Box Office Star Analysis: Akshay Kumar

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Akshay Kumar’s Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty recently posted the fifth highest opening weekend gross for a Bollywood movie in North America in 2014. That sounds good, but a closer look at the numbers reveals a downward trend in Kumar’s box office viability in the U.S. and Canada since 2007.

Akshay Kumar List of Movie Grosses

Akshay Kumar Per Movie GrossOver the last seven years, Kumar’s per-movie grosses in North America have decreased by almost half (from about $1.2M to $0.6M). Between 2007-10, Kumar reliably earned more than $1 million from each North American release. Since 2011, however, only three of Kumar’s twelve movies have surpassed that mark — and two of those just barely made it.

AkshayPerMovieScreensWhile his movies are making less money, the number of North American theaters carrying Kumar’s movies has, for some reason, increased. He routinely opens on more than 100 screens here, and Holiday is his biggest release yet, opening in 144 theaters. That’s the third highest opening weekend screen count here this year, behind Salman Khan’s Jai Ho (183) and Yash Raj Films’ Gunday (150).

AkshayPerMoviePerScreenDespite showing on more screens than ever, Kumar is only bringing in one-third as much money as he used to for each of those screens. Kumar’s opening weekend per-screen averages have plunged from nearly $9,000 per-screen to about $3,000 per-screen today.

The other curious aspect of this trend is that two of Kumar’s highest earning films of recent years, both in terms of total gross and opening weekend average, opened on fewer than 100 screens. In September, 2012, OMG: Oh My God ($914,992 total) debuted on 70 screens, earning an average of $4,858 per screen in its opening weekend. Several months later, Special 26 ($1,078,960 total) debuted on 85 screens, earning an average of $5,438 per screen.

(The Kumar movie that released in between OMG and Special 26, Khiladi 786, debuted on 115 screens, from which it earned an average of $1,991 per screen. Its total gross was less than $400,000.)

There’s a disconnect between the Kumar movies that distributors and theaters think the North American audience wants to see and the films that the audience actually wants to see. Based on earnings, North Americans like Kumar best as part of an ensemble or as a supporting character, and less as a solo leading man. And they don’t like him paired with Sonakshi Sinha. The duo has made five movies together since mid-2012, and none has performed as well as their first, Rowdy Rathore. Even that film earned well short of $1 million ($777,373 to be exact).

It’s only a matter of time before theaters realize that their screens could be put to better use.

Sources: All figures courtesy of Box Office Mojo and Bollywood Hungama.

New Trailers: June 15, 2014

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Two new Hindi film trailers released today. Coming first to theaters — though not in the U.S., I suspect — is the cute-looking Vir Das comedy Amit Sahni Ki List, releasing July 18.

One of the biggest movies of the year — Salman Khan’s Kick — hits theaters the following weekend on July 25.

I’m going to have to wait until an English-subtitled version of the trailer is released in order to make heads or tails of the plot. The romantic storyline involving beardless Salman and Jacqueline Fernandez looks awful, but I’m reassured by the presence of Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Randeep Hooda in the bearded Salman storyline. Kick could be a lot of fun.

Movie Review: Gulaab Gang (2014)

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Gulaab_Gang2 Stars (out of 4)

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When international media outlets report of new horrors inflicted upon Indian women on a seemingly daily basis, there’s a need for inspiring films to provide relief. Gulaab Gang‘s tale of female empowerment has its heart in the right place but isn’t introspective enough to leave a lasting mark.

Inspired by the real-life Gulaabi Gang of activists in Uttar Pradesh, Gulaab Gang follows the exploits of a fictional gang of female vigilantes, lead by Rajjo (Madhuri Dixit). A sequence at the start of the film — inexplicably voiced-over by a man instead of a woman — explains that Rajjo turned to activism when she was denied an education as a girl. This is as much insight into any of the characters as the movie provides.

In addition to admonishing abusive husbands, the dozens of members of the Gulaab Gang fix problems in the village when corrupt bureaucrats or out-numbered policemen won’t. Landlord cut off your electricity? Boss won’t pay your wages? The Gulaab Gang will fix it!

The gang is also responsible for educating the youth of the village. Rajjo repeatedly states that she wants to build a school for the village, but doesn’t her compound already serve that purpose? It’s never made clear why a new school building is important enough that it can be used to blackmail Rajjo.

The movie fails to identify some of the key characters. Rajjo has two young lieutenants, and one of them — a woman with a nose ring played by Priyanka Bose — is never named, as far as I could tell. The other, Mahi (Divya Jagdale), is only named in the last thirty minutes of the film.

The last thirty minutes are relentlessly depressing for Rajjo and her crew. Rajjo’s arch-nemesis — a politician named Sumitra Devi (Juhi Chawla, whose smugness evokes Manoj Bajpayee in similar roles) — goes beyond trying to discredit Rajjo to advocating for the murder of the whole gang.

Gulaab Gang builds such an air of hopelessness in its final act that the resolution feels abrupt and inadequate. A dance number before the climactic battle doesn’t help.

Where the movie excels is in building a case that women can carry action movies. The fight sequences are more realistic than most Bollywood rural action flicks — no one flies twenty feet into the air after taking a punch — but are just as satisfying.

The best moment in the Soumik Sen-directed film involves a chilling act of violence committed by the gang against a rapist who’s gone for a swim. As they carry the man into his father’s house and deposit him on a couch, Mahi says with an exhausted air, “We had a hard time getting him out of the water.” The camera cuts to a floor-level shot of empty pant-legs dangling as a gang member sets a pair of sandals beneath them, where feet should be.

The problem with the violence in Gulaab Gang is that its implications are never fully explored. A reporter asks Rajjo why her gang often resorts to violence — admittedly as a second option after peaceful means fail — and Rajjo responds in essence, “Because it works.” There’s no reason why women can’t be as violent as men, but an examination of how the gang sees their actions as different would have been interesting.

Another tendency that deserves more attention is the gang’s habit — Sumitra Devi is even worse about this — of humiliating men, even when they can meet their goals without doing so. When in a position of power, the women are just as apt to target their opponent’s gender-specific weaknesses as the men are in the same position.

Gulaab Gang‘s story needed more nuance to be truly considered a game changer. Still, it’s nice to see a Bollywood action film that doesn’t center around the heroics of a one-man army for a change.

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In Theaters: June 13, 2014

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There are no new Hindi movies opening in the Chicago area on Friday, June 13, 2014, with only one older title sticking around. Holiday carries over for a second week at the AMC Showplace Niles 12 in Niles, MovieMax Cinemas in Niles, AMC South Barrington 30 in South Barrington, and Regal Cantera Stadium 17 in Warrenville.

Sad to see Filmistaan exit theaters after one week, but it’s not surprising given its lackluster box office performance.

Other Indian movies showing in the Chicago area this weekend include Manam (Telugu) at the Cinemark at Seven Bridges in Woodridge and MovieMax, which is also carrying How Old Are You (Malayalam), Jump Jilani (Telugu), Mundasupatti (Tamil), Naan Than Bala (Tamil), and Race Gurram (Telugu).

I’m not entirely sure why I like it so much, but the Race Gurram poster is one of my favorite movie posters ever.

Race_Gurram_poster

Bollywood Box Office: June 6-8

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North American box office numbers for the weekend of June 6-8, 2014, courtesy of Box Office Mojo:

  • Holiday: $394,715 from 144 theaters; $2,741 average
  • The Lunchbox: $41,352 from 46 theaters; $899 average; $4,041,380 total
  • Filmistaan: $31,113 from 24 theaters; $1,296 average

Movie Review: Filmistaan (2012)

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Filmistaan3.5 Stars (out of 4)

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There’s a great line in Filmistaan that sums up the frustrating nature of the tension that has persisted between India and Pakistan since Partition in 1947. The film’s kidnapped Indian protagonist, Sunny (Sharib Hashmi), is surprised at being told he’s been secretly brought to Pakistan: “The food, the people all look the same. How would I know?”

That theme of commonality runs throughout Filmistaan. The movie beautifully makes its point that manufactured borders can’t erase the cultural similarities that unite the people of India and Pakistan, and that it’s the average citizens of both countries who pay the price for ongoing hostility.

Sunny is the consummate regular guy. He’s an out-of-shape, out-of-work wannabe actor who admits he doesn’t have the chops to make it in Bollywood. But he persists, taking the job of Assistant Director as a way into the industry.

On assignment with an American film crew, Sunny is kidnapped near the Pakistan border in Rajasthan. The militants leave him with a pair of guards in a small village across the border, hoping to nab the more valuable Americans on a second try.

Sunny endears himself to the village children with his impressions of Bollywood stars. His love for film sparks a friendship with Aftaab (Inaamulhaq), a movie buff and DVD pirate. And Sunny’s sheer ordinariness leads the younger of his two captors, Jawaad (Gopal Dutt), to question why they’re holding him in the first place.

Jawaad’s willingness to question orders — in stark contrast to his devout compatriot, Mehmood (Kumud Mishra) — gets at one of the movie’s other themes: the crippling effect of a lack of opportunities in Pakistan. The only reason Jawaad joined the militants and the only reason Aftaab is a film pirate and not a filmmaker is because of a lack of opportunity, caused primarily by the closed border with India and the zealots like Mehmood who want to keep it closed.

Filmistaan is hopeful about the prospects that young people from both countries will someday cast aside national hostilities in exchange for a future built on shared goals and cultural history. The subtlety with which it conveys this message through its story and characters heightens its impact.

Since Filmistaan is also a celebration of the movies, it excels in all the necessary ways. The acting is top-notch. Sets are stark and evocative, thanks to writer-director Nitin Kakkar and cinematographer Subhransu. The soundtrack is terrific.

The story builds to a cinematic climax that sadly doesn’t allow for the emotional payoff one would hope for. Given the effort that went into making the audience care deeply about the characters, the ending needed to be more cathartic.

Still, that doesn’t negate the great journey that Filmistaan takes the audience on. This is a unique and enjoyable film worth seeing.

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Movie Review: Holiday (2014)

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Holiday_-_A_Soldier_Is_Never_Off_Duty_(poster)2 Stars (out of 4)

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Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty is an unapologetically patriotic film. Sadly, the flag-waving gets in the way of the plot and ultimately makes the film feel exploitative.

Writer-director A.R. Murugadoss puts himself in a pickle by making a standard issue one-man-wrecking-crew character into a government official. Akshay Kumar plays Virat, an army officer who’s also a covert agent of the D.I.A. (Defense Intelligence Agency).

He’s not a rogue agent or an officer who’s been wrongly accused and is trying to clear his name. As far as the movie explains, Virat is an agent of good standing working within the chain of command.

Virat interrupts his military leave to single-handedly dismantle a terrorist organization planning to bomb Mumbai. Virat tortures suspects, endangers civilians and his fellow officers, and coordinates complicated missions entirely outside of the justice system and without ever informing a superior officer of his actions.

If, as happens in the movie, a solitary D.I.A. or C.I.A. agent coordinated the public executions of a dozen people before a crime had been committed and without first trying to apprehend the suspects, everyone from the head of the Defense Department to the President would descend on that agent like the wrath of God. And what citizen in a democracy wants individual government agents to have the power to decide who lives and who dies without due process?

But there’s no time for ethical questions in Holiday because Virat needs to get married! As is the case for the protagonist in every one-man-wrecking-crew/supercop movie, Virat’s only character flaw is that he starts the movie without a girlfriend. He falls in love with Saiba (Sonakshi Sinha), who is only interesting for the duration of a dance number that showcases her athleticism. She spends the rest of the movie begging Virat to kiss her.

Holiday would’ve made more sense tonally had the first half been devoted to Virat romancing Saiba and the second half devoted to the terror plot. Instead, Murugadoss asks the audience to change gears on a moment’s notice. Ignore the fact that we just watched a bus full of children explode and cue the wacky sound effects: here’s Virat’s dim-witted Army commander, and he’s played by Govinda!

As with the wacky sound effects, Murugadoss always makes it explicit what emotions he’s trying to provoke. To instill fear, characters utter the phrase “sleeper cell” about a million times. There’s a lengthy montage of families saying tearful good-byes to soldiers as they ship out and a needless scene set in a home for wounded veterans. Since there’s absolutely zero chance that a character played by Akshay Kumar will be permanently maimed or killed in the course of a movie, these scenes feel like exploitation.

The movie also goes out of its way to paint police officers as less noble than army officers. Virat’s best friend, Mukund (Sumeet Raghavan), is a cop, and Virat spends most of the movie explaining the basics of terrorist cells to him. (Apparently, police don’t get any training in counter-terrorism, since it’s not like they’re the front line of defense in attacks on major metropolitan areas or anything.) Mukund responds by praising the selflessness and bravery of soldiers, as though police-work is totally safe.

Though the unnamed terrorist leader (played by Freddy Daruwala) comes up with some clever schemes, he fails to make use of the most obvious way to get to Virat. He threatens a bunch of Virat’s fellow soldiers, but never Mukund or Saiba, even though that’s who Virat spends all his time with.

In Holiday‘s defense, the fight scenes are better than those in most Hindi action movies, and there are a couple of catchy song-and-dance numbers. Besides that, Holiday is a potentially entertaining thriller wasted on behalf of a political agenda.

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Opening June 6: Holiday and Filmistaan

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The action flick Holiday: A Solider Is Never Off Duty is finally hitting theaters, along with one other Hindi movie I didn’t expect to open in the Chicago area. Holiday — Akshay Kumar’s latest pairing with Sonakshi Sinha — releases on June 6, 2014.

Holiday opens on Friday at the AMC River East 21 in Chicago, AMC Showplace Niles 12 in Niles, MovieMax Cinemas in Niles, AMC South Barrington 30 in South Barrington, Regal Cantera Stadium 17 in Warrenville, and AMC Loews Woodridge 18 in Woodridge. It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 40 min.

The other new Hindi movie in theaters this weekend is Filmistaan. It’s finally getting a wide release in India and abroad after bouncing around festivals for the last two years. AMC must have a lot of confidence in the movie, because it’s opening in three local AMC theaters.

Filmistaan opens on Friday at the River East 21, Showplace Niles 12 and South Barrington 30. It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 20 min.

The Lunchbox carries over for another week at the Glen Art Theatre in Glen Ellyn.

Other Indian movies showing in the Chicago area this weekend include Manam (Telugu) at the Muvico Rosemont 18 in Rosemont, Cinemark at Seven Bridges in Woodridge, and MovieMax, which is also carrying How Old Are You (Malayalam), Kochadaiiyaan (Tamil), 7th Day (Malayalam), and Race Gurram (Telugu).

Bollywood Box Office: May 30-June 1

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With nothing new in theaters, May 30-June 1, 2014, was a slow weekend for Hindi movies at the North American box office. Bollywood Hungama’s weekly box office chart appears incomplete, so I’m using Box Office Mojo’s numbers for my report this week.

A lot of competition from South Indian fare pushed Hindi films down the list in North America. For example, Kochadaiiyaan earned $89,042 in its second weekend to bring its total earnings in the U.S. and Canada to $817,192.

The Lunchbox — now in its fourteenth week in theaters — earned $55,420 from 54 theaters, a per-screen average of $1,026. It continues to increase its lead as the highest-earning Hindi film of 2014 in North America with total earnings standing at $3,972,118.

In its second weekend, Heropanti added another $8,454 from 11 theaters ($769 average), bringing its total to $57,150. If you want to get really nerdy, Box Office Mojo tracked Heropanti‘s daily earnings. I wish they had this info for every Hindi movie in the U.S.

While Heropanti‘s total earnings in North America are unimpressive, they’re right in line with what should be expected from a movie featuring a new hero. Its total topped those of movies with other little-known leads, such as Ragini MMS 2, Kaanchi, and Dishkiyaoon. But it lagged well behind the earnings of movies with more recognizable stars, like Gulaab Gang, Bewakoofiyaan, and Total Siyapaa.

If Tiger Shroff wants to get noticed in the U.S., he needs to spend some time playing second fiddle to A-listers before he can carry films on his own.

Streaming Video News: June 2, 2014

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New on Netflix streaming is the 2013 spy thriller D-Day, starring Irrfan Khan, Arjun Rampal, Rishi Kapoor, and Huma Qureshi. I think about D-Day more often than any other film from last year, and I look forward to watching it again.

Eros Now debuted Purani Jeans on its streaming service a couple of days ago. The coming-of-age film from last month didn’t open in North American theaters, so it’s great that fans over here finally have a way to watch it.