Tag Archives: Kick

Bollywood Box Office: August 1-3

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Salman Khan’s Kick held up well in North America, relieving fears that its business could meet the same fate as Jai Ho and drop dramatically in its second weekend in theaters. According to Bollywood Hungama, Kick earned $417,985 from 146 theaters in the United States and Canada during the weekend of August 1-3, 2014. That total is about forty percent of what Kick earned in its opening weekend. By comparison, in its second weekend, Jai Ho only earned about twenty percent of its first weekend total.

[Update: Box Office Mojo reports slightly higher figures for Kick‘s second weekend: $439,304 from 162 theaters for an average of $2,712 per screen. It lists the movie’s total North American earnings as $2,100,041.]

As with Kick‘s opening weekend, there’s an interesting difference between Kick‘s second weekend performance in the U.S. versus Canada. American theaters outnumbered Canadian theaters nearly seven-to-one, but Canada accounted for more than a quarter of the weekend’s total earnings. Note the difference in average earnings per screen (the combined average for both countries is $2,863):

  • Canada: $114,439 from 21 theaters; $5,449 average
  • USA: $303,546 from 125 theaters; $2,428 average

Though Canadian Bollywood fans generally have a greater appetite for action films than American fans, the effect is most pronounced when it comes to Salman Khan’s movies. During Jai Ho‘s first weekend in theaters, the per-screen average in Canadian theaters was nearly double that of American theaters: $7,940 versus $3,994. As with Kick, the disparity became even greater in Jai Ho‘s second weekend: $2,082 versus $887.

Kick‘s total North American earnings stand at $2,038,946. During the week, it will pass 2 States to become the continent’s second highest earning Hindi film of 2014, behind The Lunchbox.

Here’s how other Hindi movies fared in North America over the weekend:

  • Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania: Week 4; $15,671 from 13 theaters; $1,205 average; $876,988 total
  • The Lunchbox: Week 23; $1,201 from two theaters; $600 average; $4,028,062 total
  • Ek Villain: Week 6; $500 from two theaters; $250 average; $771,683 total

Source: Rentrak, via Bollywood Hungama

In Theaters: August 1, 2014

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With studios unwilling to go up against the juggernaut Kick, there are no new Hindi movies opening in the Chicago area on Friday, August 1, 2014. After a terrific opening weekend, Kick carries over for a second week at seven local theaters: AMC River East 21 in Chicago, Regal Gardens Stadium 1-6 in Skokie, MovieMax Cinemas in Niles, AMC Showplace Niles 12 in Niles, AMC South Barrington 30 in South Barrington, Regal Cantera Stadium 17 in Warrenville, and AMC Loews Woodridge 18 in Woodridge.

The only other Bollywood movie showing in the area this weekend is Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania at the South Barrington 30.

Other Indian movies playing at MovieMax this weekend include Run Raja Run (Telugu), Jigarthanda (Tamil), Vikramadithyan (Malayalam), Maaya (Telugu), Sarabham (Tamil), Adavi Kaachina Vennela (Telugu), Drushyam (Telugu), Alludu Sreenu (Telugu), Velaiyilla Pattathari (Tamil), and Bangalore Days (Malayalam).

Bollywood Box Office: July 25-27

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Salman Khan’s latest — Kick — scored big at the North American box office, and it did so in impressive style. Kick blew past the first weekend earnings of Khan’s other 2014 release — Jai Ho — and posted the second best opening weekend for a Hindi movie in North America so far this year.

Over the weekend of July 25-27, Kick earned $1,023,427 from 163 theaters ($6,279 average) in North America. Check out the difference in per-screen averages when those figures are broken down by country:

  • Canada: $194,016 from 22 theaters; $8,819 average
  • USA: $829,411 from 141 theaters; $5,882 average

Kick‘s combined opening weekend gross ranks second for the year to date, less than $3,000 behind the opening weekend total of 2 States ($1,026,353). Kick‘s opening weekend per-screen average is third, trailing only The Lunchbox and 2 States.

[Update: Box Office Mojo reports significantly higher returns for Kick than the above figures from Rentrak, supplied by Bollywood Hungama. Mojo reports that Kick earned $1,071,373 from 177 theaters ($6,053 average), putting it comfortably ahead of 2 States for the best opening weekend of the year.]

Jai Ho‘s January opening weekend grossed $817,744 from 183 theaters ($4,469 average). In its second weekend — despite having no new Hindi movies in theaters to compete with — Jai Ho‘s business dropped by nearly 80%.

I suspect Kick will hold up better in its second weekend (which will also lack competition from any new Hindi films), thanks to its favorable summer release date and a slightly higher audience rating at IMDb (6.6 for Kick versus 6.0 for Jai Ho). When combined with its estimated mid-week earnings for the remainder of this week, even a disappointing second weekend would likely push Kick ahead of Queen on the list of highest earning Hindi films in North America in 2014. We’ll have to wait and see if it can best 2 States‘ total of $2,191,066 and move into second place behind The Lunchbox.

Three other Hindi movies remained in theaters in the shadow of Kick.

  • Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania: Week 3; $38,575 from 30 theaters; $1,286 average; $839,175 total
  • The Lunchbox: Week 22; $6,159 from seven theaters; $880 average; $4,025,021 total
  • Ek Villain: Week 5; $262 from two theaters; $131 average; $770,615 total

Source: Rentrak, via Bollywood Hungama

Movie Review: Kick (2014)

Kick0 Stars (out of 4)

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Suspension of disbelief is one thing, but Kick asks its audience to forget everything they know about quality filmmaking for 146 minutes. Kick is boring, annoying, and offensively stupid.

Though no one associated with this turd comes off well, Kick is primarily a failure of storytelling. The moronic plot lacks any sense of organization. Explanations come out of left field. The characters — in particular Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s villainous rich guy, Faroz — operate without clear motivation. There’s nothing in this that makes a lick of sense.

Though Kick is a Salman Khan vehicle, the movie opens with Shaina (Jacqueline Fernandez) moping about in Warsaw, Poland. She shares a train ride with Himanshu (Randeep Hooda), a top cop visiting from India. Their families want the two of them to marry, but Shaina explains that she’s still mourning the end of her previous relationship.

The movie should’ve stopped at that point. When Randeep Hooda starts talking marriage — especially while looking cute in a sweater vest — the only answer is, “Yes.” Roll credits. Instead, we get forty-five minutes of flashbacks to Shaina’s romance with annoying lout Devi Lal (Khan).

It’s hard to believe that a woman intelligent enough to become a licensed psychiatrist would fall for a schmuck as irritating as Devi Lal, but Shaina does nonetheless. He dumps her after she suggests that — since he finds steady employment and conventional romance a kind of “hell” that interferes with his adrenaline addiction — they live with her dad after marriage. Devi Lal declares that he won’t be a live-in son-in-law and stalks off.

It takes nearly two hours before alleged genius cop Himanshu realizes that the master thief “Devil” he’s tracked to Warsaw is Shaina’s ex, Devi Lal, who’s managed to worm his way into Shaina’s care with a purported case of amnesia.

Things get increasingly stupid as politically connected healthcare tycoon Feroz is revealed to be Devil’s next target. Siddiqui plays Feroz as a cackling supervillain, but he doesn’t have a sinister agenda or plan for world domination. He’s just a rich guy who’s kind of a dick.

(Speaking of genitalia, did no one on the crew notice that Randeep’s nuts were practically busting out of his pants during Himanshu’s balcony drinking scene with Devi Lal?)

The explanation for Devi Lal’s transition from unemployed schmo to master thief hinges on writer-director Sajid Nadiadwala’s exploitation of disabled children to provoke audience sympathy. It’s tacky.

It also doesn’t hold up to scrutiny from a story perspective. No matter what Devil’s Robin Hood-like motivations are, he kills several Polish police officers who try to stop his destructive chase through downtown Warsaw (which may have actually been London, since Devil drives a red double-decker bus headed for King’s Cross).

But, this being a Salman Khan film, morality always tilts in Khan’s favor. No matter how many lives Devi Lal/Devil takes, he’s always the hero because his intentions were good. Like every Khan character, Devi Lal’s only flaw is that he doesn’t have a girlfriend when the movie begins.

There’s nothing good about this movie. The performances are terrible. Even the choreography sucks because it has to accommodate Khan’s stiffness.

Enough. We’ve seen this all before. Kick just takes the typical Khan movie to jaw-dropping new lows.

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Opening July 25: Kick

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Salman Khan’s latest action film, Kick, opens in the Chicago area on July 25, 2014. A cast that includes accomplished actors like Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Randeep Hooda and a screenplay by novelist Chetan Bhagat lend Kick an air of sophistication.

Kick opens on Friday in six local theaters: AMC River East 21 in Chicago, Regal Gardens Stadium 1-6 in Skokie, AMC Showplace Niles 12 in Niles, AMC South Barrington 30 in South Barrington, Regal Cantera Stadium 17 in Warrenville, and AMC Loews Woodridge 18 in Woodridge. It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 30 min.

The cute romcom Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania gets a third week at the South Barrington 30, Cantera 17, and MovieMax Cinemas in Niles.

Other Indian movies showing in the Chicago area this weekend include Drushyam (Telugu w/no subtitles) at the Cinemark at Seven Bridges in Woodridge and MovieMax, which is also carrying Thirumanam Ennum Nikkah (Telugu), Alludu Sreenu (Telugu), Sathuranga Vettai (Tamil), Velaiyilla Pattathari (Tamil), and Bangalore Days (Malayalam).

Opening July 3: Kambakkht Ishq

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This holiday weekend marks the long-awaited release of Kambakkht Ishq, a romantic comedy starring Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor. The pair play a bickering stuntman and supermodel who try to break up a wedding. As with most Akshay Kumar movies, expect slapstick wackiness.

Of interest to American audiences are cameo appearances by actors Sylvester Stallone, Denise Richards and Brandon Routh. The majority of the movie was shot at Universal Studios in Hollywood, a first for Indian cinema.

Kambakkht Ishq will open in the Chicago area at the AMC Loews Pipers Alley 4 in Chicago, the Big Cinemas Golf Glen 5 in Niles, the AMC South Barrington 30 in South Barrington and the AMC Cantera 30 in Warrenville. The Cantera 30 is featuring a special midnight showing of Kambakkht Ishq on Thursday night (technically 12:01 a.m. Friday). Eros Entertainment’s website has a list of all theaters in the U.S. and Canada showing the movie, which has a listed runtime of 2 hrs 20 min.

Last week’s big Bollywood release, New York, made an impressive showing in U.S. theaters. It earned nearly $500,000, to finish in 16th place last weekend, with a better per-screen average than the debut of Cameron Diaz’s film My Sister’s Keeper.

New York is carrying over for a second week at the AMC Cantera 30, the AMC South Barrington 30, and the Big Cinemas Golf Glen 5. It’s definitely worth checking out; I gave it 3.5/4 stars in my review.

The other Indian movies playing in the Chicago area this weekend are all in Telugu, including Oy! at the Golf Glen 5, and Kick and Evaraina Epudaina at the Sathyam Cinemas in Downers Grove.

In Theaters: June 19, 2009

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There are no new Hindi films opening in the Chicago area for the weekend starting Friday, June 19, 2009. However, Kal Kissne Dekha is sticking around for a second week at the AMC South Barrington 30 in South Barrington and at the Big Cinemas Golf Glen 5 in Niles. The Golf Glen 5 is also carrying over 99.

Other Indian movies playing in the area this weekend include Prayanam (Telugu), Sagar Alias Jacky (Malayalam) and Mee Shivajiraje Bhose Boltoye (Marathi) at the Golf Glen 5 and Kick (Telugu) at Sathyam Cinemas in Downers Grove.