A DRY WEEK FOR BOLLYWOOD BEFORE THE GRAND RELEASE OF ANIMAL
As discussed in last week’s edition, Tiger 3 has underperformed. The collections were affected on Sunday, as expected, though the weekend collections were decent. The normal drop happened on the weekdays too and now, it seems like the film’s lifetime will be around Rs. 275 crores. Khichdi 2, meanwhile, opened at Rs. 1 crore, as predicted. But due to mixed word of mouth, the collections didn’t jump. It had a drop in the weekdays and it now remains to be seen if it can cross the lifetime of the first part, that is, Rs. 5.95 crores.
This week will see the release of two Hindi and Hollywood films. Farrey marks the debut of Atul Agnihotri and Alvira Khan Agnihotri’s daughter Alizeh. It is directed by Soumendra Padhi of Jamtara fame and is also produced by Salman Khan. The film is an official remake of the Thai film Bad Genius. The trailer is interesting and it is inspired by real events. The film had a premiere at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Goa, where it got a lot of appreciation. The buzz, however, is very low. Hence, the first day won’t be huge but if positive reports pour in, the film can jump from day 2.
Starfish stars Khushali Kumar, Milind Soman and Ehan Bhat. It is adapted from a novel, Starfish Pickle by Bina Nayak. The film looks visually stunning. But at the same time, it also seems niche. Both Starfish and Farrey will open at less than Rs. 1 crore and will depend on strong word of mouth for that big Saturday jump.
As for Hollywood, Disney, like every year, will release an animation film to coincide with Thanksgiving celebrations in North America. This year, they’ll present Wish. It has chances to score among the target audience, that is, families in urban areas. Napoleon, meanwhile, stars Joaquin Phoenix of Joker fame and is made by acclaimed filmmaker Ridley Scott. Just like Wish, it targets a niche audience though it has chances to score in IMAX.
The film which will surprise this week is the Marathi flick Jhimma 2. It is the sequel to the 2021 much-loved women-centric Jhimma. The first part collected around Rs. 14 crores despite pandemic restrictions. The sequel is also produced by Aanand L Rai and Jio Studios. Its advance booking was thrown open way back on Sunday, in a rare instance. Despite releasing majorly just in Maharashtra, it is all set to collect more than Farrey and Starfish, looking at the strong ticket sales.