Tag Archives: Naam Hai Akira

Streaming Video News: September 24, 2018

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I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Netflix with a few upcoming expiration dates. Akira, M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story, and the Assamese movie Kothanodi all leave Netflix on October 1, 2018. M.S. Dhoni was just okay, and Akira — aka Naam Hai Akira — was awful, so their departure isn’t a devastating loss.

I also updated my list of Bollywood movies on Amazon Prime with several new titles, including the improv comedy special Go Straight Take Left and the 2018 Hindi release Nawabzaade, starring ABCD‘s Dharmesh Yelande and Punit Pathak.

Streaming Video News: March 31, 2017

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I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Netflix with six new additions to the catalog. Older films like 2006’s Baabul and 2011’s Yamla Pagla Deewana (which was too self-referential) were added along with three movies from last year: Azhar, M.S. Dhoni — The Untold Story, and Akira, which released in US theaters as Naam Hai Akira. The Dhoni biopic was just okay, the Azhar biopic wasn’t great either, and Akira was just bad. The most intriguing new addition is the 2015 reality show The House That Made Me, in which actor Vinay Pathak interviews celebrities like Govinda, Remo D’Souza, and Irrfan Khan in their hometowns.

For everything else (Bollywood or not) new on Netflix, check Instant Watcher.

Worst Bollywood Movies of 2016

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With a new year underway, let’s take one last look at the biggest Hindi cinema duds of last year. Here are my picks for the worst Bollywood movies of 2016. (Click on the title of each movie to read my original review.)

I’m a little loath to include Baaghi on this list because the film is so unintentionally funny, but it’s also really, really bad, so I guess I have to.

Confusing narratives land Banjo and Ghayal Once Again on the list, though Naam Hai Akira ran away with the 2016 award for Worst Overall Story Construction.

Madaari tries to paint a guy who kidnaps and threatens to kill a little kid as a hero, thus earning it a spot on the list.

All the rest of the worst films of 2016 are problematic in the way they relate to women. Shivaay is weirdly hostile, while Sanam Re is tacky and outdated.

Ki and Ka‘s comedic approach to gender norms falls flat when its male character becomes a national role model just by doing chores. Still, Ki and Ka is positively progressive compared to Kyaa Kool Hain Hum 3, a movie built around the stereotype that white women are sluts.

The worst film of the year is written and directed by the same man who wrote the dialogue for Kyaa Kool Hain Hum 3: Milap Zaveri. Mastizaade is hatred masquerading as comedy, a mean-spirited attack on everyone who isn’t a straight, Indian man. Zaveri’s targets include women, addicts, and non-Indians, but he’s particularly fond of picking on people with disabilities. His characters literally point and laugh at a man in a wheelchair. This is about as loathsome as a film can be. Mastizaade‘s title as my Worst Bollywood Movie of 2016 is well deserved.

Kathy’s Ten Worst Bollywood Movies of 2016

  1. Mastizaade
  2. Kyaa Kool Hain Hum 3 — Buy at Amazon
  3. Naam Hai Akira — Buy at Amazon
  4. Ki and Ka — Buy at Amazon
  5. Ghayal Once Again — Buy at Amazon
  6. Madaari — Buy at Amazon
  7. Banjo — Buy at Amazon
  8. Sanam Re — Buy at Amazon
  9. Shivaay
  10. Baaghi — Buy at Amazon

Previous Worst Movies Lists

Bollywood Box Office: September 23-25, 2016

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Pink just did something really unusual. In its second weekend of release in the United States and Canada, it earned 98.9% of what it earned in its first weekend. From September 23-25, 2016, it earned $366,826 from 78 theaters ($4,703 average), bringing its total to $919,852. To put Pink‘s holdover rate in context, consider that the median holdover percentage from Weekend 1 to Weekend 2 this year is 23%. Of the hundreds of Hindi films released in North America in the last ten years, only 22 have managed to carry over even 60% of their opening weekend business (I’m excluding international co-productions The Lunchbox and Bhopal because of their limited or atypical release strategies). Just four have held on to more than 90%: 3 Idiots, Kahaani, Queen, and now Pink. This shows just how powerful positive reviews and good word-of-mouth can be.

As for the weekend’s new release, Banjo performed to expectations. It opened in just 29 theaters — third lowest for the year — and earned $18,173 ($627 average). My rule of thumb is: if you don’t think your film can carry at least thirty theaters in North America, don’t release it here. It won’t make any money and will look worse for failing to do so.

Baar Baar Dekho‘s business slowed way down in its third weekend. It earned $30,002 from 38 theaters ($790 average), bringing its total to $973,008. As of now, Baar Baar Dekho‘s total stands at approximately 1.6x its first-weekend total. Ideally, Bollywood movies want to double their first-weekend earnings over the course of their theatrical run, but a multiplier of 1.7 will still land a film in the top half of releases for this year. With business slowing as much as it has, Baar Baar Dekho will struggle to hit that 1.7x benchmark — further proof of the power of buzz, good and bad.

Other Hindi movies still showing in North America:

  • Rustom: Week 7; $2,705 from four theaters; $676 average; $1,914,302 total
  • Naam Hai Akira: Week 4; $301 from two theaters; $151 average; $220,608 total

Source: Rentrak, via Bollywood Hungama

Opening September 23: Banjo

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One new Hindi film gets a very limited release in the Chicago area on September 23, 2016. The musical romance Banjo stars Riteish Deshmukh and Nagris Fakhri.

Banjo opens on Friday at the AMC South Barrington 30 in South Barrington. It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 21 min.

Baar Baar Dekho gets a third week at the South Barrington 30, MovieMax Cinemas in Niles, Regal Cantera Stadium 17 in Warrenville, and the AMC Loews Woodridge 18 in Woodridge.

Pink carries over at MovieMax, Cantera 17, and South Barrington 30, which also holds over Rustom for a seventh week. MovieMax gives another week to Naam Hai Akira.

Other Indian movies showing in the Chicago area this weekend include:

Bollywood Box Office: September 16-18, 2016

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Pink got off to a terrific start at the North American box office. During the weekend of September 16-18, 2016, it earned $371,043 from 71 theaters ($5,226 average). That’s the seventh best opening weekend average of the year, from a film that ranked 24th out of 37 films in terms of opening weekend theater count.

Pink is star Amitabh Bachchan’s third release of the year, with each film opening in fewer theaters than the one before it. Wazir released into 127 theaters here in January, earning $575,908 in its opening weekend. In June, Te3n earned $250,677 from the 116 theaters it opened in. Releasing Pink in just 71 theaters seems like an overreaction to Te3n‘s slight underperformance. Bachchan is still enough of a draw here that his movies should open in at least 90 theaters.

Baar Baar Dekho held over reasonably well in its second weekend, losing about 77% of its opening weekend business (which isn’t as dramatic as it might seem). The time travel romance earned $141,833 from 123 theaters ($1,153 average), bringing its total earnings to $900,159.

Freaky Ali faced a more precipitous second-weekend drop, with business falling by about 84%. It took in $6,621 from fourteen theaters ($414 average) to bring its total to $64,254. As I noted last week, that’s a very respectable total for a movie that opened in just 42 theaters.

In its sixth weekend, Rustom earned $6,499 from seven theaters ($928 average), bringing its total to $1,909,782.

Naam Hai Akira closed out its third weekend with $2,732 from two theaters ($1,366 average). Its North American total earnings stand at $217,515.

Source: Rentrak, via Bollywood Hungama

Opening September 16: Pink

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The social issue drama Pink — starring Amitabh Bachchan and Taapsee Pannu — is the only new Hindi film opening in the Chicago area on September 16, 2016.

Pink opens on Friday at MovieMax Cinemas in Niles, AMC South Barrington 30 in South Barrington and Regal Cantera 17 in Warrenville. It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 16 min.

Baar Baar Dekho carries over for a second week at all three of the above theaters, plus the AMC River East 21 in Chicago, Regal Round Lake Beach 18 in Round Lake Beach, Century Stratford Square in Bloomingdale, and AMC Loews Woodridge 18 in Woodridge.

The South Barrington 30 also holds over Freaky Ali and Rustom, while MovieMax gives another week to Naam Hai Akira.

Other Indian movies playing in the Chicago area:

Bollywood Box Office: September 9-11, 2016

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The two latest Hindi films to open in North America did quite well in their first weekend in theaters. Let’s start with the wider release of the two: Baar Baar Dekho, starring Katrina Kaif and Sidharth Malhotra. During the weekend of September 9-11, 2016, Baar Baar Dekho earned $609,640 from 143 theaters, an average of $4,263 per theater. Those numbers are significantly better than figures for Kaif’s other 2016 romance, Fitoor, which co-starred Aditya Roy Kapur. Baar Baar Dekho has already earned more than Fitoor did in its entire run ($513,879) despite the fact that it opened in twenty fewer theaters.

By a very different metric, the weekend’s other new release — the golf comedy Freaky Ali — also posted good numbers. Freaky Ali earned $42,637 from 42 theaters ($1,015 average). That may not sound like much, but Bollywood movies that open in fewer than 50 theaters in North America are lucky to earn $20,000 in their opening weekend. The second highest opening weekend gross among the Under-50 club this year was Mastizaade, which earned $28,529 from 46 theaters. A final tally for Freaky Ali in the $60,000 range would be commendable.

Naam Hai Akira didn’t fare nearly as well as the new releases. Its business fell by 88% from last weekend, with returns of just $15,364 from 66 theaters ($233 average). Ouch. Its total earnings after two weekends are $210,865.

Rustom continues its impressive run into its fifth week, earning $17,335 from sixteen theaters ($1,083). Total earnings of $1,900,485 rank Akshay Kumar’s Rustom in fourth place for the year, just ahead of Kumar’s Airlift.

Other Hindi movies still in North American theaters:

Source: Rentrak, via Bollywood Hungama

Opening September 9: Baar Baar Dekho and Freaky Ali

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Two new Hindi films open in the Chicago area on September 9, 2016. Getting the wider release of the two is the romance Baar Baar Dekho, starring Katrina Kaif and Sidharth Malhotra.

Baar Baar Dekho opens on Friday at the AMC River East 21 in Chicago, Regal Round Lake Beach 18 in Round Lake Beach, AMC South Barrington 30 in South Barrington, Century Stratford Square in Bloomingdale, Regal Cantera 17 in Warrenville, and AMC Loews Woodridge 18 in Woodridge. It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 20 min.

The weekend’s other new release is Freaky Ali, a golf movie purportedly inspired by Happy Gilmore. It stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui and is directed by Salman Khan’s younger brother, Sohail.

Freaky Ali opens Friday at the South Barrington 30. It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 1 min.

Naam Hai Akira carries over for a second week at the Cantera 17 and South Barrington 30, which also holds over Rustom.

Other Indian and Pakistani movies showing in the Chicago area this weekend:

Bollywood Box Office: September 2-4, 2016

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The action flick Naam Hai Akira posted opening weekend numbers that were okay, but a bit on the low side. During the weekend of September 2-4, 2016, the movie earned $131,735 from 87 North American theaters ($1,514 average). Including Monday’s Labor Day holiday, which is celebrated in both the United States and Canada (I had to look that up), Box Office Mojo reports total earnings for Naam Hai Akira of $166,658.

The reason why Naam Hai Akira‘s numbers are slightly disappointing is that it opened in more than the median number of theaters for the year (85) but earned less than the median opening weekend gross (around $145,000). While that’s less than a $15,000 difference, Naam Hai Akira was way off when it came to the median opening weekend per-theater average of more than $2,000 per theater. Basically, the film didn’t warrant such a wide release. Somewhere in the 70-75 theater range would’ve been more appropriate.

Here’s where things get interesting. The four movies that have the 15th-18th (out of 34) widest opening weekend releases of 2016 in North America are Jai Gangaajal, Neerja, Naam Hai Akira, and Sarbjit — all movies marketed on the strength of their female lead character or actress. They all released within a range of 83-93 theaters. Neerja had a huge opening weekend and expanded into a total of 135 theaters the following week. However, the other three grossed less than the median in their opening weekends with underwhelming per-theater averages ($1,569 for Sarbjit and $1,277 for Jai Gangaajal). The sad fact is that most female-led Bollywood movies aren’t big enough draws here to justify the theatrical footprint they currently receive.

In cheerier news, Rustom has by now overtaken Airlift as the fourth highest earning Hindi film of 2016 in North America. 3-day weekend earnings of $68,932 from 33 theaters ($2,089 average) brought its total to $1,853,818 — less than $5,000 behind Airlift‘s total earnings.

Over the weekend, Happy Bhag Jayegi accomplished a feat I wrote about last week, becoming the eighth Bollywood movie of the year to double its opening weekend earnings over the course of its theatrical run. It earned another $25,775 from twelve theaters ($2,148 average), bringing its three-weekend total to $333,938.

In its second weekend, A Flying Jatt‘s business fell by more than 80% from its opening weekend. It earned $19,867 from 27 theaters ($736 average), bringing its total to $174,055.

Mohenjo Daro stuck around for a fourth weekend in eight theaters, earning $5,625 ($703 average). Its total stands at $1,237,504, surpassing Udta Punjab for eighth place for the year.

Sources: Box Office Mojo and Rentrak, via Bollywood Hungama