Tag Archives: Main Tera Hero

Streaming Video News: January 14, 2022

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I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Netflix with today’s debut of the new Hindi crime series Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein (“These Black Black Eyes“). A bunch of Indian and Pakistani titles expire in the next few weeks, including:

If you missed any of the Indian content added to Netflix in December, check out my monthly roundup for What’s on Netflix.

I also updated my list of Bollywood movies on Hulu with today’s premiere of the Hindi Hotstar Special medical drama series Human (also available in Bengali, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil, and Telugu).

Finally, I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Amazon Prime with the Tamil series Putham Pudhu Kaalai Vidiyaadhaa… and the Hindi version of Pushpa: The Rise. Other recent additions include the 2014 movies Main Tera Hero (which was decent) and Shaadi Ke Side Effects (which was not).

[Disclaimer: my Amazon links include an affiliate tag, and I may earn a commission on purchases made via those links. Thanks for helping to support this website!]

Bollywood Box Office: May 16-18

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No new Hindi films of note have opened in North America since 2 States released on April 18, 2014, and it’s starting to show at the box office. According to figures supplied by Rentrak to Bollywood Hungama, 2 States earned only $34,949 from thirty-two theaters in the U.S. and Canada ($1,092 per screen), bringing its total North American earnings to $2,174,356.

Theaters were so desperate for Bollywood films that one theater brought back Queen ($136) and another held over Main Tera Hero ($112) for a seventh week.

Meanwhile, The Lunchbox continued its preplanned roll-out, opening in some new theaters while departing older ones. In its eleventh week of release, it earned $148,840 from 147 theaters. Its per-screen average earnings of $1,013 continued a downward trend that started in earnest in week six.

So why did thirty-two theaters decide to give 2 States a fifth weekend? It has everything to do with per-screen average earnings. Even in its fourth weekend, it was still one of the higher-earning movies in the U.S. and Canada on a per-screen basis. According to Box Office Mojo, its per-screen average of $1,579 ranked 33rd overall for the weekend of May 9-11.

[Box Office Mojo’s figures are generally higher than those reported by Bollywood Hungama/Rentrak.]

However, that ranking doesn’t tell the whole story. Of the movies ranked above it, five were IMAX documentaries and twenty-three were smaller indie pictures that likely had gradual roll-out strategies similar to The Lunchbox (I included The Lunchbox and its $1,595 average in this group).

Omitting those twenty-eight movies that were bound to have higher averages due to scarcity, that left only eight movies showing in a minimum of 500 theaters ranked above 2 States. Two were new releases (Neighbors and Moms’ Night Out), and another two were big-budget action fare (The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Captain America: The Winter Soldier).

That made 2 States a pretty good holdover bet, especially since it out-performed plenty of its contemporary Hollywood fare. It beat Brick Mansions and The Quiet Ones in their third week of release. It outpaced Bears, Transcendence, and A Haunted House 2 in their fourth week. It even beat one new release: Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return ($1,410 average).

Sources: Bollywood Hungama and Box Office Mojo

 

Bollywood Box Office: May 9-11

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Oh, Koyelaanchal. Why did you even bother making the trip overseas? The coal mafia drama fared poorly at the box office during its debut weekend in the U.S. (it didn’t open in Canada), May 9-11, 2014. From eight American theaters it earned a total of $1,762. That’s a per screen average of just $220.

What does $220 per screen look like in the theater itself? I watched Koyelaanchal at the AMC South Barrington 30 in its first showing on Friday morning. I was one of two people in a theater that can accommodate over 200. The other guy left before the movie ended.

The South Barrington 30 ran the film four times per day over the weekend, so each screening earned an average of $18.33. Depending on the time of day, a ticket at the South Barrington 30 costs $6.50, $9, or $10.75. Based on those prices and the average earnings per screening, my experience was typical for all twelve showings over the weekend. Hard for a theater to make money playing a movie for just two or three people at a time.

The Lunchbox continued to perform well in the U.S. and Canada. In its eleventh weekend, it earned $227,610 from 136 theaters ($1,674 average). Its total North American earnings stand at $3,302,145.

Now in its fourth weekend, 2 States also held up nicely. It earned $87,445 from fifty-four theaters ($1,619 average), bringing its total earnings to $2,112,753.

Main Tera Hero stuck around for a fifth weekend in one U.S. theater, earning $60 to bring its total to $275,985.

Source: Rentrak, via Bollywood Hungama

Bollywood Box Office: April 25-27

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The weekend of April 25-27, 2014, was terrible for new Hindi films in the United States and Canada but great for 2 States.

Of the three new films that released in India on April 25 — Revolver Rani, Samrat & Co., and Kaanchi — only Kaanchi made the trip overseas. Even then, it only opened in the U.S., not Canada. From twenty-eight American theaters, it earned just $14,694. Its first weekend per-screen average of $525 was among the worst of the year so far.

On the other hand, 2 States performed very well in its second weekend in North American theaters. It earned $418,064 from 133 theaters (up from 131 last week) for a per-screen average of $3,143. That brings its total earnings to $1,706,309, moving it ahead of Queen into second place on the list of highest grossing Hindi films in North America in 2014, behind The Lunchbox.

Now in its ninth week of release, The Lunchbox earned $303,292 from 176 theaters ($1,723 average per screen). Total earnings stand at $2,591,410.

Other Hindi films showing in a handful of theaters included:

  • Queen: Week 8; $4,339 from three screens; $1,416,230 total
  • Bhoothnath Returns: Week 3; $2,267 from four screens; $144,860 total
  • Main Tera Hero: Week 4; $122 from one screen; $275,789 total

Source: Bollywood Hungama

Bollywood Box Office: April 18-20

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The romantic comedy/family drama 2 States produced the best opening weekend for a Hindi film in North America in 2014. During the weekend of April 18-20, it earned $1,026,353 from 131 theaters in the U.S. and Canada. Its per-screen average of $7,835 is the year’s second highest, behind the opening weekend of The Lunchbox.

Since the release of Queen on March 7, the North American box office has been hostile territory for newly released Hindi films. The mean opening weekend per-screen average for Hindi films (besides Queen) released between March 7 and April 11 was just $1,085. Between January 10 and February 28 (excepting the anomalously high opening weekend average of The Lunchbox), the mean per-screen average was $3,469.

Queen averaged $4,154 in its debut weekend and went on to dominate in both per-screen average and gross earnings for the next four weeks. It remains to be seen if 2 States heralds a revitalization of audience interest in new Bollywood fare, or if it will follow Queen‘s path and dominate the box office until the next big thing comes along (probably Akshay Kumar’s Holiday on June 6).

In its seventh week of release, Queen continued to beat the mean opening weekend per-screen average of new movies released from March 7 to April 11. It earned $13,291 from nine theaters for an average of $1,477. Its total North American earnings stand at $1,408,129.

The Lunchbox continued its impressive run as it expanded into 156 North American theaters. It earned $343,242 over the weekend, bringing its total to $2,135,144.

In its second weekend in theaters, Bhoothnath Returns earned $23,956 from twenty-three screens, bringing its total to $139,032.

Main Tera Hero closed out its third weekend by earning $5,344 from eleven screens. Its total earnings stand at $274,673.

Source: Bollywood Hungama

 

Opening April 18: 2 States

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One of the most hotly anticipated Bollywood films of the year opens in the Chicago area on April 18, 2014. 2 States stars Arjun Kapoor and Alia Bhatt as a pair of young people trying to build a relationship despite the objections of their parents.

2 States opens on Friday at the AMC River East 21 in Chicago, AMC Showplace Niles 12 in Niles, AMC South Barrington 30 in South Barrington, and Regal Cantera Stadium 17 in Warrenville. It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 15 min.

It’s worth noting that the Big Cinemas Golf Glen 5 in Niles — one of two local theaters to carry Bollywood movies virtually every week — is no longer managed by Phoenix Big Cinemas, and its present closure may be permanent. If so, that makes the South Barrington 30 the most reliable place to find Hindi films in the Chicago area, followed by the Cantera 17 and River East 21.

Despite a tepid opening weekend, Bhoothnath Returns carries over for a second week at the Cantera 17 and South Barrington 30, which is also carrying over Main Tera Hero and Queen.

The Lunchbox gets another week at Landmark’s Renaissance Place Cinema in Highland Park.

The only other Indian movie playing in the Chicago area this weekend is Race Gurram (Telugu with English subtitles) at the Muvico Rosemont 18 in Rosemont and Cinemark at Seven Bridges in Woodridge.

Bollywood Box Office: April 11-13

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Bhoothnath’s return to theaters was less than triumphant. The sequel failed to make a splash in its first weekend in North American theaters, earning only about a quarter of what the original did back in 2008.

The original Bhoothnath debuted on May 9, 2008. The supernatural family flick earned $330,246 from sixty-four North American theaters in its opening weekend for an impressive average of $5,160 per screen. It finished in 20th place in the overall U.S. box office for that weekend.

In contrast, Bhoothnath Returns earned just $87,850 from fifty theaters for an average of $1,757, according to Bollywood Hungama. That total would rank it around 34th place in the overall U.S. box office for the weekend of April 11-13, 2014.

The surprise success story of the weekend was the incredible performance of the Telugu film Race Gurram. In the United States alone, it earned $844,101 from sixty-six screens. That’s an average of $12,789 per screen!

Over the weekend, The Lunchbox became the highest grossing Hindi film of 2014 thus far. The $270,977 it earned from 122 theaters brought its total haul to $1,655,071. With dozens of theaters scheduled to program the movie over the next few months, expect that total to grow significantly.

In its second weekend, Main Tera Hero earned $45,282 from forty-six theaters ($984 average). Its total earnings stand at $252,966.

Queen‘s glorious run appears to be nearing its end. It earned $36,092 from twenty screens ($1,805 average) in its sixth weekend in theaters, bringing its total earnings to $1,385,453.

Sources: Bollywood Hungama and Box Office Mojo

Opening April 11: Bhoothnath Returns

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Amitabh Bachchan plays a ghost who takes on a corrupt politician in the family friendly sequel Bhoothnath Returns, opening in the Chicago area on April 11, 2014.

Bhoothnath Returns opens on Friday at the AMC South Barrington 30 in South Barrington and Regal Cantera Stadium 17 in Warrenville. It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 32 min.

After a mild opening weekend at the North American box office, Main Tera Hero carries over for a second weekend at the South Barrington 30 and Cantera 17.

Queen gets a sixth weekend at the South Barrington 30.

The Lunchbox carries over for another weekend at the Century 12 Evanston in Evanston and Renaissance Place Cinema in Highland Park.

Other Indian movies showing in the Chicago area this weekend include Disco Singh (Punjabi) at the South Barrington 30; Naan Sigappu Manithan (Tamil) and Maan Karate (Tamil) at AMC Loews Streets of Woodfield 20 in Schaumburg; and Race Gurram (Telugu) at Muvico Rosemont 18 in Rosemont.

Bollywood Box Office: April 4-6

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Few young actors’ careers have been watched as closely as those of the breakout stars of 2012’s Student of the Year: Alia Bhatt, Sidharth Malhotra, and Varun Dhawan. The sophomore efforts of all three released theatrically in the last two months, the most recent being Dhawan’s Main Tera Hero on April 4, 2014. Here’s how their North American box office returns compare to one another, as well as to the film that launched three careers.

Student of the Year — directed by Karan Johar — released in 106 theaters in the U.S. and Canada on October 19, 2012. It earned $326,508 in its first weekend ($3,080 average), going on to earn a total of $670,086.

Malhotra was the first of the three stars to release his follow-up effort. Hasee Toh Phasee opened on February 7, 2014, earning $334,397 from eighty-six theaters ($3,895 average) in its first weekend. That this was the best opening weekend of the three new films — better even than the first weekend of SOTY — shouldn’t be a surprise. A romantic comedy co-produced by Johar, co-starring Parineeti Chopra, and released a week before Valentine’s Day is a safe bet.

Bhatt’s film, Highway — which opened two weeks later — was a more ambitious venture, despite having an A-List director like Imtiaz Ali at the helm. Bhatt shouldered most of the load for the movie — a largely improvised road flick about a kidnapped woman — and her efforts paid off. Highway earned $325,522 from ninety-three theaters ($3,500 average) in its opening weekend.

Dhawan’s Main Tera Hero didn’t fare as well in its opening weekend as his former co-stars’ films. It earned $161,846 from seventy theaters. Its $2,312 average is significantly less than those of the other two films released this year and SOTY.

In his defense, Dhawan’s film presented the biggest challenge. Action-comedies aren’t guaranteed hits in North America, and his co-stars — Ileana D’Cruz and Nargis Fakhri — have good looks but not much name recognition here. Matching the final tallies of either Hasee Toh Phasee ($642,632) or Highway ($529,449) seems unlikely.

The best-performing Hindi film in U.S. and Canadian theaters during the weekend of April 4-6, 2014, was The Lunchbox. Now showing in 100 theaters, it earned $307,076, bringing its total earnings to $1,266,478.

For one week, Queen reigns as 2014’s overall highest-earning Hindi film in North America (it will lose this crown to The Lunchbox next weekend). In its fifth week in theaters, it earned $92,933 from forty-nine screens ($1,897 average), bringing its total to $1,327,223.

Lingering in one last American theater, Bewakoofiyaan earned $20. Its total stands at $106,800.

Note: All earnings figures except those of Student of the Year are courtesy of Bollywood Hungama.