Every element seemed to be in place. Intense publicity, top league stars, no big release in competition, and the summer season which attracts the youth audience to the cinema halls by droves. Nothing helped.
Dull wave
Tashan laid a big egg at the box office. Vijay Krishna Acharya (co-writer of Dhoom and Dhoom II) was directing for the first time and it showed in the incoherent result which will do nothing - of not damage - the standing of its producer Yash Raj films. Read Aditya Chopra. Clearly the Chopra clout is diminishing.
Multiplex owners had resolved not to buckle into Yash Raj's demand of a higher percentage of ticket sales. Usually, such an impasse has been resolved either on the eve of a film in contention, or at most the day after its release.
But Tashan is still to make it to the multiplexes, which may not want the product any more, going by the initial negative response both from the critics and the public. The opening weekend is over.
Humble pie
For the first time, Yash Raj will have to eat humble pie, if they still want to release it in multiplexes. Because of the no-‘plexes situation, distributors are bound to lose a substantial chunk of revenue.
Tradewallahs believe that if the film had released in multiplexes, the collections at the single screens would have been even lower.
Embarrassing one
The second day collections in most of Mumbai singleplexes registered merely 40 to 50 per cent collections. It is being conjectured that this will be a downer for Yash Raj. Of its flops - Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, Laaga Chunari Mein Daag and Aaja Nachle - this could be the most embarrassing one.
Tradewallahs believe that if the film had released in multiplexes, the collections at the single screens would have been even lower.
Embarrassing one
The second day collections in most of Mumbai singleplexes registered merely 40 to 50 per cent collections. It is being conjectured that this will be a downer for Yash Raj. Of its flops - Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, Laaga Chunari Mein Daag and Aaja Nachle - this could be the most embarrassing one.
The week's second release Sirf - Life Looks Greener on the Other Side opened to a dull response. Kahani Gudiya Ki showed up only in a couple of cinema halls in the city, and was poorly publicised.
Last week's Hope and a Little Sugar is a dud. The collections of U,Me aur Hum and Krazzy 4 have dropped - except in Mumbai, where they are faring passably because of the lack of movie watching options.
Coming up next week
Mr White Mr Black:
To fulfill his father's last wish, Gopi (Suneil Shetty) arrives in Goa from Hoshiarpur to hand over a tiny piece of land to his childhood friend Kishen (Arshad Warsi). So?
Anamika
: Based on Daphne Du Maurier's
Rebecca
, the film is about love, revenge and betrayal involving Dino Morea, Koena Mitra and Minissha Lamba. Hmmm
Pranali
: A film on a devdasi, played by Nargis, who wants to educate her child. Ah ha.
Iron Man
: When wealthy industrialist Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) is forced to build an armoured suit after a life-threatening incident, he uses its technology to combat evil.
TheForbiddenKingdom: Jackie Chan and Jet Li come together in this actioner about a band of martial arts warriors trying to free an imprisoned Monkey King. Well..