Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani started slow last week, picked up as the day progressed, picked up further on Saturday, but the mediocre jump in collections on Sunday gave an indication that the film would not do earth-shattering business. The film seems to have become a fantastic weekend fare for the families because collections during the weekdays were very steady but at mediocre levels. It has done extremely well in high-end multiplexes and the big cities, where many people have loved the film so much that they are even repeating it, but the same is not true of the other multiplexes and single-screen cinemas, especially in smaller cities and towns. In other words, the response to the film ranges from the excellent to the ordinary. Although making profits is a foregone conclusion for the producers, thanks to the phenomenal revenues it earned from sale of digital, satellite and audio rights, the hope that the film would cross the Rs. 200-crore mark were dashed to the ground on the first day and again on Sunday. The first day’s net collection was Rs. 10 crore. Collections on Saturday totalled Rs. 15 crore. Sunday closed at Rs. 17.75 crore, taking the first weekend’s total to Rs. 42.75 crore. Collections for the weekdays were on the lower side but they were so steady on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday that the film seems to have created a new record of collections having held on so well on the last three days of the week! Collections of not even super-hits and blockbusters in all these years have maintained like the collections of RRKPP have: Monday – Rs. 6.25 crore, Tuesday – Rs. 6.60 crore, Wednesday – Rs. 6.15 crore, Thursday – Rs. 5.75 crore. Therefore, the total for the weekdays was Rs. 24.75 crore. In this way, the first week closed at Rs. 67.50 crore. The film is expected to fare well in the second weekend too, not just because it is a good weekend fare for the classes and families mainly but also because there is no major new Bollywood or Hollywood release this week. The first day of the second weekend closed at Rs. 6.50 crore, which is more than almost every weekday of the first week, another unusual record. All the aforementioned figures include the revenues from block bookings and bulk ticket sales. No film in the history of Hindi cinema has collected Rs. 6-plus crore on the fourth, fifth and sixth days of the first week after netting only Rs. 10 crore on the opening day. Likewise, no film has ever recorded a better first day (Friday) of the second week than the last day (Thursday) of the first week, like RRKPP has. In pure commercial terms (cost versus box-office revenues) though, this will be one of ace director Karan Johar’s weaker films.
Oppenheimer (dubbed and the original English versions) joined the Rs. 100-crore club yesterday (August 4) which was the first day of the third weekend. The two weeks’ total was just short of Rs. 100 crore. The film’s original English version held on very well in 2nd week while the dubbed Hindi version, which was already performing lower than the original version, continued to do so in the second week too. The net collection of both the versions put together on the first day of the second weekend was Rs. 4.46 crore. Collections on Saturday jumped so that the day closed at Rs. 7.45 crore. The Sunday total was Rs. 7.47 crore. In this way, the second weekend closed at Rs. 19.38 crore. Collections for the weekdays were as follows: Monday – Rs. 2.62 crore, Tuesday – Rs. 2.44 crore, Wednesday – Rs. 2.38 crore, Thursday – Rs. 2.19 crore. Therefore, the total for the weekdays was Rs. 9.63 crore. Hence the total for 2nd week was Rs. 29.01 crore. Grand total for 2 weeks: Rs. 99.06 crore.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (dubbed and the original English versions) managed to yield shares in the third week too. The third weekend started with a take of Rs. 1.20 crore on Friday. Collections on Saturday and Sunday went up to Rs. 2 crore and Rs. 2.20 crore respectively. The total for the third weekend, therefore, was Rs. 5.40 crore. Collections for the weekdays were: Monday – Rs. 0.65 crore, Tuesday – Rs. 0.70 crore, Wednesday – Rs. 0.65 crore, Thursday – Rs. 0.60 crore. In this way, the total for the weekdays was Rs. 2.60 crore. Hence the total for 3rd week was Rs. 8 crore. Grand total for 3 weeks: Rs. 113.15 crore.
Aanibaani (Marathi) could not do anything worthwhile in its first week all over Maharashtra.
Baipan Bhari Deva (Marathi) netted Rs. 3.25 crore in the fifth weekend and another Rs. 1 crore during the weekdays. Hence the total for 5th week was Rs. 4.25 crore. Grand total for 5 weeks: Rs. 72.26 crore. Outstanding!!
