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Fox Star Studios has a reason to celebrate this festive weekend as its October 2 release Bang Bang raked in Rs 27.54 crore at the domestic box office on the opening day. The Hrithik Roshan-Katrina Kaif starrer opened its box office campaign to 85-90 per cent occupancy on Thursday.
Bang Bang now has the double distinction of being this year's third highest opener behind Singham Returns and Kick and Roshan's best opener yet. The actor's previous best was the 2013 flick Krrish 3, which made its box office debut with Rs 25.5 crore. Bang Bang was released in 4,000 screens in India, in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. The south Indian versions have contributed an estimated Rs 1.25 crore to the total collection.
Bang Bang, directed by Siddharth Anand, has also earned itself a place on the top five movie openings of all time in Bollywood, joining Dhoom 3, Chennai Express, Ek Tha Tiger and Singham Returns.
UTV Studios' Haider opened to Rs 6.14 crore collections at the domestic box office, and early reports on Friday indicated the movie is holding steady despite Dussera. The first day collection, analysts say, has actually surpassed expectations, considering Haider has a niche appeal and has been released in fewer screens.
The movie, an adaptation of William Shakespeare's Hamlet, is directed and co-produced by Vishal Bharadwaj, and casts Shahid Kapoor in the titular role alongside Tabu, Kay Kay Menon, Irrfan Khan and Shraddha Kapoor.
Suniel Wadhwa, independent distributor and box office analyst, says, "Lots of factors contributed to the strong debut for Bang Bang - a well-managed marketing effort, massive fan-base of Hrithik Roshan, etc - though the real key to the movie's success is the name above the title since Hrithik-Katrina pairing has proved to be a force at the domestic box office earlier as well."
Wadhwa says Haider's performance at the box office should not be written off. Analysts are in agreement that the two movies cannot be really pitted together since they target very different audience through their content and execution. While Bang Bang is an action-romance potboiler targeting the masses, Haider is targeted at niche audience. The scale of release for the two movies is also very different, which reflects both in the content and the collections.
"The real star here (in Haider), though, is director Vishal Bharadwaj. The Shakespearean work, upon which the movie is based, is undeniably one of the most popular works of fiction among adults. Aside from connecting with fans, the marketing campaign has also done a solid job," says Wadhwa.
Both the movies may see flat growth in collections on Friday considering most of the country will be at home celebrating Dussera, but collections are expected to peak over the weekend.
In terms of returns on investment, Bang Bang still faces a daunting challenge. Made at a budget of nearly Rs 140 crore, the movie needs to make at least Rs 250 crore net at the domestic box office, say analysts. Haider has been made at Rs 38 to 40 crore, and will find it easier to recover the cost and make profits after adding the international box office collections and satellite rights.
