Tag Archives: Namaste England

Bollywood Box Office: November 16-18, 2018

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If you thought Thugs of Hindostan had a bad first weekend in North American theaters, then buckle up. Its second weekend was a lot worse. From November 16-18, 2018, Thugs of Hindostan earned $150,387 from 178 theaters ($845 average) in the United States and Canada, according to Bollywood Hungama. So far, it hasn’t even earned $2 million here, with a total stuck at $1,876,932. The figures were so bad that Yash Raj Films didn’t even bother to report its data to Box Office Mojo. In India, exhibitors are demanding compensation for their loses.

That second-weekend total represents an 87% drop from its first weekend, which almost never happens for Hindi movies that get wide releases in North America. A notable exception is 2018’s other major flop, Race 3, which ranks just ahead of Thugs on the 1st-to-2nd-weekend holdover list with a drop of 85%. The median 1st-to-2nd-weekend business drop for the year is 75%, but the movies that fall below that mark overwhelmingly release in fewer than 100 theaters. The only other exception this year is Aiyaary, which debuted in 152 theaters, but even it only saw its business fall by about 77% — a healthy number by comparison.

Cinemas fared much better with a pair of older Hindi titles. Five-week-old Badhaai Ho took in $81,850 from 33 theaters ($2,480 average), bringing its total to an amazing $3,122,493. Seven-week-old Andhadhun earned $19,686 from ten theaters ($1,969 average), for total earnings of $1,303,946.

Other Bollywood movies still showing in US theaters:

  • Baazaar: Week 4; $398 from two theaters; $199 average; $326,384 total
  • Namaste England: Week 5; $10 from one theater; $109,698

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

Bollywood Box Office: November 9-11, 2018

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Thugs of Hindostan‘s opening weekend was not great considering it released in the most theaters of any Hindi movie in North America this year. From November 9-11, 2018, it earned $1,185,386 from 377 theaters ($3,144 average), according to Box Office Mojo. Adding $264,462 from opening day collections on Thursday brings the swashbuckler’s 4-day total to $1,449,848. Its Friday-Sunday total is only fourth best for the year, even though 35 of those theaters charged higher ticket prices to show Thugs on their IMAX screens.

Thugs‘ per-screen average reveals the extent of audience disinterest in this title. $3,144 is just the 16th best opening weekend per-screen average for a Hindi film in North America this year. Adding in the returns from Thursday only brings the average up to $3,846. While one might dismiss this as a case of over-saturation, none of the other Hindi movies to release in more than 300 theaters this year fared as poorly. Padmaavat had an opening weekend PSA of $11,860. Sanju averaged $7,650 per screen. Even Race 3 averaged $5,385 per screen in its first weekend.

Will this poor performance affect the release calendar for the rest of the month? Other studios had all but ceded the territory between now and 2.0‘s release on November 29, assuming that Thugs of Hindostan would be a hot ticket for at least the next two weeks. The Sunny Deol-Preity Zinta comedy Bhaiaji Superhit looks even more likely to release here now on November 23, which would make it the only new release to take advantage of the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States. Last-minute release date changes aren’t unusual in Bollywood, so maybe some scrappy distributor can pull things together in a jiff to take advantage of this unexpected lull.

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

  • Badhaai Ho: Week 4; $153,098 from 59 theaters; $2,595 average; $2,961,841 total
  • Andhadhun: Week 6; $28,791 from 14 theaters; $2,057 average; $1,244,833 total
  • Baazaar: Week 3; $3,312 from eight theaters; $414 average; $324,616 total
  • Namaste England: Week 4; $24 from one theater; $107,951 total

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

Bollywood Box Office: November 2-4, 2018

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Badhaai Ho dominated the box office for a third consecutive weekend, earning $329,042 from 107 theaters ($3,075 average) from November 2-4, 2018, according to Bollywood Hungama. With $2,653,882 in earnings so far, it needs another $360,000 to move past Raazi into third place for the year.

Erin Fraser of the Bollywood Is For Lovers podcast chides me on Twitter whenever I point out instances of poorly reviewed films performing better in Canada than in the United States (as I did last week regarding Namaste England). Well, Erin, you’ll be happy to know that 5 Weddings made just $34 from one Canadian theater over the weekend, but a whopping $156 from the lone US theater showing it. You win this round, Canada! The romantic comedy has a ten-day total of $12,622.

Other Hindi movies still showing in North American theaters:

  • Baazaar: Week 2; $40,188 from 40 theaters; $1,005 average; $292,994 total
  • Andhadhun: Week 5; $66,524 from 22 theaters; $3,024 average; $1,193,046 total
  • Namaste England: Week 3; $474 from three theaters; $158 average; $107,851 total
  • Helicopter Eela: Week 4; $123 from one theater; $71,651 total

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

Bollywood Box Office: October 26-28, 2018

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The weekend’s new Bollywood releases were overshadowed by the behemoth Badhaai Ho. From October 26-28, 2018, Baazaar earned $139,316 from 87 North American theaters ($1,601 average), according to Bollywood Hungama — not terrible, but nothing to write home about. 5 Weddings opened with a wretched $5,218 from eleven theaters ($474 average).

Right now, Badhaai Ho is where it’s at. The family comedy added twenty theaters in its second weekend of release, taking in $688,627 from 127 theaters ($5,422 average), according to 143 Cinema. In ten days, it has amassed an amazing $1,891,984. It needs another $800,000 or so to break into the Top 5 for the year in North America, but with no new Bollywood movies releasing here this coming weekend, that’s totally possible.

Andhadhun is still going strong as well, with 143 Cinema reporting fourth-weekend earnings of $99,499 from 26 theaters ($3,827 average). Its total stands at $1,104,601.

Namaste England‘s second-weekend returns are kinda tragic: $4,378 from twelve theaters ($365 average), according to Bollywood Hungama. Four Canadian theaters are responsible for $3,733 of that total, meaning that Namaste England earned a measly $645 from eight US theaters. That’s a per-screen average of $933 in Canada versus just $81 in the United States. Yikes! Namaste England has total earnings of $98,710.

Sources: 143 Cinema and Bollywood Hungama

Opening October 25 and 26: Baazaar and 5 Weddings

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Chicago area Bollywood fans get two new films to choose from the weekend beginning October 26, 2018. Saif Ali Khan’s Wall Street-esque thriller Baazaar gets a head start, opening in local theaters on October 25.

Baazaar opens Thursday 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. 20 min.

On Friday, the English-language, American-produced romantic comedy 5 Weddings — starring Rajkummar Rao and Nargis Fakhri — opens at the AMC River East 21 in Chicago. It has a listed runtime of 1 hr. 30 min.

After a great opening weekend, Badhaai Ho carries over at MovieMax, South Barrington 24, and Cantera 17 and expands to the AMC Loews Woodridge 18 in Woodridge. Andhadhun carries over at MovieMax and the South Barrington 24, which also holds onto Namaste England a second week.

Other Indian movies showing in Chicago area theaters this weekend:

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

Opening October 19: Badhaai Ho and Namaste England

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Two new Hindi movies release in Chicago area theaters on October 19, 2018. First up is Badhaai Ho, a family comedy about an unexpected pregnancy starring Ayushmann Khurrana and Sanya Malhotra.

Badhaai Ho 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 3 min.

Also new this weekend is the Arjun Kapoor-Parineeti Chopra romantic comedy Namaste England, a sequel to 2007’s Namastey London (which starred Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif).

Namaste England opens on Friday in all three of the above theaters. It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs 21 min.

All three theaters carry over Andhadhun for a third weekend. (Go see it, BTW.) The South Barrington 24 also holds onto Sui Dhaaga: Made in India, as does the AMC Loews Woodridge 18 in Woodridge. Helicopter Eela is out of local theaters after one week.

Other Indian movies showing in Chicago area theaters this weekend: