To start with, Notebook, which marked the debut of Zaheer Iqbal and Pranutan Bahl, and Vidyut Jamwal’s Junglee, both of which released on March 29, brought in poor and average revenues respectively.
We are three weeks into the second quarter of 2019. And so far, April has given Bollywood nothing to rejoice about. To start with, Notebook, which marked the debut of Zaheer Iqbal and Pranutan Bahl, and Vidyut Jamwal’s Junglee, both of which released on March 29, brought in poor and average revenues respectively.
RAW DID NOT HOLD
John Abraham’s Romeo Akbar Walter (RAW) actually marred the actor’s good box-office run. The Bollywood superstar, who seemed to be on a roll after last year’s Satyameva Jayate and Parmanu: The Story Of Pokhran, hit a speed-breaker with his latest spy thriller. RAW barely managed to collect about Rs 38 crore. Salvage operations are on, but it’s said that as far as film fortunes go, you win some, you lose some.
KALANK CHALLENGED
The other big-ticket venture, Kalank — with a medley of stars such as Sanjay Dutt, Madhuri Dixit, Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt, Aditya Roy Kapur, Sonakshi Sinha and Kunal Kemmu —began with an awesome day one. In its first three days, it collected Rs 42.75 crore. However, it’s certainly not showing the trajectory of a magnum opus. As we write, this multi-starrer may still touch the Rs 100 crore mark, but everything in its kitty seems like a consolation prize.
With parts of the country going to the polls on April 23 and Avengers: End Game arriving on April 26, Kalank has new challenges coming its way.
A trade source said, “There’s just too much happening currently. Between the Indian Premier League matches, general elections and Avengers, Kalank finds it tough to go where we once thought it would. After all, it brought together an enviable ensemble. Alas, the magic didn’t carry through.”
FRIDAY BLUES
The trade is in a bit of a quandary. But, there’s no point crying over spilt milk. Instead, we must hark back to the first quarter of 2019 that proved to be the best in a decade.
PAST PERFECT
The 63-odd films that released gave the domestic box office a business of Rs 1002 crore, making every other first quarter in the last 10 years look leaner and lacklustre.
THE ARCHITECTS OF Q1
Oh, oh, oh... just when we thought that the new guard — Ranveer Singh, Vicky Kaushal, Kartik Aaryan and Taapsee Pannu — had taken full charge, the old guard also powered this quarter.
Ajay Devgn’s Total Dhamaal contributed Rs 150 cr, while Akshay Kumar’s patriotic venture Kesari brought in similar numbers.
Amitabh Bachchan was also instrumental to the success of the murder-mystery Badla. And Kangana Ranaut gave the men a run for their superstar power when her Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi also became a superhit at the box office.
SIMULTANEOUSLY, DUDS ALSO KEPT PILING UP
For all the talk of actors reading “scripts” before actually giving films their nod, it seemed a case of empty words. There is a long list of movies that failed miserably in the first three months. Leading examples being — The Accidental Prime Minister, Thackeray, Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga, Why Cheat India, Fraud Saiyaan, Sonchiriya, Photograph, Milan Talkies, Junglee and RAW.
VARIETY IS THE NAME OF THE GAME
In his report assessing the first quarter of 2019, trade journal, Box Office India, editor Nitin Tej Ahuja wrote, “Although prevailing wisdom suggests that we are now in an era where the so-called ‘content-based’ films are bankable bets at the box office — many releases that seemed to fit that bill failed to rack up the numbers they were expected to — Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga, Sonchiriya, Photograph and Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota for example.”
A GLIMMER OF HOPE THOUGH
Ahuja further added, “However, considering the diverse narrative spectrum of the films that did succeed — two war films set in very different periods and with very different tonalities, a slapstick comedy, a suspense thriller, a romantic comedy and an underdog story set against the backdrop of ghetto rap — we can hopefully assume that the overall trend of an evolution and expression of audience tastes continues to hold true.’’
*Approximate India Nett Box Office figures from reliable trade sources
Q1 2019’S TOP FIVE BO HITS
- Uri: The Surgical Strike: Rs 244 cr
- Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi: Rs 150 cr (Worldwide Gross)
- Gully Boy: Rs 134.21 cr
- Total Dhamaal: Rs 150 cr
- Kesari: Rs 150 cr
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