Kites: Question and Answers

Inarguably the most hyped release of 2010, Kites starring Hrithik Roshan and Barbara Mori finally releases this weekend. The number of emails we have received over the last few days have been staggering and most of them were box office related questions. Here are answers to all of them and more.

Will Kites work at the box office?

• As we all know box office is very unpredictable but Kites should open to an extraordinary response on Friday. The craze for the film amongst teenagers is mind boggling, expect mass-bunking’s on the day of its release.
• On a more serious note, the all India multiplex business should be around 80%, which is great since the film is releasing on 1800+ screens in India. What’s important for Kites though, to recover its huge costs for Reliance Big Pictures (worldwide distributors), is how the film sustains during its weekdays. The word of mouth will be extremely important here and if the content is strong, Kites without any competition, is expected to fly high during its second weekend too.

Can Kites beat the overseas collections of My Name Is Khan?

• SRK’s My Name Is Khan is the biggest ever grosser overseas with business crossing $18 million. With the film still strong in several countries, it is expected to touch the $20 million mark. Can Kites, released in both Hindi and English beat MNIK? It will be tough, but again if the content is strong and the film is liked, its very much possible. Kites will have the widest release ever for a Bollywood film in US (170 screens) and the Remix version by Hollywood director Brett Ratner which releases a week later on May 28th, should spike the collections further. Business in US will be the key for Kites.

Can Kites beat the opening of 3 Idiots in India?

• Its very unfair to compare 3 Idiots and Kites for two reasons. One, 3 Idiots released during the holiday season, which does make a huge difference. Kites if released during Diwali or Christmas would have grossed atleast 15 – 20% more than what it would now. Two, both films belong to different genre’s, 3 Idiots had much more mass-appeal and was liked universally. Kites is unlikely to perform as well at single screen.  Having said that, due to the humongous number of prints and crazy number of shows per day at multiplexes (32 shows a day at a few plexes), the opening weekend could well be bigger than 3 Idiots. Read our Kites box office prediction for more on this..

What is the runtime of Kites?

• The Indian version of Kites is exactly 2 Hours and 6 minutes (126 minutes).
• The international version of Kites, titled Kites The Remix.  is around 90 minutes. Songs and a couple of scenes have been deleted.

What is the censor board rating for Kites and can it be watched with family?

• Kites is rated U/A. And yes, very much. Kites can be watched with family and friends.

Theaters that will screen the Hindi version of Kites in US, Canada, UAE and UK?

• Kites is releasing in 20 theaters in Canada, 170 in United States, 70 in UK and 35 in UAE. For more details on the list of theaters and screening of the film near your area, CLICK HERE

How is the advance booking of Kites?

• The advance booking for Kites began on Monday and the response has been good. Several evening and late night shows have already been sold off for the weekend. But then again, with the huge number of shows, tickets are easy to get these days. Not many take the trouble of booking shows in advance.

How was the response at the New York premier of Kites on May 16th?

• Well, so far we’ve only heard good things about the film. A New York critic rated the film 3.5 stars and the response from folks from the industry has been good too.

Are there preview shows on Thursday (May 20th) for Kites

• Yes, there are paid-preview shows at select cities on May 20th, after 7PM.

Any other Kites related questions, please ask below in the comments section.