Hum Tum: Saif's first solo hit abroad?

Arthur J Pais | June 03, 2004 13:34 IST


Hum Tum might turn out to be Saif Ali Khan's first solo hit abroad.

The romantic comedy, co-starring Rani Mukerji, is currently No 7 at the UK box-office.

It is No 21 at the US box-office.

With an above-average opening in the two key overseas territories, Hum Tum looks set to be a medium-size hit.

In the UK, the film took a $220,000 three-day weekend gross.

In North America, it took $348,149 during the four-day Memorial Day weekend.

But the Memorial Day weekend, one of the most lucrative times for movies in America, didn't bring cheers for Yuva.

Mani Ratnam's multi-starrer plunged by about 75 percent in its second weekend, going from the 21st spot to 49th place.



Most Hindi films fall by about 50 percent in the second week.

After grossing $49,000 in four days, Yuva took its total to $280,000.

Apparently, Ratnam had not looked at the second week figures of Yuva in North America and the UK when he asserted that his film had done very well abroad.

But Yuva is likely to end its run in North America and the UK with a decent $600,000.

The North American box-office was led by Shrek 2, which grossed an awesome $95.5 million in its second week, taking its 12-day total to $260 million.

In the UK, where Shrek 2 and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban are yet to open, The Day After Tomorrow led the weekend box-office. The disaster movie seized about $12 million on 429 screens.

Hum Tum was shown on some 23 screens in the UK. Desi movies with a bigger star cast are usually shown on about 40 screens in the UK.

In North America, Hum Tum opened on 43 screens. If the movie, which apparently has a bigger appeal to younger audiences, doesn't follow in Yuva's steps, it could earn a handsome $1.3 million in the next four weeks before it starts on a short secondary run in smaller American cities.

The film to beat remains the Shah Rukh Khan hit, Main Hoon Na.

Farah Khan's directorial debut has grossed about $3.8 million in North America and the UK. That could be a big challenge for Farah's first cousin Farhan Akhtar, when his film, Lakshya, opens on June 18.

http://rediff.com/movies/2004/jun/03hum1.htm

Taran Adarsh finally says "Hum Tum" is a surprise hit.



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BUSINESS TALK

By Taran Adarsh, June 03rd, 2004 - 0930 hrs IST


ANALYZE THIS!

A film starring six top-of-the-line stars [YUVA] doesn't take a good start at several centres.

On the other hand, a Saif Ali Khan - Rani Mukerji starrer [HUM TUM] opens to a fabulous response at all metros, with the weekend shows being full in advance. This, when the film trade is firm that Saif alone is no box-office draw.

How does one explain this? I would say, big ideas work, not necessarily big films!

HUM TUM wasn't hot within the film industry. In fact, all and sundry were busy speculating the business potential of YUVA and the three Big B starrers that are scheduled for release in June.

HUM TUM was never a keenly anticipated film. Its music wasn't a chartbuster or a sellout. Nor was director Kunal Kohli's name taken in the same breath as the Johars, Hiranis, Chopras and Advanis.

But what really worked was the feel-good factor [so evident in its promos], besides well-made promos and an aggressive promotion. That did the trick!

While writing this piece, the b.o. collections of HUM TUM in Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Delhi, Kolkata, parts of U.P. and South have been fantastic, although its business at a few pockets isn't that strong. But let's not forget that this desi adaptation of WHEN HARRY MET SALLY isn't a 40 crore film, but a medium-budget fare!

HOLLYWOOD FILMS INVADE INDIA

Times are changing... Or should I say, the times have changed? That would sound more appropriate for Hollywood films that are being released simultaneously in India these days.

Almost a decade ago, an English film would be released after 7/8 months of its premiere release in the U.S. The number of prints would also be limited, with the distributors releasing it in one theatre each in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai.

Compare it with the current scenario. Both THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW and HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN have been released simultaneously in the Indian market. The number of prints has also increased, with each film being released with approx. 200 + prints in India [incl. the dubbed versions], like a normal Hindi film.

Hollywood films have slowly made inroads in India and it wouldn't be wrong to state that these films have cut into a substantial share of Hindi films. Today, the weekend collections of THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW are at par or may be slightly lower than HUM TUM at the multiplexes of metros.

The Indian cinegoer is as sharp as the cinegoer in the U.S. Content is the name of the game. That explains why Hollywood is no longer the second preference of a cinegoer at metros of India.

Komal Nahta also confirms that "Hum Tum" is a hit.


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Delhi gives a thumbs up for HUm Tum- Komal Nahata
HT

Delhi gives Hum Tum a thumbs up


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Yash Chopra’s Hum Tum has proven to be a true multiplex film, a term commonly used the-se days. For, its business from cineplexes alone would be alm-ost 65-70 per cent of the total business. Delhi accorded a wa-rm welcome to the summer release but the reception in Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal was mediocre, if not cold. In Delhi, the Saif-Rani starrer opened to full houses in multiplexes like the PVR chain, 3C’s, M2K and Movie Palace. As against this, single-screen cinemas like Amba and Batra recorded 85-90 per cent houses in the opening day. Even as the week progressed, collections in the multi-screen theatres remained rock-steady.

The scene in the rest of the country was similar to what it was in the Capital. Bombay’s multiplexes recorded near full houses in the first five days of the week as against 95 per cent in Delhi’s cineplexes. The Wave multiplexes of NOIDA and Kau-shambi also witnessed huge cro-wds for the Rs 9-crore film directed by Kunal Kohli whose previous film, Mujhse Dosti Karoge!, could not even cover its cost in India (although it did good business abroad). However, collecti-ons at the newly-opened Wave Cineplex in Lucknow weren’t as strong as in NOIDA and Kau-shambi. Of course, that had no-thing to do with the multiplex but a lot to do with the film itself which appealed more to the metropolitan city population than to the audience in smaller towns.

For a film with medium budget, such record collections of multiplexes are enough to see it through in the first week itself. And considering that it does not star SRK or Sal-man and that it’s not a multi-starrer, the grosses are creditable. Yuva, released a week before Hum Tum, also did well in the multiplexes but that wasn’t enough to recover its Rs. 2.11 crore price for which it was sold to the Delhi-U.P. distributor who’d lose a crore in the multi-starrer. The audience profile at Gurgaon has changed with the opening of PVR and DT multiplexes. The first three days’ grosses at PVR (2 screen) for Hum Tum were an amazing 98 per cent and the scene was no different at the single sc-reen of DT multiplex where the film opened. The first five days’ percentage was an impressive 80-85 per cent! The figures of Gorakhpur, U.P. have surprised even the trade. For a film which opened with Rs. 38,000 collections, its expected total of Rs. 3,00,000 for the entire week is said to be very good!

The success of Hum Tum assumes significance because it is Saif’s first solo starrer in his de-cade-long career to have proved a success. Earlier, Saif had clicked in 2-hero or multi-starcast projects, be it the recent Kal Ho Naa Ho with Shah Rukh Khan or 2001’s Dil Chahta Hai with Aamir Khan and Akshaye Khanna or 1994’s Yeh Dillagi with Akshay Kumar. It’s appearance in the UK Top 10 chart for the May 30 weekend augurs well for Saif who may just as well spell his name as S-A-F-E Ali Khan.

Komal Nahta is the Editor of the trade journal Film Information. You can write to him at mailto:knahtaht@yahoo.com