The movie box office is buzzing. The two movies released last Friday — Delhi Belly and Bbuddha Hoga Terra Baap (BHTB)— have recovered their cost in the first weekend itself.
“The hype its makers have managed to generate around it, largely through marketing, has made the small movie big,” said a multiplex official. Delhi Belly, produced by Aamir Khan Productions, had clocked Rs 30.85 crore till Monday — Friday, Rs 7.15 crore; Saturday, Rs 8.5 crore; Sunday, Rs 10.75 crore, and Monday, Rs 4.75 crore. Its budget was Rs 24 crore.
“Even BHTB picked up over the weekend. BHTB would have collected double had it averted a clash with other films and could have managed to get more screens as well,” said film trade analyst Taran Adarsh.
AB Corp and Viacom 18 Motion Pictures’ BHTB, made with a budget of Rs 10 crore, has already recovered money through non-theatrical avenues, with the satellite rights fetching the producers Rs 13.5 crore. So, overall, BHTB box office revenues have been an additional stream.
Both movies released widely, with Delhi Belly releasing in around 1,600 screens and BHTB in 1,000 screens. Senior multiplex officials also noted Transformers: Dark of the Moon has collected around Rs 19.5 crore, making it one of the top-grossing Hollywood films in India. The movie was released with a little over 600 prints in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.
All the three movies released last week had innovative marketing strategies, with catchy promos, outdoor advertising and songs. Delhi Belly started its marketing with the song Bhaag D K Bose, and held a ‘success party’ on the song. For Bbuddha Hoga Terra Baap, Amitabh Bachchan recorded the promo in five languages.