AskIndicine: Live Now

Q.What is your FBO and LBO for Jab Harry Met Sejal and Toilet Ek Prem Katha?

A. FBO of Toilet: EPK will be updated later today, you can check the FBO page (indicine.com/fbo). As far as the LBO (lifetime prediction) is concerned, we are currently at 120 crore for Toilet Ek Prem Katha and 145 crore for Jab Harry Met Sejal (JHMS). The trailer of Toilet: EPK has been taken into consideration, the prediction would be further updated when the trailer of JHMS is out. Early LBO predictions are always based on the assumption that the word-of-mouth would be mixed to positive. For JHMS we are also assuming that the movie wouldn’t hold strongly on Monday, which has been the case with most SRK films in recent times and also Imtiaz Ali films. If the movie turns out to be outstanding and it holds very well over the weekdays, obviously it’ll retain a lot of screens / shows in Week 2 and collect a lot more than the current prediction of 145 crore.

Q. Which film will take bigger opening Tubelight or JHMS?

A. Should be ‘Tubelight’, but we’ll have to wait for the trailer of Jab Harry Met Sejal.

Q. With Jab Hary Met Sejal coming on 4th Aug… it can retain how many screens for week 2? (approx)

A. Depends entirely on the content of the film and the level of collections during the weekdays (August 7 – 10).

Q. In case Tubelight flops, will it impact Salman’s stardom and credibility since his movies hasn’t flopped in a decade or so…is he the only star to have no flops in a decade?

A. One failure once in a while doesn’t affect the stardom of top stars in the industry. It’s only when films begin to consistently fail does it begin to hurt, but Salman’s stardom is eternal. Even during his extreme low phase, he had fans – just that he wasn’t doing films that they wanted to watch. His choice of films has been excellent in the last couple of years, as long as he continues to do the right films.. he could sustain his stardom at this level for the next 5-10 years or more!

Q. After the song Tinka Tinka from Tubelight, what are your expectations from the film? Don’t you think emotional content will be strong?

A. The film will get a solid initial (considering Ramzan), the audience is now used to watching Salman films during Eid and he’s too big a star at the moment. But for a film that doesn’t have those usual commercial ingredients, it’s important that the emotions click. If that doesn’t strike a chord, then the film could underperform at the box office. Tubelight is definitely one of the riskier Salman films in recent times.

Q. 1st-Is it official that Hrithik is doing biopic of Super 30 fame Anznd Kumar or its just a rumour. 2nd- What is your take on Hrithik’s this long break from acting. Is it hamper if he will sign such movie after a long break.

A. One, Hrithik is doing the film, but there hasn’t been an official announcement. Two, established stars don’t really get affected by long breaks – Aamir had taken a 4 year break, people did not forget him. From our point-of-view, a star of his calibre should be doing many more films – but at the end of the day, the number of films that he does, his choice of scripts or the breaks that he takes in between films – are his personal decisions.

Q. Rom-com genre is dead. Imtiaz Ali has no good track record. Toilet Ek Prem Katha is carrying good report. Where do u see JHMS now? What can be its opening?

A. It would be wrong to say Imtiaz Ali doesn’t have a good track record. Jab We Met and Love Aaj Kal were hugely successful. Rockstar, Highway, Socha Na Tha are acclaimed films with a section of the audience. However, there are a few major concerns. One, the genre itself isn’t exciting the audience anymore, so it remains to be seen if SRK-Imtiaz have something new to offer. Two, no Imtiaz Ali film has worked on a Pan-India level and this is by far his biggest film (both in terms of star cast and costs) – so it has to work beyond those 10 odd cities. And three, there’s Toilet Ek Prem Katha in Week 2 – which is looking like a bigger film after the trailer.

Q. Please clarify this. Between Akshay and SRK who is a bigger star in terms of stardom? 

A. SRK, much bigger. In terms of opening, SRK had given those 20+, 30+, 40 range openers. Lifetime too his under-performers (Raees, Dilwale) collect more than Akshay’s biggest grossers (Rowdy Rathore). So there’s no real comparison here, except for the fact that Akshay does far more films and most of them are lower in budget as compared to SRK.

Q. Can Sid be considered as one of the bankable and leading youngsters as he has delivered 100 crore in his 3rd film? Or after Baar Baar Dekho his career is over?

A. He certainly isn’t a bankable star at the moment and the opening of ‘Ek Villain’ wasn’t because of his ‘star power’. Else, his other films would’ve opened at that level too. However, his choice of films in recent times is quite interesting. ‘A Gentleman’ is a risky film because of its budget, but the rest are all smaller content-driven films. He’s working with a director like Neeraj Pandey. If some of these films click on a smaller level, it could do a lot of good for him perception-wise.

Q. How is GST expected to benefit films? To what extent will the opening and lifetime increase?

A. There still isn’t a lot of clarity over GST. We’ll probably have to wait for GST to come into effect from July 1 and then see how it goes. Currently, the government has said GST for tickets costing less than 100 rupees, will be 18% and tickets priced above 100 rupees will be 28%. This will give a big boost to single-screen business. It will also encourage exhibitors to price ticket under 100 during weekdays. How beneficial and how much the impact would be on opening and lifetime, is something that we cannot accurately comment on at the moment.

Q. Was Pinjar starring Manoj Bajpaye a hit movie?

A. Flop.

Q. The way clashes are turning out and his films are performing, a solo release on Xmas 2018 looks difficult for Shahrukh Khan. The victory of Raees over Kaabil in perception game didn’t make a difference on Independence Day. So what’s your take on the Dwarf film, can Shahrukh Khan ensure a solo release?

A. It’s not going to be easy to retain the big holiday, one or the other film will target that date. A strong performance from ‘Jab Harry Met Sejal’ will help. The box office performance of a superstar’s last couple of films makes a big difference. In the current scenario, only Aamir and Salman can hold on to festive dates and ensure a solo release. The reasons are obvious, only their films are crossing the 300 crore mark.

Q. After change in release date of JHMS, which of the two, JHMS or TEPK , will be more benefited as TEPK will not get extra publicity?

A. The strategy that the makers of Toilet Ek Prem Katha will adopt will be enough to keep the film in news. And the so-called publicity in itself is over-rated. The audience watches the trailer and decides whether to watch a film or not. TEPK has a strong trailer, that should be enough for the film to get a good initial.

Q. Your views on the release date of Mubarakan. Is it wise to still stick to the same date after JHMS has been preponed?

A. It was a good date with two open weeks, but that isn’t the case anymore. A big film like ‘Jab Harry Met Sejal’ is coming after a week and that film should take almost all screens. But if ‘Mubarakan’ is good and entertains like most Anees Bazmee films do, then it should be able to hold on to a fair amount of shows at multiplexes in Week 2. If the film isn’t good, then the second week wouldn’t matter at all. So it isn’t a big deal. Films like Hindi Medium, The Jungle Book, Bahubali 1.. have shown that good films that find appreciation, can survive even the biggest of competition.

Q. Rate Munna Michael trailer? Will Spiderman HC affect Tubelight & JJ?

A. From a mass-audience point of view, it’s a solid 8 on 10 for the trailer of Munna Micheal. Spiderman Homecoming won’t affect Tubelight, there’s a good 2 week gap. Jagga Jasoos won’t be affected either, Spiderman films are usually top-heavy – the first week has historically been by far the best.

Q. Hello indicine, huge fan of your site! Just a question I had in mind… will you ever give a film a perfect 5/5 rating?

A. Yes, it’s been given to films like Chak De India.