Three Hindi movies - Lamhaa, Udaan and Tere Bin Laden. Two English movies – Inception and The Sorcerer's Apprentice. One would expect Hindi films to embark on a bigger and better start, but it was Inception that stole the show, from East to West, from North to South. In fact, the film fetched a fantastic start from its first show onwards, eclipsing the Hindi releases completely.
Lamhaa, starring known stars, was expected to fetch a moderate initial, but the opening response was lukewarm at several screens. It opened to a 30% to 40% response. Reason? Issue-based films, coupled with the serious theme, generally start on a slow note. Let's see how the film performs on Saturday and Sunday. The film needs to pick up dramatically over the weekend and also perform strongly on weekdays to recover its costs.
The remaining two Hindi releases, Tere Bin Laden and Udaan, weren't expected to start with a bang, primarily because both star new faces. While Tere Bin Laden started on a 15% to 20% to 25% note in the morning and noon shows, it picked up during the evening shows, since the word of mouth is extremely positive. The several distributors and exhibitors this writer spoke to during the course of the day were unanimous that the film should pick up further on Saturday and Sunday.
Udaan, which caters to a niche audience, also found tremendous appreciation from its target audience. Released at plexes mainly, the film also had a dull start, again in 15% to 20% to 25% range, but the business showed an escalation in the evening shows. Its business is expected to show better results over the weekend at multiplexes of metros and 'A' class centres.
Lamhaa, starring known stars, was expected to fetch a moderate initial, but the opening response was lukewarm at several screens. It opened to a 30% to 40% response. Reason? Issue-based films, coupled with the serious theme, generally start on a slow note. Let's see how the film performs on Saturday and Sunday. The film needs to pick up dramatically over the weekend and also perform strongly on weekdays to recover its costs.
The remaining two Hindi releases, Tere Bin Laden and Udaan, weren't expected to start with a bang, primarily because both star new faces. While Tere Bin Laden started on a 15% to 20% to 25% note in the morning and noon shows, it picked up during the evening shows, since the word of mouth is extremely positive. The several distributors and exhibitors this writer spoke to during the course of the day were unanimous that the film should pick up further on Saturday and Sunday.
Udaan, which caters to a niche audience, also found tremendous appreciation from its target audience. Released at plexes mainly, the film also had a dull start, again in 15% to 20% to 25% range, but the business showed an escalation in the evening shows. Its business is expected to show better results over the weekend at multiplexes of metros and 'A' class centres.
