Raees and Kaabil give Bollywood its best January in years

Combined with Dec 2016 release Dangal, the three movies raked in Rs 300 cr business in Jan

Shah Rukh Khan playing a gangster and Hrithik Roshan as a vengeful husband seem to have given Bollywood exactly the January it would have hoped for. 

Khan’s Raees and Roshan’s Kaabil both released on Wednesday, 25 January — in a bid to take advantage of the extended weekend, with Republic Day falling on a Thursday. The trick seems to have worked. 

While Rajiv Dholakia-directed Raees raked in Rs 93.2 crore, Kaabil, made by Sanjay Gupta, earned about Rs 55 crore till Sunday. After a somewhat tepid 2016, in which big-budget films such as Fitoor and Mohenjo Daro failed to make a mark, this would raise the hopes for a fruitful 2017.

In the past, two big films releasing on the same day has meant losses for both. On December 18, 2015, SRK-Kajol starrer Dilwale and Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Bajirao Mastani hit the silver screens together. While the former earned Rs 148 crore, the latter made Rs 184  crore at the box office. But, according to analysts, both could have made at least 20 per cent more had they not clashed.

This time, however, the big films do not seem to have affected each other’s business. While Kaabil earned less, it was no surprise to analysts. “It has a lot to do with perception and popularity. Hrithik is a star in his own right, but the pull Shah Rukh has at the box office is huge. Having said that, given the costs of the films, both have done very well for a non-festive opening,” said one.

Kamal Gianchandani, chief executive officer, PVR Pictures, added, “Three things have helped both films maintain business — they are very different from each other, both have big stars, and both have content that has been accepted by audiences. Good content always finds long legs at the box office, and so over the five days, both the films have maintained and grown their business.”

Raees is a period film set in Gujarat, narrating the rise and fall of a bootlegger; Kaabil starts off as a love story and turns into a revenge saga. The only common thing in the two films is action — a genre that has often been rewarded at the box office. 

“This is perhaps the best January Bollywood has seen in a long time. Not only have the two new releases done well, but almost 50 per cent of Dangal’s lifetime has come in January,” added Gianchandani. 

Dangal, which released on December 23 last year, is the highest grossing Bollywood film ever at Rs 385 crore (net after tax) in the country. The three combined have contributed almost Rs 300 crore to the box office in January till now. 

Raees was made at an estimated budget of Rs 65 crore. Producers spent Rs 50 crore on Kaabil. 

Gaurav Verma, chief revenue officer, Red Chillies (a co-producer of Raees) said, “Our strategy for distribution was simple — get as many people as possible on the opening weekend to watch Raees. Knowing the content we have made and the appeal that it will have, we took the film to 3,000 screens in India, and nearly 1,000 screens overseas.”

He added that demonetisation had not really impacted business at the box office. “After the success of Dangal, it is clear that people who want to watch good films, will make their way to the cinemas,” said Verma. 

Gianchandani agreed “We saw the effect of demonetisation wear off in November itself with Dear Zindagi, and then Befikre and Dangal,” he said.

Overseas, Khan’s popularity has ensured the film touched $10 million in the first week. Raees was released in more than 30 overseas markets, including major traditional markets — Middle East, North America, the UK and Australia. 

Verma added, “Thanks to digitisation, it is now much simpler and cost effective to take movies to the international market. So now, we try and consolidate the traditional markets. We have done this by adding an element of localisation.” 

This localisation can come in different forms. In this case, it is the Arabic version of the film’s hit song “Zaalima…”. A similar tact was used in Dilwale (2015), when the song “Gerua…” was released with an Arabic version. Apart from this, films going to international markets have local language dubs or subtitles as well. 

Estimates peg Kaabil’s international business at about $3 million. It, however, went to fewer markets than Raees. 

While Raees is looking at a lifetime in the range of Rs 120 crore to Rs 150 crore, experts expect Kaabil also finish Rs 85 crore to Rs 100 crore. Together, they would make about Rs 250 crore, claim experts. 

Raees 

Budget - Rs 65 crore

First Day - Rs 20.42 crore

Five Day weekend - Rs 93.24 crore

Produced by - Excel Entertainment (Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidwani) and Red Chillies Entertainment (Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan)

Kaabil 

Budget - Rs 50 crore

First Day - Rs 10.43 crore

Five Day weekend - Rs 54 crore

Produced by - Filmkraft (Rakesh Roshan)