Tag Archives: Chhichhore

Streaming Video News: November 1, 2019

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I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Netflix with the worldwide premiere of the Hindi heist film Drive, starring Jacqueline Fernandez and Sushant Singh Rajput. Producer Karan Johar wasn’t confident enough to release this trash fire (my review’s in progress) into theaters, so he sent it to Netflix as part of his content creation deal with the streaming service. The 2019 Tamil film Mehandi Circus was also added to Netflix recently, even though it’s been available on Amazon Prime since May (disclaimer: all my Amazon links contain an affiliate code that may earn me a commission on purchases made via the links).

I also updated my list of Bollywood movies on Amazon Prime with dozens of movies added in the last few days, including the following 2019 releases:

In other Amazon news, it looks like the Malayalam film Jallikattu joins Prime on November 3, even though it just released in North American theaters yesterday.

If you just can’t get enough Sushant Singh Rajput this weekend, Chhichhore is now available on Hotstar.

Bollywood Box Office: October 4-6, 2019

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Mammoth new releases War and Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy closed out their first full weekend in North American theaters with War winning the box office battle by just $262. From October 4-6, 2019, War earned $1,607,627 from 305 theaters ($5,271 average), according to Box Office Mojo — good enough to rank 9th at the overall North American box office. Adding in returns accumulated since its opening on October 2 brought War‘s total earnings to $2,114,917.

Multilingual Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy‘s box office run was more heavily front-loaded, with the bulk of its $2,114,655 total coming from its first three days, including North American previews starting on October 1. According to Bollywood Hungama, SRNR made $840,115 from 316 theaters ($2,659 average) over the weekend across all three language versions of the movie.

In its fourth weekend in theaters, Dream Girl earned $90,983 from 64 theaters ($1,422 average), bringing its total to $2,202,765 — good enough to temporarily rank 9th among Hindi movies released in North America this year, before War and SRNR inevitably overtake it.

Chhichhore is on the cusp of passing the $2 million mark, with a $1,990,293 total following weekend earnings of $33,159 from 33 theaters ($1,005 average).

Other Hindi movies still in North American theaters:

  • Section 375: Week 4; $253 from two theaters; $127 average; $91,087 total
  • Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas: Week 3; $71 from one theater; $52,871 total

Sources: 143 Cinema, Bollywood Hungama, Box Office Mojo

In Theaters: October 4, 2019

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War dominates the Bollywood theater scene in Chicago the weekend beginning Friday, October 4, 2019. It shows in the following local theaters: the AMC River East 21 in Chicago, MovieMax Cinemas in Niles, AMC Niles 12 in Niles, Regal Round Lake Beach in Round Lake Beach, AMC South Barrington 24 in South Barrington, AMC Dine-In Yorktown 18 in Lombard, Regal Cantera in Warrenville, AMC Naperville 16 in Naperville, AMC Woodridge 18 in Woodridge, and AMC Crestwood 18 in Crestwood. War‘s streaming video partner is Hotstar.

The weekend’s other behemoth is the multilingual release Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy, showing locally in three different languages:

Telugu: River East 21, MovieMax, South Barrington 24, Cantera, Naperville 16, Century 12 Evanston in Evanston, Century 16 Deer Park in Deer Park, Marcus Addison Cinema in Addison, Century Stratford Square in Bloomingdale, Cinemark Tinseltown USA in North Aurora, and Cinemark at Seven Bridges in Woodridge

Hindi: River East 21, MovieMax, South Barrington 24, Cantera, Naperville 16, and Seven Bridges

Tamil: MovieMax and Seven Bridges

The South Barrington 24 and Cantera hold over Chhichhore and Dream Girl, which also gets a fourth week at MovieMax.

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

Bollywood Box Office: September 27-29, 2019

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It was another great weekend for Dream Girl and Chhichhore, and a rotten three days for all of the other Hindi films showing in North America from September 27-29, 2019. Dream Girl held the top spot in its third weekend of release, earning $304,764 from 105 theaters ($2,903 average), according to Bollywood Hungama. Its $2,023,249 total ranks in 10th place for the year so far — just $145,000 behind Total Dhamaal and $300,000 behind Super 30.

Chhichhore had a really nice fourth weekend, taking in $136,494 from 78 theaters ($1,750 average), according to Box Office Mojo. Its $1,924,497 total is right behind Dream Girl in 11th place.

On the other hand, all three of last weekend’s new releases continued their losing streaks. The Zoya Factor earned the most of the lot — $16,566 from 100 theaters ($166 average). A 10-day $121,835 total for a Sonam Kapoor Ahuja film is basically unthinkable at this stage in her career. I’m never going to understand it. Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas was next with $6,236 from 14 theaters ($445 average), bringing its total to $51,727. Prassthanam followed with $2,829 from eight theaters ($354 average). A $29,111 total for a Sanjay Dutt movie? Again, unthinkable.

Then again, this weekend is pretty representative of how 2019 has gone for Bollywood movies in North America. It’s been feast or famine, with no in between. Looking at box office data from the last five years, approximately 25% of Hindi movies released here in a given year earn more than $1 million, with about 35% earning between $200,000 and $1 million, and 40% earning less than $200,000. 2019 is right on pace in that last category, with 41% of releases earning less than $200,000. But an astonishing 44% have taken in more than $1 million here this year. That leaves only 15% (six titles out of 41) in that middle category. The days of a modest $600,000 success are on the way out, but the odds of distributors and studios hitting it big have gone way up.

Other Hindi movies still showing in North American theaters:

  • Section 375: Week 3; $2,947 from three theaters; $982 average; $90,547 total
  • Mission Mangal: Week 7; $1,520 from one theater; $3,657,808 total
  • Saaho: Week 5; $101 from one theater; $3,223,175 total

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

In Theaters: September 27, 2019

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With War on the horizon, no new Hindi movies open in the Chicago area on Friday, September 27, 2019. Many local theaters haven’t finalized their Wednesday schedules yet, but it looks like the Hrithik Roshan-Tiger Shroff action extravaganza is getting a huge local release, including in some theaters that don’t normally carry Bollywood movies. I’ll post another theater update early next week, before War‘s official release on October 2.

Despite a disappointing opening weekend, The Zoya Factor gets a second week at the AMC River East 21 in Chicago, MovieMax Cinemas in Niles, AMC South Barrington 24 in South Barrington, Marcus Addison Cinema in Addison, Regal Cantera in Warrenville, and AMC Naperville 16 in Naperville.

Another dud from last weekend — Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas — holds over at the South Barrington 24, Cantera, and MovieMax, which also hangs onto Prassthanam.

Still going strong, Dream Girl gets a third week at the River East 21, MovieMax, South Barrington 24, and Cantera. All four theaters also carry over Chhichhore, as does the Naperville 16.

Mission Mangal gets a seventh week at the AMC Woodridge 18 in Woodridge.

As a reminder, after its theatrical run, Prassthanam heads to Amazon Prime; Zee5 has the streaming rights to Dream Girl and Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas (probably); and Hotstar gets Mission Mangal, Chhichhore, and The Zoya Factor.

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

Bollywood Box Office: September 20-22, 2019

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What an awful weekend for new Bollywood movies at the North American box office. During the weekend of September 20-22, 2019, the three new Hindi films earned a combined total of just $128,557. Yikes.

The biggest disappointment among the newcomers was The Zoya Factor, a romantic comedy featuring the first-time pairing of Sonam Kapoor Ahuja and Dulquer Salmaan. From 100 North American theaters, it earned $78,569 ($786 average), according to Bollywood Hungama. The Zoya Factor joins Romeo Akbar Walter and India’s Most Wanted as the only Hindi films to open in 99 theaters or more that failed to earn at least $400,000 in their opening weekend here this year. The Zoya Factor‘s weekend was the worst of those three, in terms both gross and per-screen average.

This was a surprise to me because bad reviews — The Zoya Factor currently has a 40% Fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes and 4.2 rating at IMDb — from India don’t reach us here in North America until Friday morning, after many people have already purchased tickets for the weekend or made plans to do so. Even with Dream Girl and Chhichhore still going strong (more on them below), either people waited to hear word of mouth before committing to The Zoya Factor or weren’t interested in it in the first place. I’m gonna have to read some post-release analysis, ’cause I’m kind of shocked.

The weekend’s other two new releases struggled as well. Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas — the launch vehicle for Sunny Deol’s son Karan — earned $33,159 from 26 theaters ($1,275 average), a predictably modest debut from an unproven actor.

Sanjay Dutt’s political thriller Prassthanam was the big stinker of the lot, pulling in just $16,829 from 35 theaters ($481 average). That’s the third worst opening weekend per-screen average here this year and the fourth worst opening weekend total. Ack.

Meanwhile, Dream Girl raked in the dough in its second weekend in North American theaters, earning $480,775 from 109 theaters ($4,411 average) — a drop of just 33% from last weekend. Its total stands at $1,525,727 so far. With no new Hindi films releasing this upcoming weekend, Dream Girl looks poised to cross the $2 million mark sooner rather than later.

Chhichhore had a great third weekend, earning $204,391 from 98 theaters ($2,086 average), according to Box Office Mojo. That brings its total to $1,714,083.

Other Hindi movies still in North American theaters:

  • Section 375: Week 2; $6,238 from 11 theaters; $567 average; $85,295 total
  • Mission Mangal: Week 6; $3,926 from 13 theaters; $302 average; $3,657,808 total
  • Saaho: Week 4; $622 from four theaters; $156 average; $3,222,967 total

Sources: 143 Cinema, Bollywood Hungama, Box Office Mojo

Opening September 20: The Zoya Factor, Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas, and Prassthanam

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It’s a big weekend for Bollywood fans in Chicagoland. In addition to the annual Chicago South Asian Film Festival and four Hindi titles carrying over in theaters, three new Bollywood movies make their local debuts on September 20, 2019. The Sonam Kapoor Ahuja-Dulquer Salmaan romantic comedy The Zoya Factor gets the widest release of the three newcomers.

The Zoya Factor opens Friday at the AMC River East 21 in Chicago, MovieMax Cinemas in Niles, AMC South Barrington 24 in South Barrington, Marcus Addison Cinema in Addison, Regal Cantera in Warrenville, and AMC Naperville 16 in Naperville. It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 14 min. The Zoya Factor is headed to Hotstar after its theatrical run, likely in November.

Another new romance opening this weekend is Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas, directed by Sunny Deol and starring his son Karan in his big screen debut.

Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas opens Friday at MovieMax, South Barrington 24, and Cantera. It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 34 min. It’s produced and distributed by Zee Studios, so expect it to head to Zee5 for streaming.

The final new release is the political drama Prassthanam, starring Sanjay Dutt and an impressive supporting cast that includes Ali Fazal, Manisha Koirala, Chunky Pandey, and Jackie Shroff.

Prassthanam opens Friday at MovieMax and the South Barrington 24. It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 20 min.

After a great opening weekend, Dream Girl gets a second week at the River East 21, MovieMax, South Barrington 24, and Cantera.

Section 375 also holds over for a second week at MovieMax and the South Barrington 24.

Chhichhore is still going strong heading into a third week at the River East 21, MovieMax, South Barrington 24, Cantera, and Naperville 16.

Finally, Mission Mangal gets a sixth week at the AMC Woodridge 18 in Woodridge.

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

Bollywood Box Office: September 13-15, 2019

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Dream Girl had a great opening weekend in North America, especially considering its modest theater count. From September 13-16, 2019, Ayushmann Khurrana’s latest comedy earned $717,458 from 116 theaters ($6,185 average), according to Bollywood Hungama. That average ranks fourth best for the year among opening weekend per-screen averages.

At the other end of the spectrum, Section 375 opened with less-than-stellar results. The courtroom drama took in $52,610 from 50 theaters ($1,052 average). That’s the ninth worst opening weekend per-screen average among the 38 Hindi films to release here this year.

Chhichhore had a terrific first-to-second weekend holdover of 73%, earning $449,240 from 195 theaters ($2,304 average), according to Box Office Mojo. Its total stands at $1,347,815.

Other Hindi movies still in North American theaters:

  • Mission Mangal: Week 5; $41,381 from 43 theaters; $962 average; $3,644,155 total
  • Saaho: Week 3; $31,534 from 45 theaters; $701 average; $3,215,975 total
  • Batla House: Week 5; $251 from one theater; $543,207 total

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

Opening September 13: Dream Girl and Section 375

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Two new Hindi films hit Chicago area theaters September 13, 2019, including Ayushmann Khurrana’s latest comedy — Dream Girl.

Dream Girl opens Friday at the AMC River East 21 in Chicago, MovieMax Cinemas in Niles, AMC South Barrington 24 in South Barrington, and Regal Cantera in Warrenville. It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 17 min. Dream Girl‘s streaming partner is Zee5, which is not available in the United States, so catch it in the theater while you can.

Also new is the courtroom drama Section 375, named for the portion of the Indian Penal Code that governs rape. It stars Richa Chadda and Akshaye Khanna.

Section 375 opens Friday at MovieMax, South Barrington 24, and Cantera. It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 4 min. Section 375 is scheduled to join Amazon Prime in November.

Chhichhore carries over for a second week at the River East 21, MovieMax, South Barrington 24, Cantera, CMX Old Orchard Market in Skokie, AMC Niles 12 in Niles, Marcus Addison Cinema in Addison, and AMC Naperville 16 in Naperville.

Saaho holds over in Hindi at the Niles 12, South Barrington 24, and Cantera, and in Telugu at the South Barrington 24, Century Stratford Square in Bloomingdale, and Cinemark at Seven Bridges in Woodridge.

Mission Mangal gets a fifth week at MovieMax, South Barrington 24, Cantera, and AMC Woodridge 18 in Woodridge.

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

Bollywood Box Office: September 6-8, 2019

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Chhichhore had a nice opening weekend in North America. From September 6-8, 2019, the comedy-drama earned $614,335 from 195 theaters ($3,150 average), according to Box Office Mojo. Such a wide opening-weekend release — the eighth highest theater count for the year so far — may have been a touch ambitious, given that it posted the sixteenth highest opening weekend average. Still, it should clear $1 million here, no problem.

Saaho fell off dramatically in its second weekend, pulling in less than 15% of what it made in its opening weekend. The action flick earned $216,800 from 225 theaters — an average of just $964 per theater, according to Bollywood Hungama. Its total stands at $3,090,643, slotting it in at fourth place for the year so far among Hindi films and multilingual releases.

Other Hindi movies still in North American theaters:

  • Mission Mangal: Week 4; $111,158 from 94 theaters; $1,183 average; $3,570,506 total
  • Batla House: Week 4; $4,047 from six theaters; $675 average; $542,042 total

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