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Here it is finally – the box office prediction of Shahrukh Khan’s highly anticipated Ra One. Before we get into the numbers though, we’d like you to go through some of the reasons why we think Ra One simply ‘cannot’ fail at the box-office. Yes, that’s right. We initially thought it could well be a disaster, but looking at the way the film has been promoted and with SRK pulling of several marketing masterstrokes, it’ll highly unlikely that Ra One will open to anything less than 100 – 110 crores in Week 1 at the box office. 

• First of all, its a Shahrukh Khan film after a year and a half – his last release was My Name Is Khan early last year – and both his fans and others will agree that he still commands a huge fan-following both in India and in international markets. Not to forget, Kareena has a huge following amongst the masses.
• From the trailers the film seems to be a complete masala entertainer – action, comedy, romance, superhero – it’s got it all and a little more. Due to the universal appeal, Ra One is expected  to open well at both multiplexes and single-screens.
• SRK is marketing the film like there is no tomorrow – Youtube, Video Games, Reality shows, Champions League  - Ra One is everywhere. This has helped increase the curiosity tremendously. The only downside, it has also increased the expectations.
• The music is important and Ra One has one of the most popular tracks of the year – Chammak Challo. The rest of the songs are good too.
• Finally, Rajnikanth’s presence is undoubtedly going to increase the box office collections in the South. Like we’ve said before, this is a masterstroke by SRK. There is no actor bigger than Rajnikanth down South.
• 3000+ screens: Ra One will have the widest release for a Bodyguard film ever – both in India and overseas. The film will cash-in on the initial weekend even before the positive/negative word-of-mouth begins to spread.
• Extended weekend will be similar to Bodyguard  as Ra One too will release on Wednesday and enjoy a 5-day Diwali weekend. So if Bodyguard with half the hype opened to 100 crores+ in Week 1, how big will the opening of Ra One be? Honestly, its hard to accurately predict. Figures could be anywhere between 10 – 15% higher than the current biggest.

Here is our box office predictions for Ra One

IF GOOD (positive word-of-mouth)

• Day 1 – 24 crores
• Weekend – 95 to 100 crores (5 days)
• Weekdays – 35 crores
• Week 1 Total – 130 to 135 crores (9 days)
• Final – 220 crores+

IF AVERAGE (mixed word-of-mouth)

• Day 1 – 24 crores
• Weekend – 90 crores
• Weekdays – 30 crores
• Week 1 Total – 120 crores
• Final – 165 crores

IF BAD (negative word-of-mouth)

• Day 1 – 24 crores (advance booking is expected to be high)
• Weekend – 75 – 80 crores
• Weekdays – 20 crores
• Week 1 Total – 95 – 100 crores
• Final – 115 crores

So even in the worst case scenario – unless the word-of-mouth is as bad as Kites – Ra One should do atleast 100 crores in Week 1. That rules out the chances of ‘FLOP’. Also remember that the budget of Ra.One is a mere speculation – SRK has never revealed the actual costs. Week 1 the film should break-even and whatever it does Week 2 onwards will determine how big a hit Ra One turns out to be.

If it’s a good film, Ra.One should beat 3 Idiots easily. Our verdict prediction – HIT or Super-Hit.

What do you think? Will Ra One be a HIT or Flop with the audience? Tell us in the comments section below.