Thrillers haven’t really set the box office on fire in Bollywood and its no different with Kurbaan. The movie has opened to a lower than expected opening at the Indian box office on Friday. Much like Kaminey and Ghajini, Kurbaan released at most major cities on Thursday evening (7PM and 10PM shows IST). The occupancy for the paid previews was around 75% and collections exceeded 1 crore net, which is second only to Aamir Khan’s Ghajini last year which recorded close to 2 crores a day before its actual release.
Friday – But the real test for this Dharma Production film, starring Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor was Friday and Kurbaan despite huge pre-release hype and controversy, opened to average numbers. But with a wide release (more than 1000 screens), Friday should still be around 6 – 7 crores nett.
Audience response – Pretty positive from the youngsters, but mixed with the mid-aged older generation. The glaring flaws in the storyline has received severe criticism from both the public and the readers of our website.
**********************
Paid Previews – 1 crore
Friday – 4 crores
Saturday – 3.75 crores
Sunday (expected) – 5 crores
Weekend (including paid previews) – 13.75 crores.
**********************
Kurbaan has received, what could be termed as a ‘lukewarm’ response at the box office. There was a slight dip in collections on Saturday and business on Sunday, while higher than Satuday, fell way below expectations.
Future looks bleak for the film with terror as its backdrop. With enough star value and backing from a huge production house, Kurbaan has under-performed by a good 6 – 8 crore during its initial weekend.
Yet another potential blockbuster this year, goes down the drain. Very disappointing.
Box office verdict (most likely) – FLOP.