Tag Archives: Soorma

Streaming Video News: October 13, 2018

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I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Netflix with the addition of the 2018 sports biopic Soorma to the streaming catalog.

I also updated my list of Bollywood movies on Amazon Prime with several 2018 theatrical releases. The lone Hindi film among them is Fanney Khan, which was disappointing in spite of its stellar cast. The Marathi movies Me Yetoy…Chhota Pudhari and Take Care Good Night are now available for streaming, as are the Tamil and Telugu versions of the thriller U Turn. (If you want to watch the 2016 Kannada film of the same name on which the new versions are based, find it here on Netflix.)

There are still more titles on the way in October. Sanju is supposedly coming to Netflix this month, and Prime announced that it will add John Abraham’s Satyameva Jayate on October 19.

Streaming Video News: October 1, 2018

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I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Netflix with more than fifty Indian titles that are now available for streaming. Most of the new films are in Hindi (23 titles), Punjabi (22), or Tamil (7), with one new addition each in Marathi and Bengali (as well as one Urdu movie from Pakistan). The full list of titles is available in the “Newly Added” section at the top of my Netflix page. Here are all of the Bollywood films that were just added:

Supposedly, Soorma is scheduled to join Netflix in India on October 20, with Sanju set to join the catalog this month as well, so we’ll keep an eye on that. For everything else new on Netflix — Bollywood or not — check Instant Watcher.

I also update my list of Bollywood movies on Amazon Prime with one new addition to the streaming catalog: the road trip movie Karwaan, which hit in theaters back on August 3, 2018. The July, 2018 theatrical release Dhadak comes to Prime in India on October 4, so hopefully we’ll get it here in the US as well.

Update: Thanks to my Twitter pal Gaurav for letting me know that Fanney Khan debuts on Amazon Prime on October 12, and Sanju hits Netflix on October 15.

Bollywood Box Office: August 10-12, 2018

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It was a slow weekend for Bollywood movies at the North American box office, with audiences holding off in anticipation of Wednesday’s Independence Day releases (or maybe everyone was watching The Meg). The only new Hindi release was Vishwaroop 2, accompanied by its Tamil counterpart, Vishwaroopam 2. Most Indian movies that release in multiple languages don’t publish separate earnings figures for each language, but Viswaroop(am) 2 did. According to Bollywood Hungama, Vishwaroop 2 (Hindi) made $17,865 from 41 theaters in North America ($436 average), a figure I assume includes earnings from Thursday night previews. 143 Cinema reports Thursday-Sunday earnings for Vishwaroopam 2 (Tamil) of $353,321 from 127 theaters ($2,782 average).

Other Hindi movies still in North American theaters:

  • Fanney Khan: Week 2; $24,164 from 32 theaters; $756 average; $253,831 total
  • Karwaan: Week 2; $21,424 from 16 theaters; $1,339 average; $164,766 total
  • Mulk: Week 2; $12,192 from 13 theaters; $938 average; $104,408 total
  • Sanju: Week 7; $5,958 from eight theaters; $745 average; $7,872,912 total
  • Dhadak: Week 4; $5,072 from eight theaters; $634 average; $851,588 total
  • Soorma: Week 5; $488 from one theater; $378,637 total
  • Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster 3: Week 3; $36 from one theater; $44,445 total

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

Bollywood Box Office: August 3-5, 2018

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Three new Bollywood releases, three lackluster opening weekends. Fanney Khan, Karwaan, and Mulk struggled during the weekend of August 3-5, 2018, with all three posting totals well below $200,000, the median opening weekend total for Hindi films in North America for the year so far. Fanney Khan scored the widest release, giving it the biggest returns: $139,584 from 69 theaters* ($2,023 average), according to Bollywood Hungama. Karwaan was next with $91,108 from 58 theaters ($1,571 average), followed by Mulk, with $53,747 from 25 theaters ($2,150 average). Those low totals aren’t just a result of modest theater counts. All of the films’ per-theater averages were far below this year’s median average of approximately $3,000, indicating a lack of audience interest.

Other Hindi movies still showing in North American theaters:

  • Dhadak: Week 3; $28,154 from 25 theaters; $1,126 average; $831,378 total
  • Sanju: Week 6; $22,731 from 16 theaters*; $1,421 average; $7,852,209 total
  • Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster 3: Week 2; $529 from five theaters; $106 average; $43,910 total
  • Soorma: Week 4; $450 from one theater; $378,148 total

*Bollywood Hungama routinely counts Canadian theaters twice in its weekly reporting, at least for a movie’s first few weekends of release. When possible, I try to verify the correct theater count with other sources. The above figures represent what I believe to be the actual theater counts. Bollywood Hungama’s reporting technically puts Fanney Khan in 83 theaters (making for a $1,682 per-theater average), Karwaan in 68 theaters ($1,340 average), Mulk in 31 theaters ($1,734 average), and Sanju in 22 theaters ($1,033 average).

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

Opening August 3: Fanney Khan, Karwaan, Mulk, and Puzzle

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It’s a busy weekend for Chicago are Bollywood fans with three new Hindi films opening locally. The movie getting the widest release on August 3, 2018, is Fanney Khan, starring Anil Kapoor, Rajkummar Rao, and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

Fanney Khan opens Friday at the AMC River East 21 in Chicago, 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. 9 min.

Also new this week is the road trip flick Karwaan, featuring Irrfan Khan and Malayalam-film star Dulquer Salmaan in his Bollywood debut. Karwaan opens Friday at the River East 21, MovieMax, and South Barrington 24. It has a listed runtime of 1 hr. 54 min.

Last among the new releases is the courtroom drama Mulk, starring Taapsee Pannu and Rishi Kapoor. Mulk opens Friday at MovieMax and the South Barrington 24. It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 20 min.

Sanju carries over for a sixth week at MovieMax, South Barrington 24, and the AMC Loews Woodridge 18 in Woodrige. Dhadak gets a third week at the South Barrington 24 and MovieMax, which also holds over Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster 3.

Karwaan isn’t Irrfan Khan’s only new local release this weekend. He co-stars in the English-language film Puzzle, a drama about a New England housewife whose life changes after receiving a puzzle as a gift. It debuts Friday at the River East 21, Century Centre Cinema in Chicago, and Century 12 Evanston in Evanston before it opens region-wide on August 24. I haven’t stopped thinking about Puzzle since I watched it.

Other Indian movies showing in the Chicago area this weekend:

Bollywood Box Office: July 27-29, 2018

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It appears North American fans would rather watch movies about Sanjay Dutt than movies starring him. From July 27-29, 2018, Dutt’s latest film — Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster 3 — earned $22,695 from 41 theaters* ($554 average), according to Bollywood Hungama. That per-screen average is second worst for the year. Releasing the movie overseas seems like a last-minute attempt to capitalize on the phenomenal success of Sanju, because I don’t recall much publicity or buzz in the run-up to its release. The original Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster did so poorly in North America — with lifetime earnings of $14,231 — that they didn’t bother to release the sequel here in 2013, so opening Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster 3 here was always going to be a gamble.

Speaking of Sanju, the biopic earned $69,508 from 44 theaters* ($1,580 average) in its fifth weekend of release, bringing its total to $7,777,222.

Dhadak held up reasonably well in its second weekend, holding over about 34% of its opening weekend business with earnings of $107,635 from 44 theaters* ($2,446 average). It has total earnings of $719,382 so far.

Other Hindi movies still showing in North American theaters:

  • Soorma: Week 3; $14,871 from 17 theaters; $875 average; $374,028 total
  • Veere Di Wedding: Week 9; $692 from one theater; $2,712,314 total

*Bollywood Hungama routinely counts Canadian theaters twice in its weekly reporting, at least for a movie’s first few weekends of release. When possible, I try to verify the correct theater count with other sources. The above figures represent what I believe to be the actual theater counts. Bollywood Hungama’s reporting technically puts Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster 3 in 49 theaters (making for a $436 per-theater average), Sanju in 59 theaters ($1,178 average), and Dhadak in 58 theaters ($1,856 average).

Sources: Bollywood Hungama, Box Office Mojo, and Gitesh Pandya

 

Opening July 27: Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster 3

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Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster 3 — the latest installment in director Tigmanshu Dhulia’s thriller franchise — hits Chicago area theaters on July 27, 2018.

Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster 3 opens Friday at MovieMax Cinemas in Niles and the AMC South Barrington 24 in South Barrington. It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 20 min.

Dhadak, Sanju, and Soorma all carry over at both of the above theaters. Dhadak also gets a second week at the Regal Cantera Stadium 17 in Warrenville, while Sanju holds over at the AMC Loews Woodridge 18 in Woodridge.

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

Bollywood Box Office: July 20-22, 2018

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All the pre-release hype for Janhvi Kapoor’s debut Dhadak resulted in a solid opening weekend in North America. From July 20-22, 2018, Dhadak earned $318,204 from 99 theaters ($3,214 average), according to Bollywood Hungama. The true total is undoubtedly higher, since Bollywood Hungama only posted earnings info for two of the sixteen Canadian theaters carrying the film. Also, 143 Cinema reports Dhadak as having earned $282,728 as of Saturday, and there’s no way the movie only took in another $35,000 on Sunday. Something closer to $400,000 would make more sense.

In its second weekend of release, Soorma earned $78,483 from 50 theaters ($1,570 average), bringing its total to $329,930, according to Box Office Mojo. Sanju earned another $223,338 from 112 theaters ($1,994 average), raising its phenomenal total to $7,634,206 after four weekends of release.

Other Bollywood movies still showing in North American theaters:

  • Veere Di Wedding: Week 8; $1,730 from two theaters; $865 average; $2,712,314 total
  • Race 3: Week 6; $877 from two theaters; $439 average; $2,752,789 total

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

Opening July 13: Soorma

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The field hockey biopic Soorma — starring Diljit Dosanjh and Tapsee Pannu — hits Chicago area theaters on July 13, 2018. Soorma is the first film from actress Chitrangada Singh’s production house C.S. Films. Best of luck to the new producer!

Soorma opens Friday at the AMC South Barrington 24 in South Barrington, Regal Cantera Stadium 17 in Warrenville, and MovieMax Cinemas in Niles, which has two preview showings on Thursday night. It’s rated PG-13 and has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 11 min.

Sanju gets a third week at all three of the above theaters, plus the AMC River East 21 in Chicago, Century 12 Evanston in Evanston, AMC Showplace Niles 12 in Niles, AMC Rosemont 18 in Rosemont, Marcus Addison Cinema in Addison, AMC Showplace Naperville 16 in Naperville, AMC Loews Woodridge 18 in Woodridge, and AMC Oakbrook Center 4 in Oak Brook.

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