With Dhoom 3 on such a roll, there are no new Hindi movies opening in the Chicago area on January 3, 2014. By December 29, Dhoom 3 had already earned $6,817,935 in North America, and it’s on pace to earn more than $8 million here.
Fans in the U.S. are getting a gift from Bollywood on Thanksgiving. Director Tigmanshu Dhulia’s Bullett Raja opens on Thursday, November 28, 2013, in America, a day before it opens in India. I’m pretty psyched for this black comedy, which stars Saif Ali Khan.
Last weekend’s other new release, Gori Tere Pyaar Mein, carries over for a second week at the Golf Glen 5, South Barrington 30, and Cantera 17.
The Hindi film with the largest presence in Chicago area theaters remains Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela, which gets a third week at the Golf Glen 5, South Barrington 30, and Cantera 17, plus the Regal Gardens Stadium 1-6 in Skokie and AMC Loews Woodridge 18 in Woodridge. So far, it’s earned $2,269,358 in the U.S.
If you still haven’t caught Krrish 3, the South Barrington 30 carries it over for a fifth week with one show daily. Its U.S. earnings stand at $2,179,948.
What a busy time of year for Bollywood movies! Two new Hindi films open in Chicago area theaters on November 22, 2013, fresh on the heels of two blockbuster releases. Gori Tere Pyaar Mein — a romantic comedy starring Kareena Kapoor Khan and Imran Khan — gets the wider release of the two new flicks.
All this Bollywood competition — plus competition from Hollywood fare like the sequel to The Hunger Games releasing this Friday — has dramatically shortened Krrish 3‘s lifespan in U.S. theaters. The only local theater giving it a fourth week is the South Barrington 30. The movie’s three-week U.S. box office total is $2,123,333.
Other Indian movies showing in the Chicago area this weekend include Irandam Ulagam (Tamil) and Thira (Malayalam) at the Golf Glen 5.
Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s latest, Ram-Leela, opens in the Chicago area on November 15, 2013. A Delhi court today ordered the title changed to Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela to avoid confusing theatergoers expecting a religious parable and getting a retelling of Romeo & Juliet instead, but American theaters are sticking with the original title in their listings.
Having earned $1,870,108 in the U.S. so far, Krrish 3 gets a third week at the Golf Glen 5, South Barrington 30, Woodridge 18, and Cantera 17.
Other Indian movies playing in the Chicago area this weekend include the Telugu film Masala at the Muvico Rosemont 18 in Rosemont and the Golf Glen 5, which also carries the Tamil movies Arrambam and Pizza II: Villa. It gives me great joy just knowing that a horror sequel called Pizza 2 exists.
I’m stunned that War Chhod Na Yaar is opening in the Chicago area on October 11, 2013. The movie wasn’t promoted in local theaters, and with mid-tier stars like Sharman Joshi and Soha Ali Khan in leading roles, I never expected WCNY to open here. Something tells me Besharam‘s poor box office performance may have had something to do with it.
To put Besharam‘s disappointing box office performance in perspective, we can look at the amount it earned per screen in its opening weekend in the United States. Besharam opened in 217 theaters — a very high number for a Bollywood film in the U.S. — and earned $389,000 from Friday to Sunday, for an average of $1,793 per screen. (Including Wednesday and Thursday returns, Besharam‘s total stood at $504,000 as of Sunday.) By comparison, here’s what other recent releases earned per screen in their opening weekends:
Through its fourth week in theaters, Chennai Express continued to earn more per screen than Besharam did in its opening weekend. Nevertheless, Besharam carries over at all three of the above theaters, plus the Regal Gardens Stadium 1-6 in Skokie and AMC Loews Woodridge 18 in Woodridge.
Only one new Hindi movie is set to open in Chicago area theaters on September 13, 2013, and it looks painful. The bawdy comedy Grand Masti stars Ritesh Deshmukh, Vivek Oberoi, and Aftab Shivdasani as three guys trying to cheat on their wives. If you have to include this many exclamation points in your official plot synopsis, your movie probably isn’t that funny.
Grand Masti opens on Friday at the AMC River East 21 in Chicago, Big Cinemas Golf Glen 5 in Niles, AMC South Barrington 30 in South Barrington, and Regal Cantera Stadium 17 in Warrenville. (Note: At the showing I attended at the Cantera this morning, the film had no English subtitles.) If you just can’t wait until tomorrow to see Grand Masti, the River East 21 has a pair of showings tonight. The movie has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 15 min.
Sadly, John Day isn’t opening in the Chicago area.
Last weekend’s other new release, Zanjeer, carries over at the South Barrington 30 and Cantera 17. The Golf Glen 5 is holding over the film’s Telugu version, Thoofan, for a second week, but not the Hindi version.
Satyagraha gets a third week at the Golf Glen 5, South Barrington 30, and Cantera 17, having earned $672,951 in the U.S. so far. With total U.S. earnings of $5,220,926, Chennai Express chugs along for a sixth week at the Cantera 17 and South Barrington 30, which also holds over Madras Cafe for fourth week.
