Highway will have hard time recovering money: trade analysts

Imtiaz Ali’s latest film, Highway, starring Alia Bhatt and Randeep Hooda, might have generated some buzz for its excellent cinematography, but trade analysts argue that this appreciation has not translated into business. The film saw a slow opening on Friday

Imtiaz Ali’s latest film, Highway, starring Alia Bhatt and Randeep Hooda, might have generated some buzz for its excellent cinematography, but trade analysts argue that this appreciation has not translated into business. The film saw a slow opening on Friday.

“It got a very poor start. But thanks to the positive word of mouth, there was an improvement on Saturday and Sunday,” says trade analyst Amod Mehra.

Taran Adarsh seconds Mehra, saying, “It was meant for a niche audience. Imtiaz would not go a long way with his Highway.”

Apparently, Monday saw a drastic drop in business. “The collections were lower than those on Friday. The total business will now depend on how much they could get through satellite deals,” says Mehra.

He also feels that the makers will have a tough time recovering their money. “To the producers, the film cost around Rs 35 crore (including print and publicity). It’s not an easy task to recover that amount through theatres,” adds Mehra.

Sanjay Dalia, president at Cinemax India, says, “The average occupancy was around 50% . On Friday, it was around 35 per cent. It went up to 45 to 50% on Saturday, and increased further to 65% on Sunday. But Monday was the same as Friday.”

Numbers games
Friday Rs 3.47 crore
Saturday Rs 4.42 crore
Sunday Rs 5.27 crore
Monday Rs 1.47 crore
Total Rs 14.63 crore

Source: Box Office India Magazine