Tag Archives: Movie

Manikarnika vs. The Warrior Queen of Jhansi

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2019 has seen two theatrical releases about legendary revolutionary Rani Lakshmibai hit North American theaters: Kangana Ranaut’s Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi and the international production The Warrior Queen of Jhansi. Warrior Queen completed its principal photography almost a year before Manikarnika, yet even with extensive re-shoots, Manikarnika debuted nearly nine months ahead of Warrior Queen. How do these two different versions of the same story compare?

Manikarnika is truly an epic. Its battles are large in scale, with lots of extras and horses and smoky battlefields. Ranaut gets a number of slow-motion shots as Manikarnika rallies her troops and dodges her enemies’ swords. Warrior Queen‘s battles are by contrast drab and sparsely populated, opting for realism over awe-inspiring visuals. The film highlights just how beaten down the British troops and Indian revolutionaries are from years of fighting, so nothing moves especially quickly. It’s an effective choice given what the story wants to emphasize.

The looks of the films are governed by their differing agendas and target audiences. Manikarnika‘s protagonist is depicted as an Indian national hero and martyr. Her glorious battles and fiery rhetoric are meant to stoke the fires of patriotism. With an A-list actress like Ranaut in the lead role and notable supporting actors from various industries, Manikarnika aims to appeal to a wide swath of Indian film fans.

Warrior Queen takes a more global approach. The biggest names in the film are British screen veterans Derek Jacobi, Rupert Everett, and Nathanial Parker, with comparatively unknown Indian-American actress Devika Bhise (who co-wrote the screenplay with her producer-director mother, Swati) in the title role. The story paints Lakshmibai as a progressive feminist pioneer who refused to accept the social limitations of caste and gender while fighting capitalist aggression.

Despite aiming for a wider, less diaspora-dependent audience, Warrior Queen fared much worse than Manikarnika in its opening weekend in North American theaters. Warrior Queen opened in 276 theaters on November 15 and earned $112,208, for an average of $406 per theater. Manikarnika released into just 152 theaters on January 25 but earned $571,130, or $3,757 per theater.

It’s safe to say that The Warrior Queen of Jhansi had quite a bit working against it, coming out less than a year after a big budget Bollywood version of the same story which is currently available for at-home viewing on Amazon Prime. On top of that, the title may not have drawn in the Victoria & Abdul crowd (i.e. white seniors who enjoy British costume dramas) as easily as if it had been called something more generic — maybe “India’s Warrior Queen” or something like that. Would Warrior Queen have fared better with an earlier release date or slightly different title? Maybe. I found both films to be similarly enjoyable given their differing styles and objectives.

Opening November 1: Ujda Chaman

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I don’t know why Ujda Chaman — the Hindi remake of the Kannada film Ondu Motteya Kathe (which is on Netflix) — is opening in Chicago area theaters on November 1, 2019. Housefull 4 ate Saand Ki Aankh‘s and Made in China‘s lunch last weekend. This isn’t going to go well.

Ujda Chaman opens Friday at the AMC River East 21 in Chicago, MovieMax Cinemas in Niles, and AMC South Barrington 24 in South Barrington. It has a listed runtime of 2 hours and heads to Amazon Prime when its theatrical run ends.

Housefull 4 continues to dominate the local market, carrying over at the River East 21, MovieMax, South Barrington 24, Regal Round Lake Beach in Round Lake Beach, Marcus Addison Cinema in Addison, Regal Cantera in Warrenville, Cinemark at Seven Bridges in Woodridge, and AMC Woodridge 18 in Woodridge.

Saand Ki Aankh gets a second week at MovieMax, South Barrington 24, Woodridge 18, and Cantera, which is the only theater holding over War.

Made in China sticks around at MovieMax and the South Barrington 24.

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

Bollywood Box Office: October 25-27, 2019

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It’s no surprise that Housefull 4 came out on top among this year’s trio of Diwali releases. From October 25-27, 2019, the comedy sequel earned $904,808 from 315 theaters ($2,872 average) in North America, according to Box Office Mojo. That’s not a particularly robust per-theater average, so we’re probably looking at a final total short of $3 million.

The other two new releases wilted against the competition. Saand Ki Aankh earned $101,900 from 204 theaters ($500 average), according to Bollywood Hungama. Made in China was just behind with $72,349 from 95 theaters ($762 average).

War still raged in its fourth weekend of release, earning $80,866 from 59 theaters ($1,371 average), bringing its total to $4,566,986.

Other Hindi and multilingual releases still in North American theaters:

  • The Sky Is Pink: Week 3; $10,741 from 14 theaters; $767 average; $713,682 total
  • Dream Girl: Week 7; $5,786 from seven theaters; $827 average; $2,332,417 total
  • Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy: Week 4; $924 from four theaters; $231 average; $2,622,634 total

Sources: Bollywood Hungama and Box Office Mojo

Opening October 25: Housefull 4, Saand Ki Aankh, and Made in China

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Diwali weekend brings a trio of new Hindi films to Chicago area theaters on October 25, 2019. The widest release of the three goes to the latest entry in the Housefull movie franchise: Housefull 4 — noteworthy because the average age difference between the film’s male leads and their female love interests is 18.67 years.

Housefull 4 opens Friday at the AMC River East 21 in Chicago, Regal Round Lake Beach in Round Lake Beach, MovieMax Cinemas in Niles, AMC South Barrington 24 in South Barrington, Marcus Addison Cinema in Addison, Regal Cantera in Warrenville, Cinemark at Seven Bridges in Woodridge, and AMC Woodridge 18 in Woodridge. It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 10 min. and heads to Hotstar once its theatrical run ends.

Next up is the biographical drama Saand Ki Aankh (“Bull’s Eye“), in which Bhumi Pednekar and Taapsee Pannu play sexagenarian sharpshooters Chandro and Prakashi Tomar, respectively.

Saand Ki Aankh opens Friday at the River East 21, MovieMax, South Barrington 24, Marcus Addison, Cantera, Woodridge 18, and AMC Niles 12 in Niles. It has runtime of 2 hrs. 26 min. Saand Ki Aankh‘s streaming partner is Zee5.

Finally, we have the comedy Made in China, starring Rajkummar Rao, Mouni Roy, and Boman Irani.

Made in China opens Friday at MovieMax, South Barrington 24, Cantera, and Woodridge 18. It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 15 min. It’s heading to JioCinema after its theatrical run ends.

War carries over for a fourth week at the Regal Round Lake Beach, South Barrington 24, Cantera, and Woodridge 18.

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

Bollywood Box Office: October 18-20, 2019

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In its third weekend of release, War became the second highest earning Hindi film of 2019 in North America. From October 18-20, the action thriller earned $364,907 from 192 theaters ($1,901 average), according to Bollywood Hungama. Its $4,355,621 total is still more than $1 million behind this year’s leader, Gully Boy.

The Sky Is Pink took in $125,645 from 194 theaters ($648 average) in its second weekend, bringing its total to $645,272.

Other Hindi/multilingual films still in North American theaters:

  • Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy: Week 3; $33,667 from 50 theaters; $673 average; $2,613,851 total
  • Dream Girl: Week 6; $22,358 from 18 theaters; $1,242 average; $2,317,535 total

Sources: 143 Cinema and Bollywood Hungama

In Theaters: October 18, 2019

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Eros International opted not to release Saif Ali Khan’s Laal Kaptaan here, so there are no new Hindi films opening in the Chicago area on October 18, 2019. The Sky Is Pink holds over for a second week at MovieMax Cinemas in Niles, AMC South Barrington 24 in South Barrington, Regal Cantera in Warrenville, and AMC Woodridge 18 in Woodridge.

War gets a third week at MovieMax, South Barrington 24, Cantera, Woodridge 18, Regal Round Lake Beach in Round Lake Beach, AMC Niles 12 in Niles, Marcus Addison Cinema in Addison, and AMC Naperville 16 in Naperville.

Dream Girl holds over for a sixth week at MovieMax, South Barrington 24, and Cantera.

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

Bollywood Box Office: October 11-13, 2019

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The Sky Is Pink had a fine opening weekend in North America. From October 11-13, 2019, the family drama earned $336,620 from 163 theaters ($2,065 average), according to Bollywood Hungama.

It was never going to best War, which had a good enough second weekend to finish in 12th place at the overall North American box office. The action flick earned $866,421 from 270 theaters ($3,209 average), according to Box Office Mojo. Its total earnings of $3,640,355 currently rank in 4th place among Hindi films in North America this year — just $17,453 behind Mission Mangal in 3rd and about $545,000 behind Uri: The Surgical Strike in 2nd.

Also in its second weekend of release, Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy earned $191,257 from 156 theaters ($1,226 average), bringing the multilingual’s total to $2,527,853.

Dream Girl finished its fifth weekend with $33,124 from 26 theaters ($1,274 average). Its total earnings stand at $2,277,724.

Sources: Bollywood Hungama and Box Office Mojo

Opening October 11: The Sky Is Pink

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New in Chicago area theaters October 11, 2019, is the Hindi family drama The Sky Is Pink. Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Farhan Akhtar play parents to a terminally ill daughter, played by Zaira Wasim in her last film before her retirement from the entertainment industry.

The Sky Is Pink opens Friday at the AMC River East 21 in Chicago, Arclight Glenview in Glenview, MovieMax Cinemas in Niles, AMC Niles 12 in Niles, AMC South Barrington 24 in South Barrington, Regal Cantera in Warrenville, AMC Naperville 16 in Naperville, and AMC Woodridge 18 in Woodridge. It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 15 min. There’s no information on The Sky Is Pink‘s streaming partner yet.

After a great opening weekend, War carries over for a second week at the River East 21, MovieMax, Niles 12, South Barrington 24, Cantera, Naperville 16, Woodridge 18, Regal Round Lake Beach in Round Lake Beach, and Marcus Addison Cinema in Addison.

Dream Girl gets a fifth weekend at MovieMax, South Barrington 24, and Cantera.

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

Bollywood Box Office: October 4-6, 2019

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Mammoth new releases War and Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy closed out their first full weekend in North American theaters with War winning the box office battle by just $262. From October 4-6, 2019, War earned $1,607,627 from 305 theaters ($5,271 average), according to Box Office Mojo — good enough to rank 9th at the overall North American box office. Adding in returns accumulated since its opening on October 2 brought War‘s total earnings to $2,114,917.

Multilingual Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy‘s box office run was more heavily front-loaded, with the bulk of its $2,114,655 total coming from its first three days, including North American previews starting on October 1. According to Bollywood Hungama, SRNR made $840,115 from 316 theaters ($2,659 average) over the weekend across all three language versions of the movie.

In its fourth weekend in theaters, Dream Girl earned $90,983 from 64 theaters ($1,422 average), bringing its total to $2,202,765 — good enough to temporarily rank 9th among Hindi movies released in North America this year, before War and SRNR inevitably overtake it.

Chhichhore is on the cusp of passing the $2 million mark, with a $1,990,293 total following weekend earnings of $33,159 from 33 theaters ($1,005 average).

Other Hindi movies still in North American theaters:

  • Section 375: Week 4; $253 from two theaters; $127 average; $91,087 total
  • Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas: Week 3; $71 from one theater; $52,871 total

Sources: 143 Cinema, Bollywood Hungama, Box Office Mojo

In Theaters: October 4, 2019

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War dominates the Bollywood theater scene in Chicago the weekend beginning Friday, October 4, 2019. It shows in the following local theaters: the AMC River East 21 in Chicago, MovieMax Cinemas in Niles, AMC Niles 12 in Niles, Regal Round Lake Beach in Round Lake Beach, AMC South Barrington 24 in South Barrington, AMC Dine-In Yorktown 18 in Lombard, Regal Cantera in Warrenville, AMC Naperville 16 in Naperville, AMC Woodridge 18 in Woodridge, and AMC Crestwood 18 in Crestwood. War‘s streaming video partner is Hotstar.

The weekend’s other behemoth is the multilingual release Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy, showing locally in three different languages:

Telugu: River East 21, MovieMax, South Barrington 24, Cantera, Naperville 16, Century 12 Evanston in Evanston, Century 16 Deer Park in Deer Park, Marcus Addison Cinema in Addison, Century Stratford Square in Bloomingdale, Cinemark Tinseltown USA in North Aurora, and Cinemark at Seven Bridges in Woodridge

Hindi: River East 21, MovieMax, South Barrington 24, Cantera, Naperville 16, and Seven Bridges

Tamil: MovieMax and Seven Bridges

The South Barrington 24 and Cantera hold over Chhichhore and Dream Girl, which also gets a fourth week at MovieMax.

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