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Bollywood Box Office: September 30-October 2, 2016

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M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story got off to a cracking start in North American theaters. From September 30-October 2, 2016, the sports biopic earned $1,096,026 from 282 theaters ($3,887 average). It’s only the third movie of the year to earn more than $1 million in its opening weekend here, behind Sultan and Fan. M.S. Dhoni‘s opening weekend per-theater average ranks thirteenth for the year, indicating a slightly extravagant theatrical footprint.

In its third weekend, Pink took in another $126,301 from 60 theaters ($2,105 average), bringing its total to $1,146,431, good for tenth place in North America for the year. Also notable is that Pink is the only 2016 film to triple its opening weekend earnings over the course of its theatrical run — and it only took seventeen days to do it.

Last weekend’s new release, Banjo, tanked hard in its second weekend. Business fell by 98%, and Banjo earned just $287 from two theaters ($144 average). Its total stands at $25,511.

Other Hindi films still in North American theaters:

  • Baar Baar Dekho: Week 4; $1,990 from five theaters; $398 average; $980,343 total
  • Freaky Ali: Week 4; $38 from one theater; $65,615 total

Source: Rentrak, via Bollywood Hungama

Bollywood Box Office: September 16-18, 2016

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Pink got off to a terrific start at the North American box office. During the weekend of September 16-18, 2016, it earned $371,043 from 71 theaters ($5,226 average). That’s the seventh best opening weekend average of the year, from a film that ranked 24th out of 37 films in terms of opening weekend theater count.

Pink is star Amitabh Bachchan’s third release of the year, with each film opening in fewer theaters than the one before it. Wazir released into 127 theaters here in January, earning $575,908 in its opening weekend. In June, Te3n earned $250,677 from the 116 theaters it opened in. Releasing Pink in just 71 theaters seems like an overreaction to Te3n‘s slight underperformance. Bachchan is still enough of a draw here that his movies should open in at least 90 theaters.

Baar Baar Dekho held over reasonably well in its second weekend, losing about 77% of its opening weekend business (which isn’t as dramatic as it might seem). The time travel romance earned $141,833 from 123 theaters ($1,153 average), bringing its total earnings to $900,159.

Freaky Ali faced a more precipitous second-weekend drop, with business falling by about 84%. It took in $6,621 from fourteen theaters ($414 average) to bring its total to $64,254. As I noted last week, that’s a very respectable total for a movie that opened in just 42 theaters.

In its sixth weekend, Rustom earned $6,499 from seven theaters ($928 average), bringing its total to $1,909,782.

Naam Hai Akira closed out its third weekend with $2,732 from two theaters ($1,366 average). Its North American total earnings stand at $217,515.

Source: Rentrak, via Bollywood Hungama

Opening September 16: Pink

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The social issue drama Pink — starring Amitabh Bachchan and Taapsee Pannu — is the only new Hindi film opening in the Chicago area on September 16, 2016.

Pink opens on Friday at MovieMax Cinemas in Niles, AMC South Barrington 30 in South Barrington and Regal Cantera 17 in Warrenville. It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 16 min.

Baar Baar Dekho carries over for a second week at all three of the above theaters, plus the AMC River East 21 in Chicago, Regal Round Lake Beach 18 in Round Lake Beach, Century Stratford Square in Bloomingdale, and AMC Loews Woodridge 18 in Woodridge.

The South Barrington 30 also holds over Freaky Ali and Rustom, while MovieMax gives another week to Naam Hai Akira.

Other Indian movies playing in the Chicago area:

Bollywood Box Office: September 9-11, 2016

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The two latest Hindi films to open in North America did quite well in their first weekend in theaters. Let’s start with the wider release of the two: Baar Baar Dekho, starring Katrina Kaif and Sidharth Malhotra. During the weekend of September 9-11, 2016, Baar Baar Dekho earned $609,640 from 143 theaters, an average of $4,263 per theater. Those numbers are significantly better than figures for Kaif’s other 2016 romance, Fitoor, which co-starred Aditya Roy Kapur. Baar Baar Dekho has already earned more than Fitoor did in its entire run ($513,879) despite the fact that it opened in twenty fewer theaters.

By a very different metric, the weekend’s other new release — the golf comedy Freaky Ali — also posted good numbers. Freaky Ali earned $42,637 from 42 theaters ($1,015 average). That may not sound like much, but Bollywood movies that open in fewer than 50 theaters in North America are lucky to earn $20,000 in their opening weekend. The second highest opening weekend gross among the Under-50 club this year was Mastizaade, which earned $28,529 from 46 theaters. A final tally for Freaky Ali in the $60,000 range would be commendable.

Naam Hai Akira didn’t fare nearly as well as the new releases. Its business fell by 88% from last weekend, with returns of just $15,364 from 66 theaters ($233 average). Ouch. Its total earnings after two weekends are $210,865.

Rustom continues its impressive run into its fifth week, earning $17,335 from sixteen theaters ($1,083). Total earnings of $1,900,485 rank Akshay Kumar’s Rustom in fourth place for the year, just ahead of Kumar’s Airlift.

Other Hindi movies still in North American theaters:

Source: Rentrak, via Bollywood Hungama

Opening September 9: Baar Baar Dekho and Freaky Ali

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Two new Hindi films open in the Chicago area on September 9, 2016. Getting the wider release of the two is the romance Baar Baar Dekho, starring Katrina Kaif and Sidharth Malhotra.

Baar Baar Dekho opens on Friday at the AMC River East 21 in Chicago, Regal Round Lake Beach 18 in Round Lake Beach, AMC South Barrington 30 in South Barrington, Century Stratford Square in Bloomingdale, Regal Cantera 17 in Warrenville, and AMC Loews Woodridge 18 in Woodridge. It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 20 min.

The weekend’s other new release is Freaky Ali, a golf movie purportedly inspired by Happy Gilmore. It stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui and is directed by Salman Khan’s younger brother, Sohail.

Freaky Ali opens Friday at the South Barrington 30. It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 1 min.

Naam Hai Akira carries over for a second week at the Cantera 17 and South Barrington 30, which also holds over Rustom.

Other Indian and Pakistani movies showing in the Chicago area this weekend: