WILL RAID 2 MANAGE TO CROSS THE RS. 100 CRORE MARK?

Last week wasn’t great as expected, in terms of box office. Ground Zero will not reach Rs. 10 crores while Phule will barely cross the Rs. 1 crore mark. However, Kesari Chapter 2 continued to be rock steady while Jaat also did well. And now all eyes are on the big release of the coming week, Raid 2.

As the name suggests, it is a sequel to Raid. This time, the protagonist, played by Ajay Devgn, will face Riteish Deshmukh. Vaani Kapoor is the female lead and she replaces Ileana DCruz. The trailer has been well-received and there’s a perception that here’s a film which will be something to watch out for. The song ‘Nasha’ featuring Tamannaah Bhatia has grabbed eyeballs and further added to the buzz.

The earlier part opened at Rs. 9.45 crores and ended up collecting Rs. 98.02 crores in its lifetime. Raid 2 releases on a Thursday to take advantage of the holidays in Maharashtra and Gujarat and a partial holiday in the rest of the country due to International Labour Day. The advance is decent and it can have an opening of Rs. 10 crores. If all goes well, it can even cross the Rs. 15 crore mark, but this will depend on the jump the film takes from noon onwards. The collections will dip as Friday is a normal working day. But the footfalls will see another jump on Saturday and Sunday. At this rate, the film will cross the Rs. 50 crore mark in its four-day weekend. Once that happens, entering the Rs. 100 crore mark shouldn’t be a problem, considering the limited competition from Hindi films until June 6.

The other release of the week is The Bhootnii. It is a horror comedy starring Sanjay Dutt, Mouni Roy, Sunny Singh and Palak Tiwari. The trailer hasn’t been appreciated and even the songs haven’t worked. The film has got a limited release, as a result. It’ll have some advantage tomorrow due to the holiday and genre.

However, a film that might spring a surprise is Thunderbolts. It belongs to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and this franchise hasn’t had a great run off late. But this film has generated a lot of excitement. The advances are decent and it can have an opening of Rs. 5-6 crores or even more. The target should be to cross the first-day earnings of Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3. It earned Rs. 6.68 crores and like Thunderbolts, it was also critically acclaimed. That film managed to cross the Rs. 50 crores mark and that should also be the target of Thunderbolts.

KESARI CHAPTER 2 TRENDS WELL; JAAT SUSTAINS; WILL GROUND ZERO MAKE A MARK?

The last two major releases of Bollywood are not huge Rs. 100 crore grossers. But at the same time, they have been steady at the box office.

Kesari Chapter 2, as expected, opened at Rs. 7.50 crores. The opening was a bit below par, as it was a Good Friday holiday. Usually, the day after Saturday doesn’t see a huge jump. But Kesari Chapter 2 took a while to make noise. Hence, it jumped to Rs. 10 crores on Saturday and Rs. 11.50 crores on Sunday. On Monday, it collected Rs. 4.35 crores. With the cheap ticket offer on Tuesday, the earnings jumped to Rs. 4.85 crores.

Kesari Chapter 2 will collect around Rs. 45 crores in its first week. The target of the film will be to collect Rs. 80-90 crores in its lifetime. The cost, however, is too high. On the plus side, it is the best-performing film of Akshay Kumar in a very long time. The actor suffered a lull but he’s now all set to bounce back with a bang as his upcoming films also seem exciting.

Jaat collected Rs. 59.60 crores in Week 1 and its second-week performance is a bit below expectations. Until Tuesday, it collected Rs. 15.50 crores in the second week. It should have ideally collected Rs. 20 crores. But though Kesari Chapter 2 targets a different set of audiences, the Sunny Deol starrer was affected by the presence of a new release.

Jaat has collected Rs. 75.10 crores until Tuesday and it’ll collect Rs. 78 crores by the end of the second week. It’ll be interesting to see which film manages to earn more out of the two – Kesari Chapter 2 or Jaat.

This week’s big release is Ground Zero, starring Emraan Hashmi. It is inspired by real-life accounts of a man who eliminated the terrorist who was responsible for the 2001 Parliament Attack. The film is majorly set in Kashmir. In fact, the timing is significant as it releases three days after the shocking attack on tourists in Pahalgam.

The buzz for Ground Zero is very limited and hence, an opening of Rs. 1-2 crores is expected. If word of mouth is positive, it can see a huge jump, which will ultimately benefit the film in the long run.

The other major release of the week is Phule. It stars Pratik Gandhi as Mahatma Jyotiba Phule and Patralekhaa as Savitribai Phule. The film has been in the news after the Censor Board deleted certain words. A large section of netizens found it unjustified and it led to a lot of brouhaha.

Sadly, though this controversy has enhanced the awareness of the film, it hasn’t excited the audience to book tickets. Hence, the first-day numbers will be dismal.

Lastly, Jewel Thief - The Heist Begins will premiere on Netflix. It is sure to grab eyeballs due to its mass appeal and casting – Saif Ali Khan, Jaideep Ahlawat, Nikita Dutta and Kunal Kapoor.

JAAT BRINGS RESPITE TO CINEMAS; WILL KESARI CHAPTER 2 MANAGE TO SUCCEED?

Last week’s release Jaat is doing very well at the box office. There were apprehensions about releasing the film on a Thursday. Thankfully, it opened beyond expectations, collecting Rs. 9 crores. It had a healthy jump on Sunday when it earned Rs. 14 crores. The four-day weekend total was Rs. 39 crores. On Monday, it had the advantage of a partial holiday (Ambedkar Jayanti) while on Tuesday, most cinemas sold tickets at cheaper rates as per the new offer by PVR Inox.

While Jaat collected Rs. 7.25 crores on Monday, it earned Rs. 5.50 crores on Tuesday. Wednesday was the first normal non-holiday weekday for Jaat when it held strongly, collecting Rs. 3.85 crores. The first week collections of Jaat are expected to be Rs. 59 crores. If it manages to hold well for the next two weeks, it has the chance to cross the Rs. 100 crore mark. It faces competition from Kesari Chapter 2 from tomorrow, April 18, but that film is meant for a different audience.

Kesari Chapter 2 stars Akshay Kumar, R Madhavan and Ananya Panday and is based on the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre’s aftermath. While many films have been made on the tragic event, this film throws light on the courtroom drama that followed. The trailer is hard-hitting and all three actors seem in top form. In a unique initiative, fan screenings were held in different cities on April 16 and the terrific word of mouth has enhanced the hype to some extent.

Sadly, the film faces several challenges. It is given an ‘A’ rating, which will restrict its audience. Secondly, there’s no song and it looks like a serious drama. Thirdly, Akshay Kumar’s box office standing sadly is not the same as it was before the pandemic. 6 years ago, a film like this would have opened in the range of Rs. 13-14 crores.

As of now, it seems like Kesari Chapter 2 would have an opening of Rs. 7-8 crores. A weekend of Rs. 30 crores would be very healthy and this will be possible with encouraging word of mouth followed by huge interest among people to see the film.

In terms of story, Jaat is like old wine in a new bottle. The songs are poor, the violence is too disturbing, at times needlessly, and moreover, the film drops after the interval. But there are certain plot points which are different and add to the fun. The first half doesn't just have action but lots of amusing scenes as well, which would be loved. A scene in the middle of the second half will create a frenzy in cinemas and even the climax has its share of clapworthy scenes. Most importantly, writer-director Gopichand Malineni portrays Sunny Deol in a true-blue mass avatar. This is how an action film hero should be revered and celebrated. And this film also comes at the right time, just after Gadar 2. Hence, Sunny's revived stardom will be continued with this film. Randeep Hooda is menacing like never before. Regena Cassandrra is the surprise of the film. She makes her presence felt through her mere expressions. The same goes for Swaroopa Ghosh (Ranatunga's mother). Viineet Kumar Siingh, as expected, rocks the show. Saiyami Kher leaves a huge mark in a small role. After Animal, Upendra Limaye once again wins hearts with a cameo appearance. Ramya Krishnan (President), Zarina Wahab, Makarand Deshpande, Jagapathi Babu (CBI officer Satyamurthy) and others also do well. All in all, Jaat is a paisa-vasool entertainer and a must watch for Sunny Deol fans and masala film lovers.

My rating - *** ½ out of 5!

WILL JAAT CROSS THE RS. 100 CRORE MARK?

Sunny Deol’s stardom was getting eroded but it got a boost with the monstrous blockbuster success of Gadar 2. It collected Rs. 515.13 crores and was an all-time grosser for some time until Jawan took over the spot. Yet, what Sunny achieved with the film was a huge feat and hence, his upcoming films now are highly awaited. Jaat is his immediate next after Gadar 2 and hence, the hype is there.

Moreover, Jaat is also an action entertainer and features Sunny Deol in a massy role. His fans love him in this zone and this film delivers the same, that too in abundance, as evident by the trailer. It also stars Randeep Hooda, Viineet Kumar Siingh, Regina Cassandra and Saiyami Kher. It is directed by Gopichand Malineni, a popular Telugu filmmaker. The first look teaser was unveiled during Pushpa 2 and it caught attention. The trailer was launched a few weeks ago and it added to the film’s excitement.

However, the songs have failed. Even the item song featuring Urvashi Rautela didn’t entice the audience. Moreover, the film releases on a Thursday, April 10, possibly on account of Mahavir Jayanti. But it's not a big holiday and most officers will be operational. This will impact its first-day earnings.

Jaat will open in the range of Rs. 7-8 crores. If all goes well, it can open at Rs. 9 crores or even higher. If the film had been released on Friday, it would have surely opened in double digits. Nevertheless, Jaat can score if the reports are positive, leading to healthy collections over the weekend. If it manages to cross the Rs. 100 crore mark, then it’ll be a nice achievement.

Meanwhile, Sikandar crashed big time. While it collected Rs. 8.50 crores last Wednesday, it dropped to Rs. 4.75 crores on Thursday. It further dropped to Rs. 2.75 crores on Friday, shocking the trade and industry. Believe it or not, it still hasn't crossed the Rs. 100 crore mark. The collections until Tuesday, April 8, are Rs. 96.80 crores.

Between Monday and Wednesday, Sikandar's collections are in the range of Rs. 1 crore. Once Jaat releases, it’ll start collecting in lakhs on a daily basis. It’ll finally go past the Rs. 100 crore mark in the coming weekend.