Shahid Kapoor-Ileana D’cruz film opens to poor numbers and Ritesh Batra’s ‘The Lunchbox’ seems to have impressed the audiences’ taste buds
After scandalising the audiences last week, Indra Kumar’s Grand Masti made way for the more sober The Lunchbox and Phata Poster Nikla Hero last weekend at the box office.

Though expectations from the Shahid Kapoor-Ileana D’cruz film were high, the film opened to poor numbers on Friday but managed to reach the Rs 20 crore mark by Sunday. The collections around Batra’s film grew by over 100 per cent by the end of the weekend to reach approximately Rs 7 crore.

Says distributor Sunny Khanna, “Grand Masti had a strong second weekend of around Rs 12 crore nett. The collections for the first 10 days are around Rs 75 crore nett. Phata Poster Nikhla Hero has collected below average figures of approx Rs 20 crore nett in its first weekend. The opening day figures were really low (Rs 5.5 crore). On Saturday the numbers had a marginal growth of Rs 6.5 crore but the film picked up by Sunday with Rs 8.5 crore.

The Lunchbox was released across limited screens (400 screens). It collected around Rs 6.85 crore over the weekend. It started slow on Friday by collecting Rs 1.25 crore but the reviews and word-of-mouth helped it double the figures on Saturday (by Rs 2.5 crore) and Rs 3.10 crore on Sunday.”

According to trade analyst Amod Mehra, Phata Poster has been an average fare, which apparently in comparison to the cost of the film is not good. He says, “The film’s music was appreciated but the promotion didn’t work for the film. The Lunchbox has done well. It will translate into good numbers for satellite rights as well. It is impressive for a film that was made on a budget of approx Rs 5 crore, including publicity and promotion.”

Exhibitor Akshaye Rathi says, “Phata Poster had stars missing who could draw a big opening on their own strength. While the film has stayed steady and sustained without a crash on Monday, its satellite rights will help the film tide over difficult conditions. The Lunchbox has a niche appeal and has been released across centres that are expected to fetch good returns. The extremely low cost of making and solid backing by UTV and Karan Johar make this a winner of hearts and box office returns. The kind of numbers Grand Masti has delivered has spun a surprise.”