It was a disastrous weekend at the box office, as even the combined collections of all new releases failed to touch Rs 1 crore (Rs 10 million).
The scene at multiplex theatres was so dull that certain screens just closed down. Barring 12th Fail, there are no holdover releases doing business either. Even the re-release of old films, including YRF's spy universe films, could not entice any footfalls in theatres.
The Lady Killer had the smallest release among the new releases, even as it was peculiar. Peculiar, since it actually had some sort of face value with Arjun Kapoor and Bhumi Pednekar. But shockingly, the film was released without being completed!
That's right, an incomplete film was released in theatres so that it could meet the mandatory eight week window before coming to OTT.
As a result, no one associated with the film bothered to market or promote it and the release was just a formality. As a result, the film's weekend numbers were less than Rs 5 lakh (Rs 500,000).
The film which actually had some sort of release was Aankh Micholi, but it suffered from lack of promotion and marketing.
The Abhimanyu Dasani-Mrunal Thakur starrer also had a formality of a release since it had been ready for a while. Since this window was available, this Umesh Shukla family comedy was finally released but without any fanfare.
As a result, the weekend collections were less than Rs 1 crore (Rs 10 million).
In UT69, Raj Kundra shares his experience of being an under-trial in a Mumbai jail.
He has produced as well as acted in this film, though it's surprising that it was made for a theatrical release. This one could have been a docudrama for an OTT arrival.
Expectedly, hardly anyone stepped in for the film.
With less than Rs 25 lakh (Rs 2.5 million) coming in the weekend, the film will be gone in a week.
*Estimates. Final numbers awaited.
Note: All collections as per production and distribution sources.
