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Opening August 30: Saaho

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The multilingual thriller Saaho — starring Baahubali‘s Prabhas opposite Shraddha Kapoor — hits Chicago area theaters on Friday, August 30, with preview shows starting on Thursday, August 29 at 4:30 p.m. The action film was shot simultaneously in Hindi, Telugu, and Tamil.

I’ve listed the various formats and what Chicago area theaters are carrying them below:

IMAX: AMC Niles 12 in Niles (Hindi), AMC South Barrington 24 in South Barrington (Telugu and Hindi), AMC Naperville 16 in Naperville (Hindi), and Cinemark at Seven Bridges in Woodridge (Telugu)

Hindi: Niles 12, South Barrington 24, MovieMax Cinemas in Niles, Regal Cantera in Warrenville, and AMC Woodridge 18 in Woodridge

Telugu: MovieMax, South Barrington 24, Seven Bridges, Century 12 Evanston in Evanston, Century Stratford Square in Bloomingdale, and Cinemark Tinseltown USA in North Aurora

Tamil: Century 12 Evanston, MovieMax, Tinseltown USA, and Seven Bridges

The movie is also showing at the Marcus Addison Cinema in Addison, but they haven’t listed the language. The employee I talked to at the theater didn’t know either. Saaho is coming to Netflix in November (probably, dependent upon regional streaming rights).

Mission Mangal carries over for a third week at MovieMax, South Barrington 24, Cantera, Naperville 16, Woodridge 18, AMC River East 21 in Chicago, and Regal Round Lake Beach in Round Lake Beach.

Batla House also holds over 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: August 23-25, 2019

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Mission Mangal had a good second weekend in North America, earning $655,056 from 263 theaters ($2,491 average), according to Box Office Mojo. It closed out the weekend with $2,713,267 in total earnings, good enough for fifth place among Hindi films in North America this year. Monday earnings from the United States alone pushed it past Kalank into fourth place. It needs another $181,000 to overtake Bharat for third place.

Batla House also held up very well, with $102,989 from 62 theaters ($1,661 average), according to Bollywood Hungama. It has total earnings of $446,385 so far.

Other Hindi movies still playing in US theaters:

  • Super 30: Week 7; $413 from one theater; $2,322,834 total
  • Jabariya Jodi: Week 3; $296 from one theater; $109,809 total

Sources: Bollywood Hungama and Box Office Mojo

In Theaters: August 23, 2019

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After a terrific opening weekend, the drama Mission Mangal carries over at the following Chicago area theaters the weekend beginning Friday, August 23, 2019: 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, AMC Naperville 16 in Naperville, and AMC Woodridge 18 in Woodridge. Mission Mangal is slated to join the streaming service Hotstar in October.

Balta House also gets a second week at the River East 21, MovieMax, and South Barrington 24. It makes its streaming debut on Amazon Prime in October.

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

Bollywood Box Office: August 16-18, 2019

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Mission Mangal had the second best opening weekend for a Bollywood movie in North America this year. From August 16-18, 2019, the space drama earned $1,365,006 from 263 theaters ($5,190 average), according to Box Office Mojo. Adding in the film’s Thursday earnings brings Mission Mangal‘s 4-day total to $1,522,399.

Batla House fared pretty well in its opening weekend as well, especially considering the strength of its competition. The John Abraham thriller earned $208,671 from 80 theaters ($2,608 average), according to Bollywood Hungama. Batla House‘s Thursday earnings bring its 4-day total to $223,018.

The two new films crushed every other Hindi movie playing in the United States over the weekend. Jabariya Jodi‘s business cratered in its second weekend, falling by 95%. The romantic comedy earned just $3,919 from 13 theaters ($301 average), bringing its total to $107,645.

Other Hindi movies still in US theaters:

  • Super 30: Week 6; $1,211 from three theaters; $404 average; $2,322,115 total
  • Judgementall Hai Kya: Week 4; $105 from two theaters; $53 average; $529,689 total

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

Opening August 15: Mission Mangal and Batla House

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Two new Hindi movies open in the Chicago area on Thursday, August 15, 2019, on the occasion of Indian Independence Day (with additional theaters carrying the movies starting Friday). The bigger release of the two is Mission Mangal, a space drama starring Vidya Balan, Taapsee Pannu, Sonakshi Sinha, and Akshay Kumar.

Mission Mangal opens Thursday at the Regal Round Lake Beach in Round Lake Beach, MovieMax Cinemas in Niles, Regal Cantera in Warrenville, AMC Naperville 16 in Naperville, and AMC Woodridge 18 in Woodridge. On Friday, Mission Mangal opens at the AMC River East 21 in Chicago, AMC South Barrington 24 in South Barrington, and Marcus Addison Cinema in Addison. It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 7 min.

The other new holiday release is John Abraham’s crime drama Batla House.

Batla House opens on Thursday at MovieMax, and it expands on Friday to the River East 21 and South Barrington 24. It has a listed runtime of 2 hr. 26 min.

Jabariya Jodi gets a second weekend at MovieMax and South Barrington 24.

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

Bollywood Box Office: August 9-11, 2019

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Jabariya Jodi got off to an okay start in North America. During the weekend of August 9-11, 2019, the romantic comedy earned $79,464 from 53 theaters ($1,499 average), according to Bollywood Hungama. By this point in the year, Hindi films have to earn closer to $200,000 in their opening weekend with a per-theater average of around $2,500 to rank in the top half.

Other Hindi movies still showing in North American theaters:

  • Judgementall Hai Kya: Week 3; $20,599 from 18 theaters; $1,144 average; $524,766 total
  • Super 30: Week 5; $14,224 from 18 theaters; $790 average; $2,315,850 total
  • Kabir Singh: Week 8; $3,600 from two theaters; $1,800 average; $2,614,611 total

Sources: 143 Cinema and Bollywood Hungama

Opening August 9: Jabariya Jodi

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The romantic comedy Jabariya Jodi (“Forced Couple“) — starring Sidharth Malhotra and Parineeti Chopra — hits Chicago area theaters on August 9, 2019.

Jabariya Jodi opens Friday at MovieMax Cinemas in Niles, AMC South Barrington 24 in South Barrington, and Regal Cantera in Warrenville. It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 5 min.

Judgementall Hai Kya carries over at MovieMax and the South Barrington 24, which also holds over Super 30.

Last weekend‘s new release — Khandaani Shafakhana — is out of local theaters after one week.

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

Bollywood Box Office: August 2-4, 2019

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Sonakshi Sinha’s comedy Khandaani Shafakhana had a disastrous opening weekend in North America, earning just $29,631 from 50 theaters ($593 average), according to Bollywood Hungama. This is the latest in a string of disappointing performances by Sinha’s comedies here, starting last winter with Welcome to New York ($111,044 opening; $225,366 total), and followed in the summer by Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi ($66,179 opening; $135,815 total).

Judgementall Hai Kya held up well in its second weekend, earning $106,624 from 52 theaters ($2,050 average) and bringing its total to $456,252. Last weekend’s other new release — Arjun Patiala — fell hard, its business dropping by almost 95%. It earned just $4,091 from 12 theaters ($341 average). Its total stands at $106,804.

In its seventh weekend, Kabir Singh earned $13,275 from eight theaters ($1,659 average), bringing its total to $2,604,106. One interesting note about Kabir Singh‘s strong box office performance is that 40% of its North American total has come from Canada. Even big Hindi releases only open in 20-40 theaters in Canada, compared to 100-300 theaters in the United States, meaning that most Bollywood films derive about 20% of their combined North American total from Canada. 40% — over $1 million in Kabir Singh‘s case — is huge!

Other Hindi movies still in North American theaters:

  • Super 30: Week 4; $82,767 from 75 theaters; $1,104 average; $2,266,658 total
  • Article 15: Week 6; $980 from two theaters; $490 average; $1,058,891 total
  • Photograph: Week $50 from one theater ;$351,408 total

Source: Bollywood Hungama

Opening August 2: Khandaani Shafakhana

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Just one new Hindi movie opens in the Chicago area on August 2, 2019. Sonakshi Sinha runs a fertility clinic in the comedy Khandaani Shafakhana.

Khandaani Shafakhana opens Friday at the AMC South Barrington 24 in South Barrington and Regal Cantera in Warrenville. It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 16 min.

The South Barrington 24 and MovieMax Cinemas in Niles hold over last weekend’s new releases Arjun Patiala and Judgementall Hai Kya, which also gets a second week at Cantera.

All three of the above theaters give a fourth week to Super 30, as do the AMC River East 21 in Chicago, AMC Niles 12 in Niles, AMC Naperville 16 in Naperville, and AMC Woodridge 18 in Woodridge. Kabir Singh gets a seventh week at MovieMax.

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

Bollywood Box Office: July 26-28, 2019

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Two new Hindi releases met very different fates at the North American box office during the weekend of July 26-28, 2019. The Kangana Ranaut-Rajkummar Rao dark comedy Judgementall Hai Kya scored big, earning $248,781 from 59 theaters ($4,217 average), according to Bollywood Hungama. I’m surprised it didn’t open in more theaters, given the popularity of its lead actors.

The weekend’s other new release — Arjun Patiala — appears to have been a victim of theatrical overreach or bad timing (or both). The Diljit Dosanjh-Kriti Sanon romantic comedy earned just $67,407 from 73 theaters ($923 average). Two Punjabi-language releases — Chal Mera Putt and Ardaas Karan — performed really well here over the weekend, siphoning off much of Dosanjh’s core fanbase despite both Punjabi films showing on less than half as many screens as Arjun Patiala.

Super 30 held strong in its third weekend, earning enough to push it past the $2 million mark. The biographical drama earned $189,224 from 128 theaters ($1,478 average), bringing its total to $2,111,832, according to Box Office Mojo.

Other Hindi movies still showing in North America:

  • Kabir Singh: Week 6; $19,378 from 18 theaters; $1,077 average; $2,573,373 total
  • Article 15: Week 5; $7,705 from nine theaters; $856 average; $1,054,918 total
  • Photograph: Week 11; $111 from one theater; $351,358 total

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