JOLLY LLB 3 UNDERPERFORMS AFTER A ROCKING WEEKEND; NISHAANCHI IS A DISASTER OF EPIC PROPORTIONS

The week that has gone by was a bittersweet one for the industry. The biggest film of the week, Jolly LLB 3, had an impressive performance over the weekend. The opening was affected a bit as the VPF issues led to the advance booking being discontinued twice in the biggest multiplex chain, PVR Inox. The second time it got halted was on Thursday evening and the matter was resolved on Friday just after midnight. This is the time when a lot of people book tickets and hence, this issue did dent the film to some extent.

Nevertheless, Jolly LLB 3 opened at Rs. 12.50 crores, which is a bit higher than the day 1 figures of Jolly LLB 2 (Rs. 12.06 crores). The film saw a jump on Saturday, earning Rs. 19 crores. On Sunday, the earnings were flat as it collected Rs. 19.75 crores. This was probably due to the India vs Pakistan match on the evening of the third day.

The Monday earnings were expected to be around Rs. 6-7 crores, as a normal 50% drop was expected. But the drop was 60%. The film collected just Rs. 5 crores and it shocked the industry. This is because the Saturday jump indicated that the word of mouth is very positive. But the Monday figures prove that the reports are probably not as positive. The collections jumped to Rs. 6.50 crores due to the offer on Tuesday. But it fell to Rs. 4.25-4.50 crore levels on Wednesday.

The first week's collections will be around Rs. 70 crores. Until the weekend, it seemed like Jolly LLB will have a lifetime of Rs. 125 crores. But with the weekday performance, a lifetime of Rs. 100-105 crores seems to be the best bet. A jump on the second Saturday is also crucial. Sunday once again would be impacted by the match.

Meanwhile, Nishaanchi got outright rejected. Though it starred new names and buzz was limited, it was expected that it would open at Rs. 75 lakhs or Rs. 1 crore due to Anurag Kashyap's connection. However, it opened at just Rs. 15 lakhs, that too with the buy-one-get-one offer! The collections were the same on Saturday as Friday, while on Sunday, it earned Rs. 17.50 lakhs.

Usually, films that have such negligible collections earn more on Monday than on Friday. But Nishaanchi collected a mere Rs. 5 lakhs on the fourth day. This happened despite a favourable word of mouth. But the collections prove that the audience simply didn’t care about the film one bit. At this rate, its lifetime collections might be less than Rs. 1 crore. What is alarming is that Nishaanchi is a two-part saga. One wonders what happens now about the second part.

This week will see the release of Homebound. It looks niche but has some chances as it's India’s official entry to the Oscars. This factor will ensure the film hopefully opens at Rs. 1-1.50 crores. If the trending is strong, it’ll get some showcasing next week despite the release of the biggies, Kantara: A Legend – Chapter 1 and Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari.