Tag Archives: Kalank

Bollywood Box Office: July 12-14, 2019

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Super 30 went for a huge release in North America but came up short at the box office. From July 12-14, 2019, the biographical drama earned $870,726 from 317 theaters ($2,747 average), according to Box Office Mojo. That’s the second biggest opening weekend theater count here this year — just three theaters fewer than Kalank. Yet Kalank made $1.27 million in its opening weekend and averaged $3,989 per theater. In fact, Super 30 is the only Hindi film to open in more than 250 theaters here this year and not earn at least $1 million, and it’s the only release among the eleven highest earners to average less than than $3,000 per theater.

While reaching a final total of $2 million won’t be a walk in the park, Super 30 has two things working in its favor. No major new Hindi movies are opening here this weekend, during which much of the United States will experience dangerously hot temperatures, making theaters an especially appealing entertainment option.

Kabir Singh continued its strong run, earning $120,467 from 58 theaters ($2,077 average), according to Bollywood Hungama. It’s only the third film this year to earn six figures in its fourth weekend of release (of the sixteen titles that lasted that long). It has total earnings so far of $2,364,342.

Article 15 also performed well, finishing its third weekend with $76,314 from 41 theaters ($1,861 average) and bringing its total to $973,076.

Other Hindi movies still in North American theaters:

  • Photograph: Week 9; $1,363 from three theaters; $454 average; $350,475 total
  • Bharat: Week 6; $385 from one theater; $2,921,228 total
  • Malaal: Week 2; $39 from two theaters; $20 average; $3,668 total

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

Streaming Video News: July 1, 2019

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I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Amazon Prime with the addition of Kalank, the first big release in Amazon Prime Video India’s extended Prime Day event. I thought Kalank was fine, but if you’re only interested in it for Madhuri Dixit’s dancing, skip ahead in the video to 2:06:11. Another dozen Indian movies were added in the last several days, including the 2019 releases Daivam Sakshi (Malayalam) and Falaknuma Das (Telugu).

I also updated my list of Bollywood movies on Netflix with a pair of 2019 releases added over the weekend. John Abraham’s spy thriller Romeo Akbar Walter is now available for streaming, as is the Tamil film Super Deluxe.

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

Streaming Video News: June 25, 2019

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I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Amazon Prime with sixteen newly added Indian films, including the 2019 releases Nedunalvaadai (Tamil), Romantic Criminals (Telugu), and Varikkuzhiyile Kolapathakam (Malayalam). The Amazon Prime Video India Twitter account published a list of Indian films coming to Prime in July as part of Amazon’s extended Prime Day promotions. Be on the lookout for Kalank on July 1.

Bollywood Box Office: May 17-19, 2019

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The romantic comedy De De Pyaar De got off to an okay start in North America. From May 17-19, 2019, it earned $425,934 from 104 theaters ($4,096 average), according to Box Office Mojo.

The weekend also marked the local debut of director Ritesh Batra’s Photograph, which released in India back in March. The drama earned $35,796 from 13 theaters ($2,754 average), though it will likely add theaters and expand to other cities in the coming weeks.

Student of the Year 2 didn’t hold up as well in its second weekend as its predecessor did. Back in 2012, Student of the Year carried over 40% of its opening weekend business into its second weekend, but SOTY2‘s holdover was just 22% — $103,381 from 189 theaters ($547 average). Look for it to lose a lot of theaters going into its third weekend. Its total stands at $724,058.

Other Hindi movies showing in North America:

  • Kalank: Week 5; $2,536 from six theaters; $423 average; $2,729,336 total
  • The Tashkent Files: Week 6; $1,411 from three theaters; $470 average; $66,831 total

Sources: Bollywood Hungama and Box Office Mojo

Opening May 17: De De Pyaar De and Photograph

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Two new Hindi films open in the Chicago area on May 17, 2019. The wider release of the two goes to De De Pyaar De, a romantic comedy in which Ajay Devgn leaves Tabu for a woman half his age (Rakul Preet Singh). It’s written by filmmaker Luv Ranjan, who treated the female characters like garbage in his movie Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2. I’m sitting this one out.

De De Pyaar De opens Friday at the AMC Niles 12 in Niles, MovieMax Cinemas in Niles, AMC South Barrington 24 in South Barrington, AMC Rosemont 18 in Rosemont, Regal Cantera in Warrenville, and AMC Naperville 16 in Naperville. It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 30 min.

Also new this weekend is Photograph, the latest film from The Lunchbox director Ritesh Batra. The romantic drama stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Sanya Malhotra.

Photograph opens Friday at the AMC River East 21 in Chicago, Landmark Century Centre Cinema, and Century 12 Evanston in Evanston. Photograph is rated PG-13 and has a listed runtime of 1 hr. 50 min.

After an okay opening weekend, Student of the Year 2 carries over for a second week at the River East 21, MovieMax, Rosemont 18, South Barrington 24, Cantera, Marcus Addison Cinema in Addison, and AMC Woodridge 18 in Woodridge.

Kalank gets a fifth week at the South Barrington 24.

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

Bollywood Box Office: May 10-12, 2019

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Student of the Year 2 had a fine opening weekend in North American theaters. From May 10-12, 2019, the sequel earned $462,108 from 190 theaters ($2,432 average), according to Box Office Mojo. This year’s median opening weekend per-theater average is just over $3,000, and SOTY2‘s is well short of that. A $1 million final total here seems like a stretch.

Yet SOTY2‘s opening weekend is on par with Student of the Year‘s opening weekend back in October, 2012. The original also had an ambitious release strategy, opening in 106 theaters and earning $326,508 that weekend ($3,080 average). It ended its North American run five weeks later with $670,086 total. SOTY‘s second-weekend earnings were 40% of its first-weekend earnings, so let’s see if SOTY2 can match that.

Other Hindi films showing in North American theaters:

  • Kalank: Week 4; $13,839 from 19 theaters; $728 average; $2,729,336 total
  • The Tashkent Files: Week 5; $4,577 from two theaters; $2,289 average; $64,450 total

Sources: Bollywood Hungama and Box Office Mojo

Opening May 10: Student of the Year 2

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Karan Johar turns Student of the Year into a franchise with Student of the Year 2, which hits Chicago area theaters on May 10, 2019. While the original launched future stars Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, and Sidharth Malhotra, SOTY2 features Tiger Shroff, who debuted five years ago. Newbies Ananya Panday and Tara Sutaria star opposite Tiger.

SOTY2 opens Friday at the AMC River East 21 in Chicago, MovieMax Cinemas in Niles, AMC South Barrington 24 in South Barrington, AMC Rosemont 18 in Rosemont, Marcus Addison Cinema in Addison, Regal Cantera in Warrenville, and AMC Woodridge 18 in Woodridge. It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 25 min.

Kalank gets a fourth week at the South Barrington 24 and Woodridge 18.

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

Bollywood Box Office: May 3-5, 2019

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Kalank closed out its third weekend in North America with $84,217 from 85 theaters ($991 average), according to Box Office Mojo. Its total earnings stand at $2,699,301.

Other Hindi movies showing in North American theaters over the weekend:

  • The Tashkent Files: Week 4; $6,845 from five theaters; $1,369 average; $56,633 total
  • Kesari: Week 7; $1,807 from four theaters; $452 average; $1,904,557 total
  • Badla: Week 9; $76 from one theater; $1,863,375 total

Sources: Bollywood Hungama and Box Office Mojo

In Theaters: May 3, 2019

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It’s a super slow weekend for Chicago area Bollywood fans. (Better get hyped for Student of the Year 2 next week, y’all.) As of Friday, May 3, 2019, Kalank carries over in just three theaters: the AMC South Barrington 24 in South Barrington, AMC Woodridge 18 in Woodridge, and MovieMax Cinemas in Niles, which also holds over Kesari and The Tashkent Files.

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

Bollywood Box Office: April 26-28, 2019

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Kalank‘s second weekend in North American theaters could have been worse, but it was still pretty bad. From April 26-28, 2019, the period drama earned $278,720 from 283 theaters ($985 average), according to Box Office Mojo. That brings its 12-day total to $2,482,587.

For perspective on Kalank‘s performance, I looked at the 25 most widely released Hindi films in North America since 2014 (excluding multilingual movies like Baahubali 2) to see how they fared from their first weekend to their second. Kalank released into the 8th highest number of theaters in its opening weekend (320), and it ranks 10th in terms of second-weekend theater count (283). Nevertheless, its second-weekend gross of $278,720 ranks way down in 18th (the median is $600,000). Its per-screen average of $985 is even worse, tied for 20th place with Zero. Only six movies among the 25 failed to average $1,000/screen in their second weekends here: Kalank, Zero, Jab Harry Met Sejal, Tubelight, Thugs of Hindostan, and Befikre. This is not a group any movie wants to be a part of.

To be fair to Kalank, it was up against literally the toughest box office competition of all time in Avengers: Endgame, which broke pretty much every record on its way to earning $1.2 billion globally in its opening weekend. That Kalank did as well as it did is kind of remarkable, especially since — at least in the Chicago region — a number of theaters gave Kalank only one showing a day at off-peak times in order to accommodate more showings of Avengers. Still, Kalank‘s underwhelming-on-paper showing will likely cause it to drop at least 2/3 of its remaining theaters in North America come Weekend 3.

Other Hindi movies showing in North American theaters:

  • The Tashkent Files: Week 3; $6,355 from five theaters; $1,271 average; $44,542 total
  • Kesari: Week 6; $1,972 from three theaters; $657 average; $1,901,536 total
  • Badla: Week 8; $348 from two theaters; $174 average; $1,863,181 total

Sources: Bollywood Hungama and Box Office Mojo