Bollywood Box Office: August 9-11, 2019

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Jabariya Jodi got off to an okay start in North America. During the weekend of August 9-11, 2019, the romantic comedy earned $79,464 from 53 theaters ($1,499 average), according to Bollywood Hungama. By this point in the year, Hindi films have to earn closer to $200,000 in their opening weekend with a per-theater average of around $2,500 to rank in the top half.

Other Hindi movies still showing in North American theaters:

  • Judgementall Hai Kya: Week 3; $20,599 from 18 theaters; $1,144 average; $524,766 total
  • Super 30: Week 5; $14,224 from 18 theaters; $790 average; $2,315,850 total
  • Kabir Singh: Week 8; $3,600 from two theaters; $1,800 average; $2,614,611 total

Sources: 143 Cinema and Bollywood Hungama

Streaming Video News: August 9, 2019

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I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Amazon Prime with fifteen Indian films added in the last two days, including the following 2019 releases:

I also updated my list of Bollywood movies on Netflix because Akshay Kumar’s Airlift is set to expire on August 15.

Opening August 9: Jabariya Jodi

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The romantic comedy Jabariya Jodi (“Forced Couple“) — starring Sidharth Malhotra and Parineeti Chopra — hits Chicago area theaters on August 9, 2019.

Jabariya Jodi opens Friday at MovieMax Cinemas in Niles, AMC South Barrington 24 in South Barrington, and Regal Cantera in Warrenville. It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 5 min.

Judgementall Hai Kya carries over at MovieMax and the South Barrington 24, which also holds over Super 30.

Last weekend‘s new release — Khandaani Shafakhana — is out of local theaters after one week.

Other Indian and Pakistani movies playing in the Chicago area this weekend (all films have English subtitles):

Streaming Video News: August 7, 2019

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I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Netflix because director Sujoy Ghosh’s March, 2019 film Badla is now available for streaming. I didn’t like it as much as his earlier mystery Kahaani (also on Netflix), but it’s entertaining enough. If you’d like to play the Split Screen Podcast at-home game, you can watch The Invisible Guest — the Spanish movie on which Badla is based — on Netflix as well.

I also updated my list of Bollywood movies on Amazon Prime with a handful of Indian films added in the last several days, including the 2019 releases 1st Rank Raju (Telugu), Gho Gho Rani (Hindi), and Raatchasi (Tamil). In case you missed my last Streaming Video News post, Salman Khan’s Bharat is now available for streaming, too.

To give you a sense of just how big Amazon’s Indian catalog is, I recently removed about 80 expired links from my list, and it only reduced the count to 2,428 movies. If you wanted to watch a different Indian movie on Prime every day, it would take you six-and-a-half years to see all of them — and that’s only if Amazon didn’t add any new films!

Bollywood Box Office: August 2-4, 2019

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Sonakshi Sinha’s comedy Khandaani Shafakhana had a disastrous opening weekend in North America, earning just $29,631 from 50 theaters ($593 average), according to Bollywood Hungama. This is the latest in a string of disappointing performances by Sinha’s comedies here, starting last winter with Welcome to New York ($111,044 opening; $225,366 total), and followed in the summer by Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi ($66,179 opening; $135,815 total).

Judgementall Hai Kya held up well in its second weekend, earning $106,624 from 52 theaters ($2,050 average) and bringing its total to $456,252. Last weekend’s other new release — Arjun Patiala — fell hard, its business dropping by almost 95%. It earned just $4,091 from 12 theaters ($341 average). Its total stands at $106,804.

In its seventh weekend, Kabir Singh earned $13,275 from eight theaters ($1,659 average), bringing its total to $2,604,106. One interesting note about Kabir Singh‘s strong box office performance is that 40% of its North American total has come from Canada. Even big Hindi releases only open in 20-40 theaters in Canada, compared to 100-300 theaters in the United States, meaning that most Bollywood films derive about 20% of their combined North American total from Canada. 40% — over $1 million in Kabir Singh‘s case — is huge!

Other Hindi movies still in North American theaters:

  • Super 30: Week 4; $82,767 from 75 theaters; $1,104 average; $2,266,658 total
  • Article 15: Week 6; $980 from two theaters; $490 average; $1,058,891 total
  • Photograph: Week $50 from one theater ;$351,408 total

Source: Bollywood Hungama

Streaming Video News: August 1, 2019

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I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Netflix with seven newly added Indian films and two TV shows. The Hindi movies 3 Idiots, Darna Mana Hai, Ek Hasina Thi, Ferrari Ki Sawaari, and Wazir are now available on for streaming — which is a little weird because they’re all available on Amazon Prime as well. 3 Idiots, Ferrari Ki Sawaari, and Wazir were all added to Prime in the last month, in fact. So much for exclusivity on the streaming services, I guess. Also new to Netflix today are the 2019 Tamil sequel Uriyadi 2, the Telugu film Manu, the Hindi docuseries Regiment Diaries, and the Pakistani drama series Khaani.

I also updated my list of Bollywood movies on Amazon Prime with a dozen new additions in the last two days, including three 2019 releases: Diljit Dosanjh’s Punjabi comedy Shadaa, the Marathi drama DNA, and Mammootty’s Malayalam action film Unda, which is also available in 4K Ultra HD.

August 2 Update: Salman Khan’s June, 2019 release Bharat is now on Amazon Prime.

For everything else new on Netflix or Prime — Bollywood or not — check Instant Watcher.

Opening August 2: Khandaani Shafakhana

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Just one new Hindi movie opens in the Chicago area on August 2, 2019. Sonakshi Sinha runs a fertility clinic in the comedy Khandaani Shafakhana.

Khandaani Shafakhana opens Friday at the AMC South Barrington 24 in South Barrington and Regal Cantera in Warrenville. It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 16 min.

The South Barrington 24 and MovieMax Cinemas in Niles hold over last weekend’s new releases Arjun Patiala and Judgementall Hai Kya, which also gets a second week at Cantera.

All three of the above theaters give a fourth week to Super 30, as do the AMC River East 21 in Chicago, AMC Niles 12 in Niles, AMC Naperville 16 in Naperville, and AMC Woodridge 18 in Woodridge. Kabir Singh gets a seventh week at MovieMax.

Other Indian movies playing in the Chicago area this weekend (all films have English subtitles):

Streaming Video News: July 30, 2019

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I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Netflix with the addition of the 2019 release 7, which is available in both Tamil and Telugu. The Netflix original Hindi horror series Typewriter was also recently added, and the reporting about it here in the United States has been a little awkward.

Some Netflix expiration dates of note include Amu on August 1, Jab We Met on August 2, and Parched on August 5.

I also updated my list of Bollywood movies on Amazon Prime with dozens of new additions in the last week, notably the 2019 releases Kantharam (Malayalam) and Rustum (Kannada) and the restored version of the 1928 silent film Shiraz: A Romance of India.

So, what new movies can we hope to find on the streaming services in August? Badla is almost certain to hit Netflix on August 8, five months after its theatrical release. The second season of Sacred Games drops on August 15, with Article 15 joining Netflix on August 24. Over on Amazon Prime, Bollywood Buff expects Salman Khan’s Bharat to become available for streaming on August 2 followed by Student of the Year 2 on August 26. In between, we’ll get director Ritesh Batra’s Photograph on Prime on August 16. Happy viewing!

Bollywood Box Office: July 26-28, 2019

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Two new Hindi releases met very different fates at the North American box office during the weekend of July 26-28, 2019. The Kangana Ranaut-Rajkummar Rao dark comedy Judgementall Hai Kya scored big, earning $248,781 from 59 theaters ($4,217 average), according to Bollywood Hungama. I’m surprised it didn’t open in more theaters, given the popularity of its lead actors.

The weekend’s other new release — Arjun Patiala — appears to have been a victim of theatrical overreach or bad timing (or both). The Diljit Dosanjh-Kriti Sanon romantic comedy earned just $67,407 from 73 theaters ($923 average). Two Punjabi-language releases — Chal Mera Putt and Ardaas Karan — performed really well here over the weekend, siphoning off much of Dosanjh’s core fanbase despite both Punjabi films showing on less than half as many screens as Arjun Patiala.

Super 30 held strong in its third weekend, earning enough to push it past the $2 million mark. The biographical drama earned $189,224 from 128 theaters ($1,478 average), bringing its total to $2,111,832, according to Box Office Mojo.

Other Hindi movies still showing in North America:

  • Kabir Singh: Week 6; $19,378 from 18 theaters; $1,077 average; $2,573,373 total
  • Article 15: Week 5; $7,705 from nine theaters; $856 average; $1,054,918 total
  • Photograph: Week 11; $111 from one theater; $351,358 total

Sources: 143 Cinema, Bollywood Hungama, and Box Office Mojo

Opening July 26: Arjun Patiala and Judgementall Hai Kya

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Two new Hindi movies hit Chicago area theaters on July 26, 2019. First up is the romantic comedy Arjun Patiala, starring Diljit Dosanjh and Kriti Sanon.

Arjun Patiala opens Friday at MovieMax Cinemas in Niles, AMC South Barrington 24 in South Barrington, and Regal Cantera in Warrenville. It has a quick runtime of 1 hr. 47 min.

Kangana Ranaut and Rajkummar Rao play antagonists in the weekend’s other new release, Judgementall Hai Kya. The psychological black comedy opens Friday at all three of the above theaters and has a runtime of 2 hrs. 2 min.

Super 30 carries over for a third week at MovieMax, South Barrington 24, Cantera, AMC River East 21 in Chicago, AMC Niles 12 in Niles, AMC Naperville 16 in Naperville, and AMC Woodridge 18 in Woodridge.

Article 15 and Kabir Singh both hold over at MovieMax and the South Barrington 24.

Other Indian movies playing in the Chicago area this weekend (all films have English subtitles):