It has been weeks of silence at the box office with audiences just not coming to theatres.
While limited Hindi films have released since the Independence Day weekend in August, they have been flops and disasters.
Hollywood hasn't brought any good news either with Joker 2 turning out to be a disaster.
So all eyes are on the new releases Jigra and Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video.
Jigra is the bigger movie, both in terms of production, presentation and cost. Alia Bhatt is a superstar and when she steps into a film, expectations soar.
Still, given the kind of treatment Director Vasan Bala has given Jigra, it has emerged as a niche film. This has reflected in the collections too where footfalls have primarily come at key multiplexes at major cities.
The opening day numbers stand at Rs 4.55 crore (Rs 45.5 million), with a nominal weekend growth. As a result, the weekend collections have come to Rs 17 crore* (Rs 170 million). Given the credentials attached to the film, it certainly deserved a lot more.
Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video managed to do better as it is more massy in its treatment and presentation.
Still, given its theme, the film could have been better.
Instead, it's basically an assembly line of jokes and gags with limited impact.
Still, since the trailer was interesting and Rajkummar Rao was returning after the blockbuster Stree, the opening day numbers managed to be Rs 5.71 crore (Rs 57.1 million), with a fair growth. The weekend collections came to to Rs 21 crore* (Rs 210 million). Since the cost of making is controlled here, this one may turn out to be a safe proposition if it sustains on weekdays.
The Hindi version of Rajinikanth's Vettaiyan was hardly promoted.
Amitabh Bachchan has a special appearance and even though it released on his birthday, the marketing plan didn't encash on that.
The result was that despite good reviews, Vettaiyan hardly reached out to the audience. The collections of its extended four-day weekend stayed under Rs 10 crore* (Rs 100 million).
*Estimates. Final numbers awaited.
Note: All collections as per various box office sources.
