Joginder Tuteja
It is that time of the year when all eyes are on a blockbuster closure for Bollywood. After all, 2019 has been a dream year with one 300 Crore Club blockbuster, a record count of 5 films entering the 200 Crore Club and as many as 9 films hitting a century.
While that is the most number of films to have gone past the Rs 100 crore mark in a single calendar year, 'picture abhi baaki hai'. The crucial month of December is here and there are at least three more films expected to join the elite league.
These are Dabangg 3, Good Newwz and Pati Patni aur Woh. If the buzz in the trade is any indication, these films are pegged to do business in the range of Rs 200 crore, Rs 150 crore and Rs 100 crore respectively, hence set to turn out as another set of biggies in 2019.
Let us begin with Dabangg 3. The film comes in the wake of Dabangg and Dabangg 2, both of which were major successes. Now with Dabangg 3, Prabhu Deva is coming on board for a Salman Khan film.
Together, they created history with Wanted, which emerged as a turning point in Khan's career. Considering the fact that one waits for a bonafide appreciated success for Khan after rather underwhelming response to Bharat (albeit it entered 200 Crore Club), Race 3 and Tubelight, Dabangg 3 is very important.
As for Good Newwz, it arrives at a time when Akshay Kumar has enjoyed 11 back-to-back successes, starting from Airlift to Housefull 4. The man is enjoying a great run for years in succession now and just in 2019, he has hit two double centuries (Housefull 4, Mission Mangal) and one big century (Kesari).
With Good Newwz he is all set to score a big once again and the quantum of success would depend on how far single screen audiences embrace the film. When it comes to multiplex response though, a major opening is guaranteed.
Also guaranteed is the good opening Pati Patni aur Woh will make courtesy of Kartik Aaryan's the presence of in the film. The 29-year-old enjoyed good success with Luka Chuppi earlier this year. That film went way past the Rs 100 crore mark globally.
Considering the fact that the promo of Pati Patni aur Woh has been liked by its target audience, which is the youth, one can expect yet another good opening for the film which also features Bhumi Pednekar and Ananya Pandey as the leading ladies.
Given the fact that Dabangg 3 carries good franchise value, at the bare minimum, Rs 200 crore is on the cards. Kumar has already scored four big ones in a row (his 2.0 too netted close to Rs 190 crore in just the Hindi version) and there are now valid expectations of each of his films to cross at least Rs 150 crore at the box office.
On the other hand, Aaryan has already tasted a 100 Crore Club success in Sonu Ke Totu Ki Sweety last year and his ever-growing fan base warrants that audiences turn out in huge numbers to help deliver a century.
Meanwhile, 2019 will also see the arrival of Panipat, Mardaani 2 and The Body, and one just hopes that each of these entices audiences enough as well to emerge as major successes.
If that turns out to be the case December 2019 could turn out to be the most lucrative month of the current decade.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
