October brings in cheers at box office, Baaghi 2 continues to draw movie-goers

Cinema goers watch Bollywood movie "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge" (The Big Hearted Will Take the Bride), starring actor Shah Rukh Khan, inside Maratha Mandir theatre in Mumbai December 11, 2014. The movie, released in October 1995, has set a record of completing 1000 weeks of continuous screening at a cinema, a feat unmatched by any other Bollywood movies. According to Manoj Desai, owner of the theatre, the movie, which is still being screened, enjoys at least 50 to 60 percent occupancy on weekdays and full house on weekends at his theatre. The movie is screened only in the morning and the ticket price ranges from 15 to 20 Indian rupees ($0.24-$0.32). Picture taken December 11, 2014. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui (INDIA - Tags: ENTERTAINMENT SOCIETY) - RTR4HQDE

This April, October brings in good news. No it’s not a riddle to solve. It’s a Varun Dhawan film people are enjoying. However, there is no Varun Dhawan specials in the film — no shirtless moments, no mindless comedy and above all no party song! The audience was heartbroken for a bit to see  their student of the year in his new avatar and the opening day of this Shoojit Sircar drama saw business worth Rs 4.75 crore only.

Looks like the audience was but only slightly heartbroken. They had not given up on their chocolate boy hero. October showed excellent growth on Saturday of around 55-60% with collections set to be around Rs 7 crore. It will take the two day business to a total of Rs 11.50 crore approximately.The growth was a huge 65-70% in metros though smaller cities saw comparatively lesser numbers. The smallest cities wouldn’t just accept Dhawan doing anything but mindless comedy and over-the-top romance! Stubborn!

The other star kid Tiger Shroff is still enjoying his first bite of success with Baaghi 2 making Rs 32.5 crore in its second week. According to Boxofficeindia, the lifetime business of the film is on course to double the business of the first Baaghi film which was released two years back in 2016 and grossed Rs 76 crore at the box office.

Irrfan Khan unfortunately lost a huge deal of business to the new kids. Blackmail couldn’t make more than Rs 15-17 crore at the box office. However, just a little away from home turf, his past release Hindi Medium is in the midst of a lot of money making. Hindi Medium has already made Rs 1.75 crore in China and would easily touch the Rs200 crore mark in the Chinese mainland well within the week.

Lastly, the other release of the week, Mercury known to be a silent thriller has remained silent at the box office. No prizes for guessing the film failed to get any mercury rising. No praises- no money. Mercury is not here to stay.