August is over! And, just one film, Gold, crossed the coveted Rs 100-cr mark in the last 29 days. The month that looked extraordinarily promising at the start, due to a number of high-profile releases, was a letdown for the most part.
For a quick rewind: Fanney Khan, starring Anil Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Rajkummar Rao, opened in cinemas on August 3. The musical drama, helmed by Atul Manjrekar, was accompanied by Akarsh Khurana’s road-adventure drama, Karwaan, toplined by Irrfan and Malayalam sensation Dulquer Salmaan. The third offering that week was the much-talked-about Mulk, a film that spoke up for the Indian Muslim community. Veteran actor Rishi Kapoor turned in an award-winning performance as a Muslim man who feels ‘ostracised’ in his own country.
However, all three films met with an indifferent fate. “The hype didn’t carry through,” observed a trade source. Veteran trade analyst Taran Adarsh had tweeted, “Terrible terrible terrible Friday... New Hindi films open to shockingly low numbers. (sic)”
Of the three films, Mulk at least managed to start a debate and is still carrying good word-of-mouth, four weeks after its release. Kamal Haasan’s Vishwaroop II (Hindi), which released the following week, was a disaster at the ticket windows. Critics actually staged a walkout on this one.
Independence Day releases — Reema Kagti’s sports-drama Gold with Akshay Kumar and Milap Zaveri’s Satyameva Jayate, starring John Abraham and Manoj Bajpayee, began on a thunderous note with the former garnering Rs 25.25 cr on the national holiday and the other getting Rs 19.75 cr. However, post this, both films lost their mojo. Though Gold crossed the coveted Rs 100-cr mark on August 29 and Bhushan Kumar and Nikkhil Advani’s SMJ reached Rs 76.85 cr (till Tuesday Aug 28), had their collections kept the opening day’s momentum, they would have reached an altogether different crescendo. Producer-distributor-exhibitor, NR Pachisia feels, “SMJ’s numbers are good. It did well at single screens and is definitely a winner.” However, still, others feel that the industry is in denial. The movies, which collected Rs 25.25 cr and Rs 19.75 cr respectively on day one, we're still struggling to get those magical multiplications that normally happen when films start on such high notes.
Of the movies that opened on August 24, Mudassar Aziz’s Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi, starring Sonakshi Sinha, Ali Fazal, Jassi Gill, Diana Penty and Jimmy Sheirgill, carried a decent word-of-mouth. Though the figures are not outstanding, it is still a “semi-happy” situation for the producers. Anil Sharma’s Genius, which was his son Utkarsh Sharma’s launchpad, was a dud.
As for this Friday’s releases, the horror comedy Stree seemed to have an edge over the Deol-comic franchise, Yamla Pagla Deewana: Phir Se at the time of going to press. But who will ultimately be the winner is something only September will tell.
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However, all three films met with an indifferent fate. “The hype didn’t carry through,” observed a trade source. Veteran trade analyst Taran Adarsh had tweeted, “Terrible terrible terrible Friday... New Hindi films open to shockingly low numbers. (sic)” 
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