A film with unanimous rave reviews can not go flop. I can foresee Black getting Entertainment Tax exemption that props up Flop films to Hit category easily.

BLACK‘S BOX OFFICE OPENING NOT GREAT!
Sanjay Leela Bhansali‘s film collections in the UK!

Sanjay Leela Bhansali has received a slightly disappointing response at the British box office for his latest movie Black. Radio Sargam can confirm that the critically-acclaimed film, which stars Amitabh Bachchan and Rani Mukherjee, collected £66,284 from 19 sites during its first weekend in the UK. Hopes are now high that Black, which was distributed by Yash Raj Films in the UK, will improve through positive word-of mouth.

WRITTEN BY ROBEEL HAQ


so sad

Black collects $125,343 in US

black 66,284 pounds on 19 screens

shabd 76,442 pounds on 22 screens

kisna 15,706 pounds on 16 screens

Des hoyaa pardes 9,200 pounds on 6 screens

elaan 2,422 pounds on 3 screens

blackmail 2,544 pounds on 7 screens

Shabd collecting more than Black??

power or errotica I guess

Good point. I think so too. The same has happened with SWADES in the multiplexes. It has gotten tax exempt status and people are still trickling in to watch it. I read Gowariker say in an interview someplace that his financiers and distributors have recovered their investment.

Well I'll be.......! You mean somebody actually married you?
Congrats bro, does this mean we will see even less of you here?

I guess, you are being modest rana it is not Dhoom, it is Shikdum lol

Well, looks like a lot of new and old people know sknath and are well wishers indeed

Not at all..had to take a flight to come back to good 'ol USA...and hopefully will go back home in a couple of months.

Shabd was too abstract..it had no meaning.l.. I mean come on...what does one expect when u see posters of Dutt and Rai !... My wife was vehemently opposed to me buying tickets for Black..("I dont want to watch a gloomy film")... Halfway into Shabd, "..why didnt you take me for Black" :O...(hard to please women eh !)

I was really appaled at the quality of films that are being released back there. Its just disgusting to watch a film in the theatres anymore these days. Watch out for more crap in the coming days....

Rita...aisi deewangi was a good song and yeah..was a good masala movie (for its time)..I dont think that film would work these days. It was pathetic to watch Dutt and Rai make love with their clothes on !!!!!! I guess the best part of the film were the catcalls made by the audience

So, where are you now, US home or Indian home??

Man, it looks like this sknath a "poular" type of guy?

welcome back sknath and shaadi mubarek

Box-office Report

(The verdict is based on all-India collections and indicates the overall status from the date of release)

Black
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Rani Mukherjee, Nandana Sen, Shernaz Patel, Ayesha Kapur
Plus Points: Unparalleled performances, direction and cinematography
Weak Points: sluggish, emotionally hollow, arty
Box-Office verdict: Average (Strictly)

Shabd
Director: Leena Bajaj
Cast: Sanjay Dutt, Aishwarya Rai and Zayed Khan
Plus Points: Excellent cinematography, interesting storyline
Weak Points: Poor performances and screenplay
Box-Office verdict: Flop

Blackmail
Director: Anil Devgan
Cast: Ajay Devgan, Suniel Shetty, Priyanka Chopra, Dia Mirza
Plus Points: None Whatsoever!
Weak Points: Weak performances, Music, Direction, Screenplay
Box-Office verdict: Flop

Page 3
Director: Madhur Bhandarkar
Cast: Konkona Sen Sharma, Tara Sharma, Bikram Saluja, Sandhya Mridul and Others.
Plus Points: Unique Concept, Strong Ensemble Cast
Weak Points: Weak music and production values, hyperbolic and exaggerated moments.
Box-Office verdict: Average (hit in Mumbai and Delhi multiplexes)

Kisna
Director: Subhash Ghai
Cast: Vivek Oberoi, Isha Sharvani, Antonio Bernath
Plus Points: Fabulous cinematography, lilting music, a fantastic performance by Antonio Bernath
Weak Points: Weak Storytelling, Slow, an unconvincing performance by Vivek
Box-Office verdict: Flop

Insan
Director: K.Subhaash
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgan, Tusshar Kapoor, Rahul Dev, Esha Deol, Lara Dutta and Laila
Plus Points: Strong action sequences, Akshay Kumar's serious-comic act and Rahul Dev's menacing look
Weak Points: Tacky marketing, poor music and miserable direction
Box-Office verdict: Flop

Elaan
Director: Vikram Bhatt
Cast: Mithun Chakraborty, Arjun Rampal, John Abraham, Rahul Khanna, Amisha Patel and Lara Dutta
Plus Points: Plush production
Weak Points: Weak storyline, Mediocre Cinematography and Sub-Par performances from the actors
Box-Office verdict: Flop

Rog
Director: Himanshu Brambhatt
Cast: Irrfan Khan, Ilene Hamman
Plus Points: Different story idea, melodious music
Weak Points: No face value, no erotica (as publicized in the promos), absence of thrills, lazy screenplay
Box-Office verdict: Flop

Vaada
Director: Satish Kaushik
Cast: Arjun Rampal, Amisha Patel, Zayed Khan
Plus Points: Plush locales, strong cinematography, lilting tracks
Weak Points: Poor performances by the lead cast, uninspiring screenplay
Box-Office verdict: Flop

Dil Maange More
Director: Anant Narayan Mahadevan
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Soha Ali Khan, Tulip Joshi, Ayesha Takia
Plus Points: Shahid's energy level, Himesh Reshammiya's music, choreography
Weak Points: Shahid's emotional maturity, performances by the girls, dialogue track
Box-Office verdict: Flop

2005 Awaits Its First Hit , Mixed To Good Responce For ´Black´
By: Abid
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This week will see the release of ´Sheesha´ , Chahat - Ek Nasha´ , Chand Bujh Gaya´ and ´Brides Wanted´ . From the list ´Sheesha´ has sleaze as its USP (with a thriller aspect thrown in), and Neha Dhupia is trying to do a ´Julie´ again and Manisha tries to repeat the success of ´Market ´ with ´Chaahat - Ek Nasha..´ . It promises to be an interesting clash .

Openings of ´Black´ and ´Shabd´ :- ´Black´ getting rave reviews and boasting of lifes best performances by megastar Amitabh Bachchan and Rani Mukherji , had a mixed response at the box-office , with multiplexes giving it a good start (specially in Bombay, Calcutta and South ) and also some ´A´ centres responding positively to it . The opening in some ´B´ and ´C´ centres was ordinary to poor .

The other release of the week ´Shabd´ , had a dull start in Bombay and the opening was dull almost everywhere .

Verdict :- Given its cost and 20 crore budget , ´Black´ has a tough battle ahead specially at smaller centres , though Bombay city , Nizam and Mysore circuit may yield good good collections . The 15 crore ´Shabd´ looks set to loose almost everywhere , both for the producer as well as the distributor .

´Blackmail´ :- The second directorial venture from Anil Devgan has not done well anywhere getting ordinary to poor collections .

First week collections :1,63,13,674 from 122 cinemas (reported)

First week total (calculated) : All India 2.90 cr - 3.00 cr

Verdict :- The movie is on way to being a flop at the box-office

´Padmashree Laloo Prasad Yadav´ :- The movie is a supreme disastor and the leading lady Masumeh ( earlier Masumi) should seriously think in terms of a change of profession . Sunil Shetty has wisely decided not to star in his next production .

First week collections : 68,02,759 from 69 cinemas (reported)

First week total (calculated) : All India 1.35 cr - 1.40 cr

Verdict :- A trade disastor .



´Kisna - The Warrior Poet´ :- The movie crashed in the second week , dashing all hopes of an improvement . The crash was uniform across the various circuits varying from 75 to 80 percent .

Second week collections : 61,19,447 cinemas

Two weeks total (calculated) : All India 9.35 cr - 9.40 cr

Verdict :- While ´Kisna-The Warrior Poet´ is now a flop to disator beyond doubt , ironical as it may sound , the last few successes from Subhash Ghai´s Mukta Arts has come from outside directors namely ´Aitraaz´ ( semi-hit) , ´Joggers Park´(metro hit) and ´Ek Aur Ek Gyarah´ ( average to recovery in some circuits ) .

´Page 3´ :- The claim of ´Page 3´ being the first universal success of 2005 is slowly being withdrawn as apart from Bombay and Delhi city and suburbs the movie has been rejected or is at best a recovery film . About 2.75 crores from the approximately 3.80 crores earned by ´Page 3´ have come from the above mentioned circuits .

The collections in Bombay city and Delhi city have seen a jump due to media blitzkrieg about ´Page 3´ being a brilliant movie and the additional prints added

Second week collections :-

Bombay - 61,70,310 from 20 cinemas , total for two weeks 1,05,66,503

Thane district- 7,29,748 from 3 cinemas

Ahmedabad - 6,57,084 from 3 cinemas

Pune (second week) - 17,68,564 from 3 cinemas

Nasik - 1,83,503 from 2 cinemas

Delhi - 38,57,227 from 10 cinemas

Noida - 7,08,326

Kanpur (14 shows , first week)- 1,69,703

Allahabad - 61,337

Gurgaon (East Punjab) - 6,75,550 from 3 cinemas

Nagpur - 1,79,451

Amravati - 27,561

Indore - 1,80,000

Calcutta - 2,02,983

Hyderabad (gross , 14 shows)- 1,96,000

Bangalore (35 shows) - 5,08,801

Madras - 1,66,256 from 2 cinemas

Second week collections : 1,64,42,404 from 55 cinemas

Two weeks total (calculated) : All India 3.75 cr - 3.85cr


Verdict :- With a budget of 2.50 crores , which crosses 3 crores once the cost of print and publicity is added , ´Page 3´ is a big hit in Bombay circuit and above average in Delhi - U.P. (mainly due to Delhi City and suburbs multiplexes) but a loser to coverage elsewhere .

´Swades´ :- Ashutosh Gowariker´s Shah Rukh - Gayatri starrer completed 50 days of its run across many cities and circuits of India and proves a point that good cinema will work against all odds , opposition and bad mouthing .

Seventh week collections :-

Bombay (TF) - 8,85,988 from 15 cinemas , total for 7 weeks 2,98,21,169

Thane district (TF) - 1,54,413 from 3 cinemas

Ahmedabad - 52,590 from 2 cinemas (1 unrecd.)

Pune (TF) - 3,22,727 from 4 cinemas (1 unrecd.)

Nasik(TF) - 14,873 from 2 cinemas

Delhi (TF , 7 shows) - 25,485 from 2 cinemas

Gurgaon(East Punjab , 14 shows) - 35,300

Calcutta - unrecd.

Hyderabad (gross ,14 shows )- 2,01,000

Bangalore (14 shows) - 1,60,958

Madras (14 shows) - 75,262

Seventh week collections : 19,28,596 from 32 cinemas (reported)

Seven weeks total (calculated):All India 17.00 cr - 17.10 cr

Verdict :- The 20 to 22 crore ´Swades´ With more than 9 crores from overseas plus the total from India , ´Swades´ is a hit in Mysore circuit , above average in Bombay , Nizam and overall a good average in India is crawling to a higher status in some other circuits too .

´Veer-Zaara´ :- Having crossed 42 crores from India , ´Veer-Zaara´ looks set to shatter a few more records . It has already crossed ´Dhoom´ in Bombay city .

Twelfth week ollections :-

Bombay - 3,11,645 from 11 cinemas , total for 12 weeks 4,75,63,227

Ahmedabad (7 shows) - 23,530 ( 2 unrecd.)

Pune - 62,085 from 2 cinemas

Delhi - 2,56,915 from 4 cinemas

Allahabad (TF) - 62,000

Ludhiana (East Punjab) - enters 13th week

Gurgaon (East Punjab , 7 shows) - 5,800

Calcutta - 87,777

Hyderabad (gross ) - 83,185

Bangalore ( 9th week , 8 shows) - 41,508

Total for 12 weeks (calculated): All India : 42.15 cr - 42.30 cr

Verdict : - ´Veer-Zaara´ is a blockbuster hit , seperately in India and overseas .