So, 2009 gets its first cheerful week. Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire and Mohit Suri’s Raaz- The Mystery Continues have been successful on different counts.
Boyle’s Oscar-nominated movie garnered huge critical acclaim. Suri’s spook fest may have been thumbed down by the thinkers but the public response has been satisfactory.
Thumbs up
In the case of Slumdog Millionaire, the film wasn’t expected to take off on a flying start since pirated DVDs were easily accessible. Not surprisingly, the paid previews didn’t get a favourable response. Neither were the initial collections which were said to be between 20 and 30 per cent.
However, the film picked up towards the evening shows at the multiplexes. The scenario was the same on Saturday with the film registering around 50 per cent collections.
Going by the encouraging response and its winning streak at the award ceremonies, the collections are expected to be steady. Expectedly, the film hasn’t drawn a favourable response in singleplexes and in small towns. Business is expected to be best in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata and Hyderabad.
Although the second version of Raaz has nothing to do with its first edition which had toted excellent business in 2002, the horror flick had the advantage of the same title and the same production house of the Bhatt Brothers. Also its two songs — Maahi and Soniyo — had already become hits on the airwaves. The movie registered a 70 to 80 per cent opening response at the singleplexes. The collections at the multiplexes were also on the heartening side.
{{/usCountry}}Although the second version of Raaz has nothing to do with its first edition which had toted excellent business in 2002, the horror flick had the advantage of the same title and the same production house of the Bhatt Brothers. Also its two songs — Maahi and Soniyo — had already become hits on the airwaves. The movie registered a 70 to 80 per cent opening response at the singleplexes. The collections at the multiplexes were also on the heartening side.
{{/usCountry}}Going by its weekend collections, Raaz-The Mystery Continues will be the first hit of 2009.
Slashed shows
Meanwhile, the first week collections of Chandni Chowk to China have been dismal. Shows were reduced at several multiplexes. This film will entrail loss of face to its producers Rohan Sippy and Mukesh Talreja and its presenter Warner Bros.