Tag Archives: Tamil

Opening August 12: Mohenjo Daro and Rustom

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One of the biggest box office showdowns of the year happens on August 12, 2016, with the release of two very different period films. The Indus Valley-set Mohenjo Daro stars Hrithik Roshan and is directed by Ashutosh Gowariker. It’s their first reunion since Jodhaa Akbar.

Mohenjo Daro opens in nine Chicago area theaters on Friday: AMC River East 21 in Chicago, Century 12 Evanston/Cinearts 6 in Evanston, Regal Round Lake Beach Stadium 18 in Round Lake Beach, MovieMax Cinemas in Niles, Muvico Rosemont 18 in Rosemont, AMC South Barrington 30 in South Barrington, Marcus Addison Cinema in Addison, Regal Cantera Stadium 17 in Warrenville, and AMC Loews Woodridge 18 in Woodridge. It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 35 min.

The weekend’s other new release is Rustom, set in Bombay in 1959 and based on a true crime story. It stars Akshay Kumar, Ileana D’Cruz, and Esha Gupta.

Rustom opens on Friday in six Chicago area theaters: River East 21, MovieMax, South Barrington 30, Cantera 17, Woodridge 18, and Century Stratford Square in Bloomingdale. It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 28 min.

Dishoom gets a third week at the Cantera 17.

Other Indian films showing in the Chicago area this weekend:

In Theaters: August 5, 2016

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With two big films on tap for next weekend — Mohenjo Daro and Rustom — no new Hindi movies are opening in the Chicago area on Friday, August 5, 2016. Dishoom carries over for a second week at MovieMax Cinemas in Niles, AMC South Barrington 30 in South Barrington, and Regal Cantera Stadium 17 in Warrenville. Sultan gets a fifth week at the Cantera 17 and MovieMax, which also holds over Madaari for a third week.

One new release of interest to fans of Indian cinema is Bazodee, a musical romance about an NRI in Trinidad and Tobago who falls for a handsome rasta singer. Bazodee stars Bollywood veteran Kabir Bedi and opens locally at the Cantera 17, Regal Round Lake Beach Stadium 18 in Round Lake Beach, and AMC Loews Woodridge 18 in Woodridge.

Other Indian movies showing in the Chicago area:

Bollywood Box Office: July 29-31, 2016

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Dishoom performed well in its opening weekend in North American theaters. From July 29-31, 2016, the action flick earned $435,497 from 111 theaters ($3,923 average). That was enough to finish in twentieth place overall in North America.

The shocking news from the weekend was how dramatically business for the Tamil/Telugu film Kabali fell in its second weekend of release. After earning nearly $4 million in its opening weekend, Kabali earned just $239,352 from 141 theaters ($1,698 average) in its second. That’s a drop of nearly 95%. Tickets for Indian films in languages other than Hindi cost more during their first week in North American theaters, but the price drop in the second week isn’t steep enough to explain such low returns. For example, in Chicago area theaters, opening weekend adult tickets were priced at $20 and up. As of today — Kabali‘s fourteenth day in theaters — two local theaters are still pricing adult tickets at $18, two at $10, and one at $4.50 (the Century Stratford Square in Bloomingdale, for you bargain hunters out there). Kabali‘s total earnings in the United States and Canada stand at $4,436,528.

Back to Hindi films, Sultan is finally running out of steam. In its fourth weekend, it earned $83,785 from 41 theaters ($2,044 average), bringing its North American total to $6,107,827.

Other Bollywood movies still in theaters:

  • Madaari: Week 2; $18,328 from nineteen theaters; $965 average; $153,114 total
  • Dhanak:  Week 7; $40 from one theater; $12,939 total

Sources: Box Office Mojo and Rentrak, via Bollywood Hungama

Opening July 29: Dishoom

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The Bollywood buddy cop film Dishoom — starring John Abraham, Varun Dhawan, and Jacqueline Fernandez — hits Chicago area theaters on July 29, 2016.

Dishoom opens on Friday at the AMC River East 21 in Chicago, MovieMax Cinemas in Niles, AMC South Barrington 30 in South Barrington, and Regal Cantera Stadium 17 in Warrenville. It has a listed runtime of 2 hours.

Madaari carries over for a second week at MovieMax and Cantera, but with limited showings at both theaters. Sultan gets a fourth week at MovieMax, South Barrington 30, Cantera, and AMC Loews Woodridge 18 in Woodridge.

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

Bollywood Box Office: July 22-24, 2016

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Madaari quietly performed to expectations in North America on a weekend overshadowed by the titan Rajinikanth. From July 22-24, 2016, Madaari earned $94,268 from 61 theaters ($1,545 average) in the United States and Canada. That’s pretty good considering the competition: Rajinikanth’s Tamil/Telugu film Kabali, which took in nearly $4 million in its first four days.

The cannibalization of screenspace by Kabali and Hollywood blockbusters greatly reduced Sultan‘s footprint, throttling the film’s performance in its third weekend in North American theaters. Sultan earned $298,753 from 114 theaters ($2,621 average), bringing its total to $5,897,836.

Sultan‘s competition further increases this Friday with the release of the Varun Dhawan-John Abraham action flick Dishoom, so it looks as though my projections for Sultan were a bit on the high side last week. A $7 million total seems much less likely now, especially with Sultan poised to lose half of its remaining theaters on Friday. It could still surpass the $6.53 million made by 3 Idiots in 2009, but even that’s not a given.

Sources: Box Office Mojo and Rentrak, via Bollywood Hungama

Opening July 22: Madaari

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Thanks to Kabali taking over every screen at MovieMax and construction work shuttering several screens at the South Barrington 30, the social drama Madaari is getting a very limited release in the Chicago area on Friday, July 22, 2016. The only local theater carrying the Irrfan Khan-starrer is the Regal Cantera Stadium 17 in Warrenville. The movie has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 14 min.

With so many screens either out of commission or devoted to Hollywood summer blockbusters, Sultan is set to lose a lot of local theaters come Friday. It gets a third weekend at the Cantera 17, AMC South Barrington 30 in South Barrington, and one show per day at the Regal Round Lake Beach 18 in Round Lake Beach. That’s down from the nine theaters that carried Sultan during its first two weeks.

The only other Indian movie in town this weekend is Rajinikanth’s Kabali. Starting Thursday morning, Kabali shows in both Tamil (with English subtitles) and Telugu (no subtitles) at MovieMax Cinemas in Niles, Muvico Rosemont 18 in Rosemont, Century Stratford Square in Bloomingdale, Cinemark at Seven Bridges in Woodridge, and Marcus Addison Cinema in Addison (Tamil only). It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 32 min.

Opening June 10: Te3n

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One new Hindi movie hits Chicago area theaters on June 10, 2016 (when am I ever going to get to see Do Lafzon Ki Kahani?!). The intriguing crime thriller Te3n stars Amitabh Bachchan, Vidya Balan, and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. This is one of my most anticipated films of the year.

Te3n opens on Friday at the AMC River East 21 in Chicago, MovieMax Cinemas in Niles, AMC South Barrington 30 in South Barrington, and Regal Cantera Stadium 17 in Warrenville. It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 15 min.

Housefull 3 carries over for a second weekend at all of the above theaters, plus the Regal Round Lake Beach Stadium 18 in Round Lake Beach and AMC Loews Woodridge 18 in Woodridge.

Other Indian movies showing in the Chicago area this weekend:

Opening June 3: Housefull 3

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Egads, a third Housefull movie hits Chicago area theaters on June 3, 2016. Boman Irani returns as the same character, but with a new set of daughters — Jacqueline Fernandez, Lisa Haydon, and Nargis Fakhri — with a new set of beaus — Akshay Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh, and Abhishek Bachchan. The Housefull movies push the boundaries of what can legitimately be considered a sequel.

Housefull 3 opens on Friday at the AMC River East 21 in Chicago, MovieMax Cinemas in Niles, Regal Round Lake Beach Stadium 18 in Round Lake Beach, AMC South Barrington 30 in South Barrington, Regal Cantera Stadium 17 in Warrenville, and AMC Loews Woodridge 18 in Woodridge. It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 25 min. [Author’s note: I won’t be reviewing Housefull 3 until Monday.]

Sarbjit gets a third week at MovieMax and the South Barrington 30.

Other Indian movies showing in the Chicago area this weekend:

In Theaters: May 27, 2016

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No new Hindi films are releasing in the Chicago area on May 27, 2016, which is probably a good thing with theaters devoting as many screens as possible to the new Alice in Wonderland and X-Men sequels. MovieMax Cinemas in Niles and the AMC South Barrington 30 in South Barrington are carrying over Azhar and Sarbjit, which also gets a second weekend at the Regal Cantera Stadium 17 in Warrenville.

Other Indian movies showing in Chicagoland over Memorial Day weekend:

Opening May 20: Sarbjit

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Another Bollywood biopic comes to Chicago area theaters on May 20, 2016. In Sarbjit, Randeep Hooda plays an Indian farmer imprisoned for accidentally crossing the border into Pakistan. The story is told from the perspective of the main character’s sister, played by Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

Sarbjit opens on Friday at MovieMax Cinemas in Niles, AMC South Barrington 30 in South Barrington, and Regal Cantera Stadium 17 in Warrenville. It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 25 min.

All three of the above theaters give a second week to the sports biopic Azhar. The South Barrington 30 also carries over Baaghi and Fan, while MovieMax holds over 1920 London.

Other Indian movies showing in the Chicago area this weekend: