Tag Archives: Loveyatri

Streaming Video News: December 1, 2018

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I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Amazon Prime with the addition of the October release Loveyatri, starring Salman Khan’s brother-in-law. The streaming service added a number of older Telugu titles as well.

I also updated my list of Bollywood movies on Netflix with the addition of some new kids cartoons, the Punjabi flick Faraar, the Tamil film Power Paandi, and a few shows from the cable channel Discovery Jeet. One of those shows is Man vs Wild with Sunny Leone, which — as far as I can tell — is just the regular Bear Grylls show dubbed into Hindi with Sunny occasionally interjecting from a fake jungle set. I’d be more interested if Sunny was out in the woods with Bear eating worms and stuff.

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

Bollywood Box Office: October 19-21, 2018

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It’s time to officially declare 2018 Ayushmann Khurrana’s year, right? Two weeks after scoring a surprise hit with Andhadhun, his followup release Badhaai Ho took the North American box office by storm. From October 19-21, the family comedy earned $822,801 from 107 theaters ($7,690 average), according to 143 Cinema. That’s the third-best opening weekend average for the year. Andhadhun is still going strong, taking in $147,779 from 62 theaters* ($2,384 average), according to Box Office Mojo, which puts the thriller’s total at $959,504 thus far.

The weekend’s other new release — Namaste England — was crushed by the Khurrana juggernaut. Per Box Office Mojo, the romantic comedy sequel earned just $67,612 from 71 theaters. That’s a per-screen average of $952. I’m curious to see how Namaste England‘s failure affects the release plans for another film starring the movie’s lead duo of Parineeti Chopra and Arjun Kapoor — Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar, currently on the calendar for a March, 2019 debut.

Helicopter Eela has the dubious distinction of posting the worst second-weekend per-screen average for the year. It made $535 from seven theaters — an average of $76 per theater. Oy. It has total earnings of $70,966, according to Bollywood Hungama.

Other Bollywood movies still in North American theaters (per Bollywood Hungama):

  • Sui Dhaaga: Week 4; $2,391 from ten theaters; $239 average; $1,160,677 total
  • Loveyatri: Week 3; $83 from one theater; $119,084 total

*Concerns about the accuracy of Bollywood Hungama’s reporting led me to switch to Box Office Mojo’s data for Andhadhun. BOM reported that Andhadhun actually added six theaters last weekend, which contradicts one of my main points in last week’s box office report (based on Bollywood Hungama’s info). Oops. Nevertheless, Andhadhun and Queen are still the only Hindi movies in the last decade to earn more in their second weekend’s while following a traditional release format in North America.

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

Bollywood Box Office: October 12-14, 2018

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Andhadhun just did something incredible. In its second weekend of release, it earned more money than it did in its opening weekend! And on five fewer screens, no less! From October 12-14, 2018, Andhadhun earned $267,719 from 49 theaters in North America ($5,464 average), according to Bollywood Hungama. That’s almost $16,000 more than last weekend.

In the last decade, I found two other Hindi movies that also out-earned their opening weekend in their second weekend in North America, both in 2014 and both with mitigating factors. The Lunchbox had a slow theatrical rollout, starting out in three theaters and finally reaching its peak theater count of 176 in its ninth week of release. Queen — which employed a more traditional release strategy, like Andhadhun — also earned more in its second weekend, but it added eleven theaters to do so. The only other movies to come close — Kahaani and Pink, which held on to 97% and 99% of their opening weekend business in their second weekends, respectively — also added theaters after strong first weekends. For Andhadun to out-earn its opening weekend while actually losing theaters is a really big deal. Its total stands at $702,335.

The weekend’s lone new release, Helicopter Eela, failed to take off, bringing in $47,299 from 70 theaters in the United States and Canada. That’s a per-screen average of just $676.

Bollywood Hungama didn’t post data from the five Canadian theaters showing Sui Dhaaga: Made in India, but the film earned $34,067 from 40 US theaters ($852 average) in its third weekend of release. That means its total is somewhere north of the $1,101,594 we can officially account for.

Other Hindi movies still showing in North America:

  • Loveyatri: Week 2; $8,234 from 15 theaters; $549 average; $116,388 total
  • Stree: Week 7; $278 from two theaters; $139 average; $843,430 total

Source: Bollywood Hungama

Opening October 12: Helicopter Eela

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One new Hindi film opens in Chicago area theaters on October 12, 2018 (and it’s not Tumbbad, unfortunately). Kajol stars in Helicopter Eela, based on the Gujarati play Beta, Kaagdo.

Helicopter Eela 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

Andhadhun carries over for a second week at all three of the above theaters. MovieMax and the South Barrington 24 also hold onto Loveyatri and Sui Dhaaga: Made in India, which gets a third weekend at and AMC Loews Woodridge 18 in Woodridge as well.

Other Indian movies showing in the Chicago area this weekend:

Bollywood Box Office: October 5-7, 2018

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The weekend’s two new Hindi releases met very different fates at the North American box office, despite opening on approximately the same number of screens. From October 5-7, 2018, the romance Loveyatri earned $73,656 from 50 theaters ($1,473 average), according to Bollywood Hungama. During the same weekend, the thriller Andhadhun earned $251,942 from 54 theaters ($4,666 average). 143 Cinema reports even higher earnings for Andhadhun of $278,464, making for a per-screen average of $5,157. In terms of opening weekend per-screen average, Andhadhun ranks in 6th place for the year, with Loveyatri in 32nd place out of 45 Bollywood films released in North America.

Sui Dhaaga: Made in India held up well in its second weekend of release, retaining 37% of its opening weekend business. It earned $217,816 from 132 theaters ($1,650 average), bringing its North American total to $999,148. Pataakha‘s woes compounded as it lost 98% of its opening weekend business, with a second weekend total of $713 ($143 average). That’s the year’s worst holdover percentage among the 42 Bollywood movies that scored a second weekend here.

Other Hindi movies still in North American theaters:

  • Stree: Week 6; $10,717 from seven theaters; $1,531 average; $839,668 total
  • Batti Gul Meter Chalu: Week 3; $1,600 from three theaters; $533 average; $243,216 total
  • Manmarziyaan: Week 4; $638 from one theater; $563,015 total

Sources: 143 Cinema and Bollywood Hungama

Opening October 5: Andhadhun and Loveyatri

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Two new Bollywood movies release in Chicago area theaters on October 5, 2018. First up is Andhadhun, a thriller with a dynamite cast that includes Ayushmann Khurrana, Radhika Apte, and Tabu.

Andhadhun 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. 30 min.

The weekend’s other new release is Loveyatri, which was called Loveratri until a couple of weeks ago. It marks the film debuts of Warina Husssain and Salman Khan’s brother-in-law.

Loveyatri opens Friday at all three of the above theaters. It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 20 min.

After a good opening weekend, Sui Dhaaga: Made in India carries over for a second week at all three of the above theaters, plus the AMC River East 21 in Chicago, AMC Showplace Niles 12 in Niles, Regal Round Lake Beach Stadium 18 in Round Lake Beach, Marcus Addison Cinema in Addison, AMC Showplace Naperville 16 in Naperville, and AMC Loews Woodridge 18 in Woodridge.

The South Barrington 24 holds onto Stree and Batti Gul Meter Chalu, while MovieMax allots Pataakha two showings over the weekend.

On Thursday, October 11, director Vishal Bhardwaj will be in Chicago for a screening and panel discussion of his brilliant Hamlet adaptation Haider as part of the Chicago International Film Festival. The screening starts at 4:30 p.m., and tickets are just $8.

Other Indian movies showing in the Chicago area this weekend: