Dishoom performed well in its opening weekend in North American theaters. From July 29-31, 2016, the action flick earned $435,497 from 111 theaters ($3,923 average). That was enough to finish in twentieth place overall in North America.
The shocking news from the weekend was how dramatically business for the Tamil/Telugu film Kabali fell in its second weekend of release. After earning nearly $4 million in its opening weekend, Kabali earned just $239,352 from 141 theaters ($1,698 average) in its second. That’s a drop of nearly 95%. Tickets for Indian films in languages other than Hindi cost more during their first week in North American theaters, but the price drop in the second week isn’t steep enough to explain such low returns. For example, in Chicago area theaters, opening weekend adult tickets were priced at $20 and up. As of today — Kabali‘s fourteenth day in theaters — two local theaters are still pricing adult tickets at $18, two at $10, and one at $4.50 (the Century Stratford Square in Bloomingdale, for you bargain hunters out there). Kabali‘s total earnings in the United States and Canada stand at $4,436,528.
Back to Hindi films, Sultan is finally running out of steam. In its fourth weekend, it earned $83,785 from 41 theaters ($2,044 average), bringing its North American total to $6,107,827.
Other Bollywood movies still in theaters:
- Madaari: Week 2; $18,328 from nineteen theaters; $965 average; $153,114 total
- Dhanak: Week 7; $40 from one theater; $12,939 total
Sources: Box Office Mojo and Rentrak, via Bollywood Hungama