Tag Archives: Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi

Bollywood Box Office: September 7-9, 2018

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Stree is on fire in North America. The delightful horror comedy just posted the best Weekend 1-Weekend 2 holdover for the year so far, hanging onto nearly 80% of its opening weekend business despite dropping a handful of theaters. From September 7-9, 2018, Stree earned $162,044 from 52 theaters ($3,116 average), bringing its total to $504,448 after ten days — a wonderful accomplishment for a movie that opened in just 60 theaters.

The weekend’s two new Hindi releases would’ve been better off not opening here at all, combining to earn less than $20,000. The war drama Paltan earned $13,418 from 14 theaters ($958 average) in the United States and Canada. The romance Laila Majnu — which only opened in the US — earned $4,090 from eleven theaters ($372 average), setting a new low for the year for opening weekend total and opening weekend average.

Yamla Pagla Deewana Phir Se — which released with Stree two weeks ago — fared poorly as well, taking in $12,236 from 21 theaters ($583 average), bringing its total to $103,691.

Other Hindi movies still showing in North American theaters:

  • Gold: Week 4; $10,840 from twelve theaters; $903 average; $1,124,374 total
  • Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi: Week 3; $4,397 from seven theaters; $628 average; $135,815 total
  • Satyameva Jayate: Week 4; $3,103 from three theaters; $1,034 average; $224,707

Source: Bollywood Hungama

Opening September 7: Paltan and Laila Majnu

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Two new Bollywood films get limited releases in Chicago area theaters on September 7, 2018. The historical war drama Paltan features an ensemble cast that includes Arjun Rampal, Jackie Shroff, and Sonu Sood.

Paltan opens Friday at MovieMax Cinemas in Niles and AMC South Barrington 24 in South Barrington. It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs 30 min.

Also opening Friday at MovieMax is the romance Laila Majnu, with a screenplay by Imtiaz Ali.

After a good opening weekend in North America, Stree carries over at the South Barrington 24 and Regal Cantera Stadium 17 in Warrenville. Yamla Pagla Deewana Phir Se also gets a second week at MovieMax and the South Barrington 24.

Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi sticks around a third week at MovieMax and the South Barrington 24, which holds over Gold and Satyameva Jayate as well.

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

Bollywood Box Office: August 31-September 2, 2018

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One new Hindi film benefited from the long holiday weekend in North America, and the other did not. From August 31-September 2, 2018, the horror comedy Stree earned $203,915 from 60 theaters* ($3,399 average), according to Bollywood Hungama — pretty good for a movie I wasn’t even sure would release here. Even with Monday’s Labor Day holiday theoretically boosting Sunday’s business, Yamla Pagla Deewana Phir Se only mustered $56,553 from 38 theaters ($1,488 average), with more than half its total coming from 14 Canadian theaters.

Other Hindi movies still showing in the US and Canada:

  • Gold: Week 3; $46,674 from 33 theaters; $1,414 average; $1,088,007 total
  • Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi: Week 2; $15,367 from 15 theaters; $1,024 average; $121,689 total
  • Satyameva Jayate: Week 3; $8,926 from six theaters; $1,488 average; $216,619 total

*Bollywood Hungama routinely counts Canadian theaters twice in its weekly reporting, at least for a movie’s first few weekends of release. When possible, I try to verify the correct theater count with other sources. The above figures represent what I believe to be the actual theater counts. Bollywood Hungama’s reporting technically puts Stree in 68 theaters (making for a $2,999 per-theater average).

Source: Bollywood Hungama

Opening August 31: Yamla Pagla Deewana Phir Se

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Update: When I published this on the afternoon of August 29, all the theaters had posted their full weekend schedules. Check again on Friday, and Stree is showing at the AMC South Barrington 24 in South Barrington and Regal Cantera Stadium 17 in Warrenville. It’s showing in 60 theaters across North America, and it has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 8 min.

One new Hindi film opens in Chicago area theaters on August 31, 2018, and sadly it’s not Stree. It’s the third installment in Dharmendra & Sons comedy franchise: Yamla Pagla Deewana Phir Se.

YPDPS opens Friday at MovieMax Cinemas in Niles, AMC South Barrington 24 in South Barrington, and Regal Cantera Stadium 17 in Warrenville. It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs 25 min.

Gold and Satyameva Jayate carry over for a third week at MovieMax and the South Barrington 24, which also gives a second week to Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi.

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

Bollywood Box Office: August 24-26, 2018

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Turns out there wasn’t much appetite for a Happy Bhag Jayegi sequel after all. From August 24-26, 2018, Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi earned $66,179 from 39 theaters ($1,697 average) in North America, according to Bollywood Hungama. That’s less than half as much as the original earned during its opening weekend in August of 2016: $156,110 from 77 theaters ($2,027 average).

The weekend was uneventful for the other Hindi films showing in North America. Gold finished its second weekend with $146,645 from 115 theaters ($1,275 average), bringing its total to $968,377. Also in its second weekend, Satyameva Jayate took in $23,609 from 14 theaters ($1,686 average). Its total stands at $194,022.

After August 31’s two new releases — Yamla Pagla Deewana Phir Se and Stree — hit theaters, early September looks pretty quiet on the Bollywood front. Of the three films that were supposed to open on September 7, just one — Paltan — will debut on time, with Helicopter Eela pushed to October 12 and Drive postponed (and possibly heading straight to Netflix). September 14 also saw a schedule change, with Arjun Patiala shifting to next year, leaving just Manmarziyan in theaters. The month closes out with 5 Weddings and Batti Gul Meter Chalu on September 21 and Sui Dhaaga: Made in India on September 28 — assuming they don’t pull a last-minute switcheroo. You can follow the changing whims of the Bollywood calendar on my Upcoming Releases page.

Source: Bollywood Hungama

Opening August 24: Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi

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The romantic comedy sequel Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi is the only new Bollywood film opening in the Chicago area on August 24, 2018. The 2016 original — Happy Bhag Jayegi — was just okay, but maybe the addition of Sonakshi Sinha to the cast can liven up the second film.

Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi opens Friday at the AMC South Barrington 24 in South Barrington. It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 16 min.

Gold carries over for a second week at the South Barrington 24, AMC River East 21 in Chicago, MovieMax Cinemas in Niles, Marcus Addison Cinema in Addison, Century Stratford Square in Bloomingdale, and Regal Cantera Stadium 17 in Warrenville.

Satyameva Jayate also gets a second week at MovieMax and the South Barrington 24.

Other Indian and Pakistani movies playing in Chicago area theaters this weekend: