Shah Rukh Khan's superhero-blue eyes light up, Kareena Kapoor's red sari glows, and they start to dance to Akon's song along with Russian dancers in Bharatnatyam-inspired mini-skirts. Yes, it's that sort of a movie, where everything happens all at once. Amitabh Bachchan does part of the voice-over; Rajinikanth's Chitti, the Robot, shows G.One, Shah Rukh's superhero, how to twirl his sunglasses; artist Subodh Gupta paints the costume; and even pals Sanjay Dutt and Priyanka Chopra act out a juvenile joke, playing characters in video game where the star can vanquish the sisters of Bruce Lee called Iski Lee, Uski Lee and Sabki Lee. Even as you cringe at Shah Rukh's Tamil accented Hindi and his eating-curd-with-noodle act, hoping his curly wig will fall into his dinner plate, you realise it's a big party and everyone's invited.
'Ra.One' clocks Rs. 14.63 crore on the box office on day one
Superstar Shah Rukh Khan'sRa.One fails to cheer the box office on day one of its opening on October 26. BoxofficeIndia.com data indicate that the filmcollected only Rs. 14.63 crore from the domestic box office as against the estimated Rs. 25 crore.
The day one collections are well below Rs. 22 crores that Salman Khan's Bodyguard clocked and on par with Rs. 14.5 crores of Dabbang, the record holders. The low collections on day one is despite the fact that Ra.One was released in 1500 screens more than Bodyguard and Dabbang and also had 500 3D screens release with higher ticket prices.
Industry observers had expected the film to break Bodyguard's records due to higher number of prints and the extraordinary hype. However, Eros International, the co-producers of the film claim that Ra.One has approximately grossed Rs. 18.5 crore on the first day at the domestic box office.
According to Mutliplex officials, while the morning shows starting from 10 am were houseful on Wednesday, the collections fell from 1 pm in the afternoon at most places and did not really recover till late evening.
However, the fate of the film cannot be yet decided based on just day one's earnings. The final verdict on Ra.One will be out after this weekend. Golmaal 3 which released last Diwali grossed onlyRs.8 crore, but later went on to cross Rs.100 crores at the domestic box office over a period of three weeks.
Vishal Anand, senior vice president, operations and sales, of Fun Cinemas, a multiplex chain, says, "It is unfair to compare an Eid release with a Diwali release (homes in North India generally have Laxmi puja in the afternoons on the Diwali day. This year, the muhurat was between 5-11pm. Today, (Thursday) will be the D-day for Ra.One. Print to print, Bodyguard yielded better returns."
The reviews of the film are mixed. But Anand says that it is a family film and kids (6-15 year olds) come to the theatre only with parents and they are liking the film. Komal Nahta, editor of Koimoi, a box office tracking website says: "People are overreacting to the first day numbers. We have to wait and watch." Nahta however is certain that going by the reports, this film holds no chance of breaking the record of all time blockbusters, Aamir Khan's 3 Idiots. "It is an above average film at the box office, at this juncture," he adds.
If the film fails at the box office will it be a setback for brand SRK? It is early to take a call on that say industry experts and are of the opinion that the failure of Ra.One is in no way going to affect the personality or brand value of SRK.
Sunil Punjabi, CEO of Cinemax multiplex, says that the distributors are erred by releasing lesser number of 3D prints. "Infact, we are expecting second time audience, who missed the 3D version on day one. With the kind of effects in the film, Ra.One has taken the quality of Indian movies to a new level. Family and kids will love it and we are expecting them to flock the theatres this weekend. The numbers on Thursday is certainly up there with Bodyguard". He further adds that the weekend advance booking are ahead of Bodyguard too.
Punjabi feels that there was sky-high expectation created due to the marketing hype which is one of the main reasons for the disappointment. Thursday is very strong and multiplexes claim they have collected almost one-third of first day's collection within the first two shows of the day.
According to industry insiders, when public compare Ra.One with Bodyguard it certainly is below par. But, if the movie crosses Rs.18 crores on day two, it can be termed as a hit and if it is below, Rs.16 crores it is going to be an average grosser and going by the early reports from the multiplexes on Thursday, the movie is well on its way to become a hit.
Welcome to a movie as a gigantic open house. Shah Rukh is the host and he will make sure your VFX canapés are delivered at regular interval; your emotion goblet is kept topped up; and there are enough homilies about being careful-what-you-wish-for that you can take home as back presents. This is film-making not so much as noble passion but as grand indulgence, not so much as a marathon magic show but as an event to be managed. No effort is spared. Shah Rukh walks sideways on a Mumbai local train, stops an engine with his bare hands, charges himself with electricity, even slaps his heroine's butt and grabs her breast. In between throwing cars at his arch nemesis, recently escaped from a video game; dancing like Michael Jackson; and quoting V. Shantaram, the superhero moves between the digital and real world, London and Chennai, burial as Christian and prayer as Hindu.
I presume there is some lesson here about being a global citizen, and Shah Rukh's hyperactive child fans will no doubt benefit from it, but it would have been more fun to see more Volkswagens ploughing through many more red buses. But yes, we know, this is a superhero with a heart and ladai goliyon se nahin, dil se jeeti jati hai. The special effects work, but are not always evenly applied through the film. The cool metallic blue of the superhero suit doesn't always show up on screen. And hey, Arjun Rampal really needs to stop clenching his teeth while delivering menacing dialogues. We are not scared because we simply cannot understand. Shah Rukh throws himself about, vaulting up and own buildings, leaping through the air and even landing on his feet with Kareena Kapoor in his arms. In the face of such indefatigable energy, we surrender. Go on, Shah Rukh, give it a rest. In the words of your superhero, you did good.
Superstar Shah Rukh Khan'sRa.One fails to cheer the box office on day one of its opening on October 26. BoxofficeIndia.com data indicate that the filmcollected only Rs. 14.63 crore from the domestic box office as against the estimated Rs. 25 crore.
The day one collections are well below Rs. 22 crores that Salman Khan's Bodyguard clocked and on par with Rs. 14.5 crores of Dabbang, the record holders. The low collections on day one is despite the fact that Ra.One was released in 1500 screens more than Bodyguard and Dabbang and also had 500 3D screens release with higher ticket prices.
Industry observers had expected the film to break Bodyguard's records due to higher number of prints and the extraordinary hype. However, Eros International, the co-producers of the film claim that Ra.One has approximately grossed Rs. 18.5 crore on the first day at the domestic box office.
According to Mutliplex officials, while the morning shows starting from 10 am were houseful on Wednesday, the collections fell from 1 pm in the afternoon at most places and did not really recover till late evening.
However, the fate of the film cannot be yet decided based on just day one's earnings. The final verdict on Ra.One will be out after this weekend. Golmaal 3 which released last Diwali grossed onlyRs.8 crore, but later went on to cross Rs.100 crores at the domestic box office over a period of three weeks.
Vishal Anand, senior vice president, operations and sales, of Fun Cinemas, a multiplex chain, says, "It is unfair to compare an Eid release with a Diwali release (homes in North India generally have Laxmi puja in the afternoons on the Diwali day. This year, the muhurat was between 5-11pm. Today, (Thursday) will be the D-day for Ra.One. Print to print, Bodyguard yielded better returns."
The reviews of the film are mixed. But Anand says that it is a family film and kids (6-15 year olds) come to the theatre only with parents and they are liking the film. Komal Nahta, editor of Koimoi, a box office tracking website says: "People are overreacting to the first day numbers. We have to wait and watch." Nahta however is certain that going by the reports, this film holds no chance of breaking the record of all time blockbusters, Aamir Khan's 3 Idiots. "It is an above average film at the box office, at this juncture," he adds.
If the film fails at the box office will it be a setback for brand SRK? It is early to take a call on that say industry experts and are of the opinion that the failure of Ra.One is in no way going to affect the personality or brand value of SRK.
Sunil Punjabi, CEO of Cinemax multiplex, says that the distributors are erred by releasing lesser number of 3D prints. "Infact, we are expecting second time audience, who missed the 3D version on day one. With the kind of effects in the film, Ra.One has taken the quality of Indian movies to a new level. Family and kids will love it and we are expecting them to flock the theatres this weekend. The numbers on Thursday is certainly up there with Bodyguard". He further adds that the weekend advance booking are ahead of Bodyguard too.
Punjabi feels that there was sky-high expectation created due to the marketing hype which is one of the main reasons for the disappointment. Thursday is very strong and multiplexes claim they have collected almost one-third of first day's collection within the first two shows of the day.
According to industry insiders, when public compare Ra.One with Bodyguard it certainly is below par. But, if the movie crosses Rs.18 crores on day two, it can be termed as a hit and if it is below, Rs.16 crores it is going to be an average grosser and going by the early reports from the multiplexes on Thursday, the movie is well on its way to become a hit.
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