Himmatwala HIT or FLOP: Box Office Prediction

The drought at the ticket window has already ended with Race 2 getting a very good opening thereby emerging as the first success of 2013. Another eagerly anticipated film in the first quarter, Himmatwala starring Ajay Devgn, is slated to release two days after Holi on 29th March and expected to set the cash registers ringing.

Recently, the action packed trailer of this film was launched which has received tremendous response from the audience, especially the masses. We thought it is the best time to examine about the prospects of this Sajid Khan directorial venture.

Himmatwala (1983) vs Himmatwala (2013): Sajid’s Himmatwala is the remake of a film with the same name, Himmatwala (1983), which was directed by K. Raghavendra Rao and had Jeetendra and Sridevi in the main lead. Not many are aware of the fact that the previous film was itself a remake of Telugu Hit Ooriki Monagadu (1981) made by the same director. Talking about the box office performance of Himmatwala (1983), it was the 2nd Best Opener of the year with 95% occupancy in the first weekend (Behind Amitabh Bachchan’s Coolie which got a 100% opening).

With lifetime earnings of over 6 crores, this film was the 4th Highest Grosser of 1983 (Behind: Amitabh Bachchan’s Coolie [9cr] / Sunny Deol’s Betaab [6.75cr] / Jackie Shroff’s Hero [6.25cr]) and thus bagging a Super Hit verdict for itself. Just like Ajay Devgn, Jeetendra was also a ‘superstar’ of his times, but after the release of Himmatwala in 1983, he attained the peak of his career and was only 2nd to Amitabh Bachchan for a couple of years to follow, as far as box office and actors’ renumeration were concerned. Well, we guess Ajay must be hoping the same to happen to him with this big ticket release.

Like all his previous films, director Sajid Khan made some attention-grabbing statements about the box office records for Himmatwala at the trailer launch which has fuelled expectations in the industry and the audience.

• Himmatwala will be the Biggest Grosser till date for everyone (Actor, Producers & Director) associated with this film: Well this prediction seems to be very much achievable. The excitement that the first look and the trailer has generated, entry into the coveted 100cr club is a given for Himmatwala. Moreover, it is expected to surpass the biggest hits of Ajay, Sajid and Vashu Bhagnani in all probability. In this regard, the toughest to be broken is the record of UTV’s Rowdy Rathore, which can only be achieved if Himmatwala has universal acceptance.

 

Himmatwala will break the following records (table below), says director Sajid Khan!

	Highest Grossing Film	Net BO Collection | Verdict
Ajay Devgn (Lead Actor)	Golmaal 3 (2010)	108 crore | Blockbuster
Sajid Khan (Director)	Housefull 2 (2012)	113 crore | Super Hit
UTV Motion Pictures (Banner)	Rowdy Rathore (2012)	132 crore | Blockbuster
Vashu Bhagnani (Producer)	Biwi No 1 (1999)	24 crore | Hit

 

• Sajid Khan also said that Himmatwala will be amongst the TOP 3 grossing films of 2013: Possible but improbable. Simple reason is that there are four other major contenders which have been confirmed for 2013 release and have more potential than Himmatwala due to more buzz / better release dates – Dhoom3; Krrish 3; Chennai Express and Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai Again (Note: release dates of Salman Khan films is yet to be announced)

Why Himmatwala will be a SUPER HIT

• Readymade script and masala genre: Being a remake, the director and the writers already have a tested formula which just needs adaption and improvisation to suit present audience.
• Director Sajid Khan: He is amongst those few directors who have a 100% success record (Heyy Babyy [HIT-48cr] / Housefull [HIT-72cr] / Housefull 2 [SUPERHIT-113cr]). Moreover, the fact that he’s striking back during his favourite IPL season only spices up the eagerness quotient.
• Open weeks: Just like Sajid’s last release Housefull 2, Himmatwala (29th March) will benefit from two open weeks with no major competition during the start of IPL (3rd April) until Ayushman Khurana’s Nautanki Sala (11th April) and Emraan Hashmi’s Ek Thi Daayan (18th April) arrive in the third and fourth weekends respectively with the former not likely to eat much into Himmatwala’s business, because of the difference in genres and star cast. (Note: Ayushman’s Vicky Donor also released two weeks after Housefull 2 in 2012 around the same time and both were Super Hits).

Why Himmatwala may fail to break records or make it to the Top 3 biggest grossers of 2013-

• Absence of National Holidays / Extended Weekends: It is a given fact that a well-made film is always a hit irrespective of its release date but when the question is of making/breaking records, holidays and extended weekends definitely matter as they have the potential to increase collections in the 8-10% range depending upon the scale of the film. In this regard, normal release of Himmatwala will keep it a step behind the other major releases as far as initials are concerned – Dhoom 3 (Christmas) ; Krrish 3 (Diwali) ; Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai Again (Eid) ; Race2 (Republic Day).

Article by Archit Mishra (tweets @architmishra_06)

 

How much do you think Himmatwala will collect at the box office? Hit or Flop? Post your predictions below!