Rs 90 cr riding on 2 Diwali releases

This Friday, it would be almost two months since the Bollywood box office last heard the cash registers ringing. It was September 10, when Salman Khan-starrer Dabangg hit the screen, and eventually turned out to be a blockbuster. But since then the Hindi film industry has not really had any hits. Now the industry is keeping its fingers crossed as around Rs 90 crore is riding on 2 big releases, Action Replayy and Golmaal 3 this Friday.

“Speculation is at its peak about which of the two — Golmaal 3 and Action Replayy — would get a better opening. Thanks to the appreciation Rohit Shetty and Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision’s Golmaal and Golmaal Returns got, film experts seem convinced that the third in the series would have a fantastic opening,” said Bollywood trade analyst and editor of Film Information Komal Nahata. “Two years ago, Golmaal Returns had got a brilliant opening in the Diwali week. However, Golmaal (in 2006) had started slow but had later picked up owing to positive word of mouth. The advantage Vipul Shah’s Action Replayy has is the film’s songs are doing well. Besides, Akshay Kumar-starrers generally open very well,” he added.

In the last 55 days, though Robot and Anjaana Anjaani did relatively well, trade pundits say that none of them were as successful in both multiplexes and single screens as was Dabangg. While Robot was a hit because of the excellent reception it got in South India, Anjaana Anjaani did average business. “Both Action Replayy and Golmaal 3 look like having the potential to be successful in both multiplexes and single screens. We expect the October-December quarter to have around 40 per cent more occupancy than the previous quarter as the content line-up is interesting,” said the managing director of a stock exchange-listed multiplex chain operator, on the condition of anonymity. Thirteen films released in the last 55 days and most of them have been loss-making. Four Bollywood films released on October 29, and all of them have tanked without a trace. The October-December quarter is the most crucial for Bollywood, said Taran Adarsh, another trade analyst.

“Most big films release during these three months because of the festivals, Diwali being more significant than Dussehra and Christmas,” he said. On whether this year’s releases will match up to the success of 3 idiots which released in December 2009 and became a huge success, Adarsh said, “Films are a risky business and their success or failure cannot be predicted but this year’s line-up of films looks good.” Business-wise, the October-December period sees 30 to 40 per cent more ticket sales than during other times of the year. However, last year, the industry did not get a favourable response to two of the three big-budget films that released during Diwali. “Last year, three films opened simultaneously on Wednesday to cash in on the Diwali fervour (films generally release on Fridays because of the weekend). But by Friday evening, only All The Best and Blue were in the race, while Main Aur Mrs Khanna had bombed,” said Adarsh.

Only All The Best, a comedy, became a hit, while Blue was a flop in theatres. It is perhaps the success of All The Best last year that prompted producers to release two comedy films during Diwali.

This time, both Action Replayy and Golmaal 3 would have wide releases with an average 1,800-2,000 prints.