 "NH10 picks up over opening weekend, rakes in Rs 13.3 cr")
Movies with women in prominent roles seem to be continuing their good run into 2015 from last year. While Bhumi Pednekar and Aayushmaan Khurana’s Dum Lagake Haisha has shown a strong performance based on word of mouth, Anoushka Sharma’s NH10 is also doing well at the box office. Sharma’s debut film as a producer has gone on to make Rs 13.3 crore in its first weekend.
The two-hour long film was released in 1300 screens with focus on the multiplexes in urban and semi urban territories. It started its run at the box office with Rs 3.35 crore. Over the next two days, it added Rs 4.5 crore on Saturday and Rs 5.45 crore on Sunday to make the total collection (net after tax) Rs 13.3 crore. The film has been distributed worldwide by Eros International.
Nandu Ahuja, senior vice-president, India theatrical, Eros International says, “We knew we had good content and so we went about distribution in a targeted way. We contracted around 1000 cinema halls, 630 of which were multiplexes and the rest single screens. In case of the single screens, these were premium ones. As a result, we had almost 5,500 shows a day over the weekend.”
The film has also been released in around 120 screens internationally, and details of the performance are awaited informs Ahuja.
Analysts believe that the film will recover the money, but may not be a phenomenal hit. “Made at Rs 14 crore (production and promotion included), the film needs to make Rs 30 crore to register profits. Given its restricted release and niche content, the film will appeal a specific segment of the audience. Having said that, word of mouth and social media buzz on the film has been positive and the film is poised to do good business,” says an analyst.
Independent distributor and box office analyst says, “The test of the film is to see how it performs on the weekdays. The kind of audience it can attract (urban/semi-urban youth) may not want to go to the cinemas on a weekday.” Ahuja however affirms that the film did hold well on Monday and is optimistic of reaching the breakeven figure soon.
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NH10, directed by Navdeep Singh and co-produced by Phamtom Films and Sharma’s production house Clean Slate Films, tells the story of a married couple who encounter an unfortunate incident on a road-trip which results in a life threatening situation for them. It stars Neil Bhoopalam as the male lead, with supporting roles played by Darhsan Kumaar (who also played Onler Kom in 2014’s Mary Kom) and Deepti Naval.
Singh has earlier directed the 2007 murder mystery Manorama Six Feet Under, starring Abhay Deol, Gul Panag and Raima Sen.