Maryam Farooqui Moneycontrol News
It has been a year since the release of the sport drama Dangal but cinema lovers still can’t get over it -- the overseas box office collections are a proof of it. To add to their cheer, part of the Dangal team -- Aamir Khan and Zaira Wasim -- is back in action with its new movie Secret Superstar that was slotted for a Diwali release.
While the movie is playing in theatres on a national holiday, the question is whether it will be welcomed by audiences in the same way like that of a Friday release.
It looks like the answer is no as Secret Superstar has not found many takers on the day when people are busy celebrating Diwali. Aamir Khan’s decision to release the film on Diwali holiday has raised eyebrows.
Debut director Advait Chandan may have impressed the critics but the magic is yet to be created for the moviegoers. Opening in 1,100 theatres, Secret Superstar has witnessed 30-40 percent occupancy on day one with box office collections in the 15-20 percent range, according to a Box Office India report.
The film’s business has been very limited in the Northern belt, especially Uttar Pradesh. In the southern part too Secret Superstar failed to rake in good numbers due to the release of two big South films- Mersal (Tamil) and Raja- The Great (Telugu).
According to industry experts, the release date of Secret Superstar could be to fight competition it is facing from multi-starrer Golmaal Again. The Golmaal franchise has always managed to entertain the audience. And, this time with a release date on Friday which is a holiday and during the Diwali weekend, Golmaal Again could have a bumper start.
Secret Superstar’s secret weapon could be its release time as a clash could have been difficult to survive. Showing in theatres before Golmaal Again can give the film that extra life and word of mouth can bring the two films on an equal footing over the weekend.
The movie is expected to earn around Rs 4-5 crores on its opening day but the film may bounce back over the weekend, with collections in the range of Rs 8-10 crore.
The admit figures for Secret Superstar on day one in different cities are as follows-
In Mumbai, the film saw around 1,854 admits in 45 cinemas. In Delhi, the number is 775 in 25 theatres. In Kolkata there have been 386 admits across 15 cinemas, in Chandigarh 231 admits at 8 cinemas and in Jaipur 203 admits in 10 cinemas. The total comes up to 3,449 admits in 103 cinemas on opening day.
Presently, Secret Superstar is doing well at multiplexes across India and has managed to get 50 percent of the shows. However, the major collections would still come from multiplexes in metro, as indicated by the report.
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