What a year 2019 is turning out to be when it comes to films succeeding at the box office. The tone was set by Uri - The Surgical Strike, and since then, every month there is one or the other film turning out to be a hit, superhit or a blockbuster.
The latest film in this list is reincarnation comedy Housefull 4 which has entered the Rs 200 crore club and that too within just three weeks. It is now the fifth big box office success of 2019 which has managed to breach the Rs 200 crore mark.
While War leads from the top as the only triple century blockbuster of 2019, Kabir Singh is next in line which just fell short of this mega milestone. On the other hand, Uri - The Surgical Strike came close to making it to the Rs 250 crore milestone. Mission Mangal managed to scrape through to the Rs 200 crore mark.
However, there is difference in the manner in which each of these films reached this far. War was a massive film coming from Yash Raj Films and by and large had good support from critics as well as media. It ended up not just scoring the all-time highest opening for a Bollywood film on its Gandhi Jayanti release, but also sustained to win audience appreciation.
Uri - The Surgical Strike did not take an opening of even Rs 10 crore. But, such was the kind of critical acclaim, media support and tremendous word of mouth publicity from the audience that it grew from strength to strength. It turned out to be the only all-time blockbuster ever to take a under Rs 10 crore opening and still go so far.
Kabir Singh was the curious case of one such film that became an issue of national debate. There was love and affection from the audiences. But, media panels and even so many industry bigwigs were up in arms against the Shahid Kapoor and Kiara Advani starrer. Everyone had an opinion about the Sandeep Reddy Vanga-directed film and that went on for weeks. It did not negatively impact Kabir Singh at all and eventually it emerged as an all-time blockbuster as well.
Bharat, a Salman Khan-starrer released on Eid and hence, made a very good start as expected. It did not sustain as that opening but still managed to go past the Rs 200 crore mark comfortably. As for Mission Mangal, it made a very good opening on its Independence Day release and then sustained with good word of mouth doing the trick, hence entering the Rs 200 crore club.
As for Housefull 4, it took a good opening on its pre-Diwali arrival but was tagged as a disaster no less by a few trade pundits and industry folks. Media joined in too and the whole inflation drama threatened to kill the movie even before it could rise. However, destiny had other plans for the film as audience came in large numbers on the day after Diwali. This is what turned the tide as all noises around the Sajid Nadiadwala production subsided. After this, the film started breathing life of its own. Result? There was no stopping the multi-starrer which held its ground quite well to enter the Rs 200 crore club no less.
There are still a few weeks remaining before the close of year and while Salman Khan-starrer Dabangg 3 is touted to be a Rs 200 crore club entertainer as well. We are waiting to see where Akshay Kumar’s Good Newwz lands beyond the Rs 100 crore marks.
Box office score of 2019 biggies:
War – Rs 318 crore (still running)
Kabir Singh – Rs 278.2 crore
Uri - The Surgical Strike – Rs 244.2 crore
Bharat - Rs 211 crore
Mission Mangal – Rs 203 crore
Housefull 4 – Rs 200 crore (still running)
Note: All collections as per production and distribution sources. The story has been updated with additional information.
(Joginder Tuteja is a trade expert and film critic. Views are personal)
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