Initially, everyone expected Sridevi to carry English Vinglish on her slender shoulders; but now, after the film has released, we realise that it is the movie which helps the veteran actress make a successful comeback! Undoubtedly, Sridevi is superb in the movie, but it is the whole film that is the winner! A Box office Report by Trade veteran Komal Nahta
Gauri Shinde’s debut directorial film, English Vinglish, was never expected to take a flying start and it didn’t. After all, besides Sridevi, there were hardly any saleable names or recognizable faces in the film. Besides, with half the dialogues being in English, the film’s appeal was restricted.
The film netted just Rs. 2.5 crore all-India on Friday. But because the reports were outstanding, collections were expected to pick up. And they did. There was a jump of almost 85% on Saturday (Rs. 4.5 crore). The increase could have been 100% had it not been for the Mysore bandh on Saturday because of which most of the cinemas in the state remained closed for a good part of the day. This affected collections in the Mysore circuit which would otherwise have been higher on Saturday by at least Rs. 45-50 lakh. Collections on Sunday shot up further so that the day closed at Rs. 6.2 crore, taking the weekend total to Rs. 13.2 crore. For a film that started at Rs. 2.5 crore to complete the weekend at Rs. 13.2 crore was quite a historic feat. Collections on Monday generally come down and so the same happened with R. Balki’s production venture. It netted Rs. 2 crore on Monday, which was almost as good as on Friday.
If the film behaved very well in India, its performance in the Overseas circuit was even better. Believe it or faint, it grossed an equivalent of Rs. 9.5 crore in the first weekend abroad. Even if we were to consider 40% as the distributor’s share, Eros would have made around Rs. 4 crore as share in the first three days itself! Before release, the trade had estimated that the Sridevi starrer would barely manage a share of Rs. 1 crore in the Overseas territory. But the weekend collections indicate that it can end up doing a business of at least Rs. 8 crore! Eight times the expected business.
The other release of last week, Kismat Love Paisa Dilli, proved a total loss. It took a dismal start on Friday and collections only declined with each passing day.
Tags: English Vinglish, Sridevi, Box Office, Trade, Feature