Naidu (THE ECONOMIC TIMES; June 18, 2026)
Mumbai: After the blockbuster success of Dhurandhar The Revenge, Hindi cinema has slipped back into a slump, with at least seven consecutive box-office failures following the moderate performance of Bhooth Bangla, trade data showed.
Films such as Chand Mera Dil, Ek Din, Daadi Ki Shaadi, Pati Patni Aur Woh Do, Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai and Bandar, despite featuring well-known casts and filmmakers, have failed to draw audiences.
Industry experts told ET that Bollywood's continued dependence on outdated storytelling formulas, fading star power, inability to adapt to evolving audience preferences, weak marketing campaigns and the failure to turn films into social media-driven cultural events have all contributed to the poor performance.
Producers and exhibitors said the industry has struggled to organically build audiences around films before their releases, a strategy increasingly crucial for box-office success.
Also, increasingly, makers in the Hindi film industry have a huge disconnect with audiences' tastes, said exhibitors.
"These films are rejected. Audiences want to come to theatres. The successes of Tamil film Karuppu or even the small-budget experimental horror film Obsession prove it. One needs to bring the right product at the right time. This is how the business works. Smart producers adjust to genres and not make what they think audiences will like," explained Vishek Chauhan, CEO of Roopbani Cinema, a single-screen theatre in Bihar.
"Earlier, big directors would constantly communicate with well-penetrated distributors to understand audiences' preferences and tastes. This is how they made films. This is not the case today," he added.
Apart from animation, horror genre has emerged as a favourite among audiences in India and abroad. Recently, a small-budget franchise Hindi film Haunted – Echoes Of The Past, which was released without marketing, collected Rs. 13.5 crore in the first six days of its release.
Another reason may have been dated stories and style. "These recent films are made in the old mould. You cannot make a Hindi film with the 1990s story and expect it to click with audiences. Today, audiences reward 'unique' writing. It is not about stars or a film's budget. Given the high costs that are involved in a theatre visit, these films made in the old mould do not provide a strong reason for audiences to come to theatres," said producer Rajesh R Nair.
"It is about intent. After the pandemic, I have not seen a major film launched which has matched up to the evolved taste of audiences. The intent is totally missing. If one starts a film then one must sense the audience's tastes 18 months in advance to be relevant," explained Girish Johar, producer and film business expert.
Fenil's Bollywood Talk # 933
3:26 PM
Posted by Fenil Seta
RAJA SHIVAJI, THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2 SUCCEED; NEW RELEASES TO FACE A CHALLENGE
The exhibitors had a gala time last weekend. The majority of new releases like Raja Shivaji, The Devil Wears Prada 2, Patriot etc., as well as holdover releases like Bhooth Bangla and Michael performed brilliantly at the ticket window.
As expected, Raja Shivaji opened at Rs. 10.25 crores with a majority of earnings coming from the Marathi version, which released majorly in Maharashtra. The May 1 Maharashtra Day holiday also went in its favour. After a huge first day, the numbers dropped to Rs. 9.25 crores on Saturday and then jumped to Rs. 11.50 crores on Sunday. On Monday, Raja Shivaji collected Rs. 5.25 crores. This way, the film collected Rs. 36.25 crores in 4 days. The first week's earnings are expected to be around Rs. 50 crores. With negligible competition this week, Raja Shivaji has a chance of hitting the Rs. 100 crore mark.
The Devil Wears Prada 2 collected around Rs. 5 crores on day 1 + paid previews and held strongly over the weekends and weekdays too. The first week's collections are expected to be around Rs. 20 crores. This film should remain steady over the next few weeks and the target would be to cross the Rs. 35 crore mark and hopefully, enter the Rs. 40 crore club as well.
Sadly, Ek Din was an exception. As predicted in last week’s edition, it opened at Rs. 1 crore. The film dropped to Rs. 75 lakhs, which should not have happened despite the May 1 holiday, as its day 1 collections were paltry. In an ideal situation, word-of-mouth should have taken the collections to Rs. 1.50 crore, but the opposite happened here.
On Sunday and Monday, Ek Din collected Rs. 85 lakhs and Rs. 25 lakhs, respectively. This way, the film has collected just Rs. 2.85 crores. Even a lifetime collection of Rs. 5 crores now looks very difficult.
Three films will be released tomorrow, May 8, and in terms of opening, none of them stands a chance. Daadi Ki Shaadi is the most star-driven film of the three. It stars Neetu Kapoor and marks the debut of her daughter Riddhima Kapoor Sahni. Kapil Sharma and Sadia Khateeb also feature in the movie. It looks like a slice-of-life, light-hearted flick, but excitement for it is negligible. Due to the cast and genre, the film will hopefully cross the Rs. 1 crore mark, though the advance sales at present do not suggest so.
Krishnavataram Part 1: The Heart stars newcomers and is a devotional film on Lord Krishna. Its trailer and songs have been noticed and its ticket sales have been fine. If word of mouth is positive, then it can surprise at the ticket window. The makers misled viewers by claiming that it was releasing on May 7. However, it only has paid previews starting tonight and not a full-fledged release.
Finally, Main Actor Nahin Hoon stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the lead. It’s a niche film with limited release.
The exhibitors had a gala time last weekend. The majority of new releases like Raja Shivaji, The Devil Wears Prada 2, Patriot etc., as well as holdover releases like Bhooth Bangla and Michael performed brilliantly at the ticket window.
As expected, Raja Shivaji opened at Rs. 10.25 crores with a majority of earnings coming from the Marathi version, which released majorly in Maharashtra. The May 1 Maharashtra Day holiday also went in its favour. After a huge first day, the numbers dropped to Rs. 9.25 crores on Saturday and then jumped to Rs. 11.50 crores on Sunday. On Monday, Raja Shivaji collected Rs. 5.25 crores. This way, the film collected Rs. 36.25 crores in 4 days. The first week's earnings are expected to be around Rs. 50 crores. With negligible competition this week, Raja Shivaji has a chance of hitting the Rs. 100 crore mark.
The Devil Wears Prada 2 collected around Rs. 5 crores on day 1 + paid previews and held strongly over the weekends and weekdays too. The first week's collections are expected to be around Rs. 20 crores. This film should remain steady over the next few weeks and the target would be to cross the Rs. 35 crore mark and hopefully, enter the Rs. 40 crore club as well.
Sadly, Ek Din was an exception. As predicted in last week’s edition, it opened at Rs. 1 crore. The film dropped to Rs. 75 lakhs, which should not have happened despite the May 1 holiday, as its day 1 collections were paltry. In an ideal situation, word-of-mouth should have taken the collections to Rs. 1.50 crore, but the opposite happened here.
On Sunday and Monday, Ek Din collected Rs. 85 lakhs and Rs. 25 lakhs, respectively. This way, the film has collected just Rs. 2.85 crores. Even a lifetime collection of Rs. 5 crores now looks very difficult.
Three films will be released tomorrow, May 8, and in terms of opening, none of them stands a chance. Daadi Ki Shaadi is the most star-driven film of the three. It stars Neetu Kapoor and marks the debut of her daughter Riddhima Kapoor Sahni. Kapil Sharma and Sadia Khateeb also feature in the movie. It looks like a slice-of-life, light-hearted flick, but excitement for it is negligible. Due to the cast and genre, the film will hopefully cross the Rs. 1 crore mark, though the advance sales at present do not suggest so.
Krishnavataram Part 1: The Heart stars newcomers and is a devotional film on Lord Krishna. Its trailer and songs have been noticed and its ticket sales have been fine. If word of mouth is positive, then it can surprise at the ticket window. The makers misled viewers by claiming that it was releasing on May 7. However, it only has paid previews starting tonight and not a full-fledged release.
Finally, Main Actor Nahin Hoon stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the lead. It’s a niche film with limited release.
(Crisp) Movie Review: EK DIN by FENIL SETA
2:30 PM
Posted by Fenil Seta
Ek Din tells a sweet and rather complicated story. However, director Sunil Pandey handles it with simplicity, ensuring viewers don't get confused. The circumstances under which the protagonists spend 'Ek Din' together during the snowfall season in Japan make for a lovely watch. The songs complement the proceedings. Both characters are very relatable and will be appreciated by viewers. However, some developments are difficult to digest, especially the whole memory angle. This happens mainly in the second half. In this part of the film, a few scenes are unintentionally funny as well. Moreover, revealing most of the story in the film's second trailer was a very bad move. I wonder why someone like Aamir Khan, known for perfectionism, would do that. Junaid Khan seems much better in control here than in Loveyapa and proves yet again, after Maharaj, that he's a worthy actor. Sai Pallavi makes a smashing debut in Bollywood and, as expected, is terrific to say the least. Kunal Kapoor, Jenifer Emmanuel (Ritu), Samta Sagar (Dino's mother) and Kavin Dave (Sam) do well in small roles. Reshma Shetty is fine; however, her Gujarati accent seems forced. All in all, despite the minuses, Ek Din makes for a nice, comforting watch (P.S.: Do NOT check out Trailer 2 of the film as it gives away important plot points).
My rating - *** out of 5!
My rating - *** out of 5!
Fenil's Bollywood Talk # 932
11:16 PM
Posted by Fenil Seta
TRADE, INDUSTRY AND VIEWERS GEAR UP FOR A HEAVILY CROWDED WEEKEND
It’s an extremely heavily crowded week as a significant film is releasing in nearly every film industry of the country. Hence, it became a challenge for the exhibitors to program and schedule releases.
The biggest film in the Northern market is Raja Shivaji. It stars Riteish Deshmukh as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj; he's also the director and one of the producers. The other actors in the film are Genelia Deshmukh, Sanjay Dutt, Abhishek Bachchan, Vidya Balan, Fardeen Khan, Bhagyashree, Sachin Khedekar, Amole Gupte, Mahesh Manjrekar and others. It’ll have a release in both Hindi and Marathi.
The Marathi version is all set for a flying start in Maharashtra. It’ll be the biggest opener in the home state and could go beyond Rs. 10 crores if all goes well. However, in Hindi, the excitement is limited and hence, it’ll open at around Rs. 5 crores. Hence, the total opening in both languages will be very high.
Ek Din stars Junaid Khan and Sai Pallavi and is produced by Aamir Khan. The songs of the film have caught attention, while the trailer promises a sweet love story.
However, the buzz is very limited. Viewers will mostly opt for wait-and-watch, that is, they’ll wait for initial response to trickle in and then decide on whether they’d want to watch it. Also, it appeals to audiences in metros and this segment is more keen on watching The Devil Wears Prada 2. Ek Din will open around Rs. 50-75 lakhs, with an outside chance of hitting Rs. 1 crore mark. Ideally, Ek Din should have been released last week, when the competition was limited.
As for The Devil Wears Prada 2, it has sprung a surprise. The first part was released 20 years ago, but it seems like not just the OG fans but even the younger population has consumed and loved it. The Devil Wears Prada 2 had paid previews from 7:00 pm on April 30, and the response has been superb. At the rate at which its going, the paid previews and first day collection would be around Rs. 7 crores.
The other major releases this week are Patriot in Malayalam and KD - The Devil in Kannada.
Meanwhile, Michael continues to remain strong while Bhooth Bangla also did great in its first two weeks, earning around Rs. 117 crores. Both these films will have to make do with fewer shows. However, they’ll surely find some audience and it would further add to their earnings.
It’s an extremely heavily crowded week as a significant film is releasing in nearly every film industry of the country. Hence, it became a challenge for the exhibitors to program and schedule releases.
The biggest film in the Northern market is Raja Shivaji. It stars Riteish Deshmukh as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj; he's also the director and one of the producers. The other actors in the film are Genelia Deshmukh, Sanjay Dutt, Abhishek Bachchan, Vidya Balan, Fardeen Khan, Bhagyashree, Sachin Khedekar, Amole Gupte, Mahesh Manjrekar and others. It’ll have a release in both Hindi and Marathi.
The Marathi version is all set for a flying start in Maharashtra. It’ll be the biggest opener in the home state and could go beyond Rs. 10 crores if all goes well. However, in Hindi, the excitement is limited and hence, it’ll open at around Rs. 5 crores. Hence, the total opening in both languages will be very high.
Ek Din stars Junaid Khan and Sai Pallavi and is produced by Aamir Khan. The songs of the film have caught attention, while the trailer promises a sweet love story.
However, the buzz is very limited. Viewers will mostly opt for wait-and-watch, that is, they’ll wait for initial response to trickle in and then decide on whether they’d want to watch it. Also, it appeals to audiences in metros and this segment is more keen on watching The Devil Wears Prada 2. Ek Din will open around Rs. 50-75 lakhs, with an outside chance of hitting Rs. 1 crore mark. Ideally, Ek Din should have been released last week, when the competition was limited.
As for The Devil Wears Prada 2, it has sprung a surprise. The first part was released 20 years ago, but it seems like not just the OG fans but even the younger population has consumed and loved it. The Devil Wears Prada 2 had paid previews from 7:00 pm on April 30, and the response has been superb. At the rate at which its going, the paid previews and first day collection would be around Rs. 7 crores.
The other major releases this week are Patriot in Malayalam and KD - The Devil in Kannada.
Meanwhile, Michael continues to remain strong while Bhooth Bangla also did great in its first two weeks, earning around Rs. 117 crores. Both these films will have to make do with fewer shows. However, they’ll surely find some audience and it would further add to their earnings.
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