I’m stunned that War Chhod Na Yaar is opening in the Chicago area on October 11, 2013. The movie wasn’t promoted in local theaters, and with mid-tier stars like Sharman Joshi and Soha Ali Khan in leading roles, I never expected WCNY to open here. Something tells me Besharam‘s poor box office performance may have had something to do with it.
WCNY opens on Friday at the Big Cinemas Golf Glen 5 in Niles, AMC South Barrington 30 in South Barrington, and Regal Cantera Stadium 17 in Warrenville. It has a listed runtime of 1 hr. 59 min.
To put Besharam‘s disappointing box office performance in perspective, we can look at the amount it earned per screen in its opening weekend in the United States. Besharam opened in 217 theaters — a very high number for a Bollywood film in the U.S. — and earned $389,000 from Friday to Sunday, for an average of $1,793 per screen. (Including Wednesday and Thursday returns, Besharam‘s total stood at $504,000 as of Sunday.) By comparison, here’s what other recent releases earned per screen in their opening weekends:
- Phata Poster Nikla Hero = $2,768
- Grand Masti = $3,488
- Satyagraha = $4,966
- Chennai Express = $11,329
Through its fourth week in theaters, Chennai Express continued to earn more per screen than Besharam did in its opening weekend. Nevertheless, Besharam carries over at all three of the above theaters, plus the Regal Gardens Stadium 1-6 in Skokie and AMC Loews Woodridge 18 in Woodridge.