Tag Archives: Khoobsurat

Streaming Video News: September 2, 2022

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I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Netflix with today’s premiere of Season 2 of The Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives. Yesterday, Netflix added the 2022 Tamil film Katteri.

A bunch of Indian movies are set to leave Netflix on October 1. The films I’ve reviewed are at the top of the list below, followed by the rest of the expiring titles in alphabetical order:

I also updated my list of Bollywood movies on Hulu with yesterday’s premiere of the Akshay Kumar crime flick Cuttputlli. My review is still in progress, but this is not a film to prioritize.

Vidyut Jammwal’s action sequel Khuda Haafiz 2: Agni Parkisha made its streaming debut on Zee5 yesterday.

Streaming Video News: October 1, 2018

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I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Netflix with more than fifty Indian titles that are now available for streaming. Most of the new films are in Hindi (23 titles), Punjabi (22), or Tamil (7), with one new addition each in Marathi and Bengali (as well as one Urdu movie from Pakistan). The full list of titles is available in the “Newly Added” section at the top of my Netflix page. Here are all of the Bollywood films that were just added:

Supposedly, Soorma is scheduled to join Netflix in India on October 20, with Sanju set to join the catalog this month as well, so we’ll keep an eye on that. For everything else new on Netflix — Bollywood or not — check Instant Watcher.

I also update my list of Bollywood movies on Amazon Prime with one new addition to the streaming catalog: the road trip movie Karwaan, which hit in theaters back on August 3, 2018. The July, 2018 theatrical release Dhadak comes to Prime in India on October 4, so hopefully we’ll get it here in the US as well.

Update: Thanks to my Twitter pal Gaurav for letting me know that Fanney Khan debuts on Amazon Prime on October 12, and Sanju hits Netflix on October 15.

Bollywood Box Office: October 17-19

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Bang Bang and Haider continued their strong box office performances in their last uncontested weekend before Shahrukh Khan’s Happy New Year hits theaters. In its third weekend in North America, Bang Bang earned an additional $138,308 from 128 theaters ($1,081 average per screen), bringing its total earnings to $2,523,614. That makes it the second highest earning Hindi film in North America in 2014, behind The Lunchbox.

Haider added $62,361 from 49 theaters ($1,273 average) to its coffers, bringing its total earnings in the United States and Canada to $1,022,727. That total puts it in eighth place in North America for the year.

Other Hindi movies showing in U.S. and Canadian theaters during the weekend of October 17-19, 2014:

  • Khoobsurat: Week 5; $2,296 from three theaters; $765 average; $725,610 total
  • The Lunchbox: Week 34; $370 from one theater; $4,050,233 total
  • Daawat-e-Ishq: Week 5; $229 from one theater; $385,415 total

Source: Rentrak, via Bollywood Hungama

In Theaters: October 17, 2014

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For a second week in a row, there are no new Hindi movies opening in the Chicago area. We’ll have to wait until October 24 for Happy New Year.

When the theater schedules turn over on Friday, October 17, 2014, four local theaters will continue to carry Bang Bang: Regal Gardens Stadium 1-6 in Skokie, MovieMax Cinemas in Niles, AMC South Barrington 30 in South Barrington, and Regal Cantera Stadium 17 in Warrenville.

Haider continues its run at MovieMax, Cantera, and South Barrington, which also holds over Khoobsurat for a fifth week.

Other Indian movies showing at MovieMax this weekend include the Malayalam films Vellimoonga and Money Ratnam and the Telugu movies Oka Laila Kosam, Dikkulu Choodaku Ramayya, Govindudu Andarivadele, and Loukyam.

Bollywood Box Office: October 10-12

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With no new Bollywood films for competition, Bang Bang and Haider continued to dominate the North American box office during the weekend of October 10-12, 2014. According to Bollywood Hungama, Bang Bang held the lead, earning $482,043 from 257 theaters ($1,876 average). That brings Bang Bang‘s total earnings to $2,214,333, putting it in third place for the year among Hindi films released in the United States and Canada. Advantages like a holiday (Columbus Day) across much of the U.S. today and another weekend without new competition in theaters should provide enough of a boost to push Bang Bang into second place for the year, ahead of Kick ($2,403,553).

Haider continued its strong performance as well, earning another $218,287 from 104 theaters ($2,099 average). With total earnings of $891,734 so far, it should easily pass Shaadi Ki Side Effects ($947,787) to finish its run in eight place for the year.

[Box Office Mojo lists slightly higher weekend and overall totals for Bang Bang ($499,182/$2,248,354) and Haider ($226,840/$901,610).]

Other Hindi movies still in theaters:

  • Khoobsurat: Week 4; $4,419 from five theaters ($884 average); $721,451 total
  • Daawat-e-Ishq: Week 4; $734 from one theater; $384,848 total
  • The Lunchbox: Week 33: $96 from one theater; $4,049,709 total

Sources: Box Office Mojo and Rentrak, via Bollywood Hungama

In Theaters: October 10, 2014

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After two titanic releases last weekend, no new Hindi movies are opening in the Chicago area on Friday, October 10, 2014. On the heels of a successful opening weekend, Bang Bang carries over for a second week in ten local theaters:

Haider — the better of last weekend’s new releases — carries over at the River East 21, Gardens 1-6, MovieMax, Showplace Niles 12, South Barrington 30, and Regal 17.

The cute romantic comedy Khoobsurat sticks around for fourth week at MovieMax and the South Barrington 30.

The Telugu movie Govindudu Andarivadele holds over at Seven Bridges and MovieMax, which is also carrying Drishya (Kannada), Money Ratnam (Malayalam), Yaan (Tamil), Madras (Tamil), and the Telugu films Romeo, Dikkulu Choodaku Ramayya, Paathshaala, and Loukyam.

Bollywood Box Office: October 3-5

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Two major Bollywood movies hit theaters in the United States and Canada on Thursday, October 2, 2014, and both posted impressive opening weekend numbers. (Bollywood Hungama doesn’t specify, but I suspect the numbers below represent the two films’ Thursday-Sunday earnings.)

Bang Bang — which opened in more international theaters than any other Bollywood film to date — earned $1,410,838 from 292 North American theaters for a per-screen average of $4,830. That’s the biggest opening weekend total for a Hindi movie in 2014 by a margin of nearly $400,000 over the previous title-holder, 2 States ($1,026,353). Granted, Bang Bang debuted in more than twice as many theaters as 2 States (131), giving 2 States a much higher opening weekend per-screen average ($7,835).

Bang Bang‘s enormous international release is an impressive stunt, but I wonder if it would’ve been better for individual theaters had the distributor scaled it back a bit. Could the film still have earned $1.4 million had it debuted on 230 screens? Probably. Take a look at the North American figures broken down by country:

  • USA: $1,156,946 from 271 theaters for $4,269 average
  • Canada: $253,437 from 21 theaters for $12,068 average

Anecdotally, Bang Bang opened in 13 theaters in the Chicago area, several of which don’t normally carry Bollywood films. I went to the first show on Thursday at one of those theaters. There were nine other people in the theater with me, so at $5 per ticket, the business only grossed $50 from that showing. On the positive side, three of those people were middle-aged white guys who said that this was their first Bollywood film. Still, I’m not sure numbers like that will inspire the theater to book more Hindi movies in the future.

October 2’s other new release, Haider, posted impressive returns as well. The adaptation of Hamlet earned $538,999 from 123 theaters ($4,382 average), giving Haider the eighth highest opening weekend earnings for a Hindi film in North America in 2014.

[Update: Box Office Mojo reports slightly higher 4-day earnings and slightly lower theater counts for both movies: $1,449,215 from 271 theaters ($5,348 average) for Bang Bang and $549,372 from 119 theaters ($4,617 average) for Haider.]

Finding Fanny is nearing the end of its theatrical run, and its total earnings are less than what I anticipated. From October 3-5, 2014, it earned $440 from one theater to bring its total to $798,652. When it debuted, I noted that every other Bollywood movie that earned in excess of $500,000 in its opening weekend this year went on to earn at least $850,000. I suspect Finding Fanny‘s failure to reach that benchmark can be attributed to the surprise success of Khoobsurat, which released the following weekend.

Other Hindi movies showing in North American theaters:

  • Khoobsurat: Week 3; $43,999 from 34 theaters; $1,294 average; $707,592 total
  • Daawat-e-Ishq: Week 3; $5,831 from 11 theaters; $530 average; $382,809 total
  • The Lunchbox: Week 32; $498 from two theaters; $249 average; $4,049,489 total

Sources: Box Office Mojo and Rentrak, via Bollywood Hungama

Opening October 2: Bang Bang and Haider

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Instead of the industry standard Friday or Wednesday release date, two new Hindi movies open in the Chicago area on Thursday, October 2, 2014. The Hrithik Roshan-Katrina Kaif action flick Bang Bang — an official remake of Knight and Day — releases in more North American theaters than any other Bollywood movie to date.

Bang Bang — which has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 34 min. — opens in the following theaters on Thursday, October 2:

On Friday, October 3, Bang Bang opens in the following additional theaters:

Another movie opening with slightly less fanfare this weekend is Haider, director Vishal Bhardwaj’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. This is one of my most anticipated movies of 2014.

Haider opens on Thursday at the River East 21, Showplace Niles 12, South Barrington 30, and Woodridge 18. As with Bang Bang, Haider opens on Friday at the Regal Gardens 1-6 and Cantera 17. It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 41 min.

Khoobsurat and Daawat-e-Ishq both carry over for a third week at the South Barrington 30 and Cantera 17, with the Gardens 1-6 also holding over Khoobsurat.

The Telugu movie Govindudu Andarivadele carries over at the Rosemont 18, Seven Bridges, and Cinemark Tinseltown USA in North Aurora.

Bollywood Box Office: September 26-28

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Khoobsurat continued its box office dominance in North America for a second week. During the weekend of September 26-28, 2014, it added an additional $173,022 from 60 theaters to bring its total to $621,318. The Disney romantic comedy’s business fell a mere 48% from its debut weekend. Its per-screen average earnings of $2,884 were fourth highest among second weekend averages this year, behind juggernauts like The Lunchbox, Queen, and 2 States.

In a repeat of last weekend, Daawat-e-Ishq fared poorly compared to Khoobsurat. Daawat-e-Ishq earned $82,764 from 77 theaters ($1,075 average), a 60% drop from its opening weekend. Its total North American earnings stand at $354,875.

Other Hindi movies showing in the United States and Canada over the weekend:

  • Finding Fanny: Week 3; $25,151 from 41 theaters; $613 average; $793,309 total
  • The Lunchbox: Week 31; $1,232 from three theaters; $411 average; $4,048,317 total
  • Mary Kom: Week 4; $910 from three theaters; $330 average; $632,832 total

Source: Rentrak, via Bollywood Hungama

In Theaters: September 26, 2014

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With two heavy hitters — Bang Bang and Haider — coming to theaters next weekend, no new Hindi films are opening in the Chicago area on Friday, September 26, 2014. The most widely available of the older releases is Khoobsurat, which gets a second week at the Regal Gardens Stadium 1-6 in Skokie, MovieMax Cinemas in Niles, AMC South Barrington 30 in South Barrington, and Regal Cantera Stadium 17 in Warrenville.

Daawat-e-Ishq and Finding Fanny carry over at MovieMax, South Barrington 30, and Cantera 17.

The wildly popular Telugu movie Aagadu carries over for a second week at Muvico Rosemont 18 in Rosemont, Century Stratford Square in Bloomingdale, and Cinemark at Seven Bridges in Woodridge.

Other Indian movies showing at MovieMax this weekend include include Madras (Tamil), Loukyam (Telugu), Power (Telugu), Sapthamashree Thaskaraha (Malayalam), and Aranmanai (Tamil). The Telugu movie Govindudu Andarivadele opens at MovieMax on Tuesday, September 30.