Box Office Report : Golmaal Returns & Fashion

Box Office Report : Golmaal Returns & Fashion

Ending the dry spell for the Hindi movie industry, Diwali releases — Golmaal Returns and Fashion — opened with 80-90% occupancy levels on the first two days.

While Indian Film Company, the distributor for Golmaal Returns, said that the movie grossed over Rs 11 crore on the first day, UTV-produced Fashion earned Rs 7 crore.

Besides the festive mood, viewers lapped up the movies as there were no big releases for some time, say cineplex owners. Unlike last year, when Om Shanti Om and Saawariya were released and pitched against each other, Golmaal Returns and Fashion are co-existing as they are targeted at different audience groups.

Multiplex players believe that the dream run could continue till Sunday. Said PVR Cinemas COO Amitabh Vardhan: "Compared to pre-Diwali releases — Heroes and Roadside Romeo — which received occupancy levels of about 40-45%, the two recent releases have managed higher occupancy levels of 80-90%."
Another senior executive with a multiplex chain said that Fashion picked up slowly and is a notch below Golmaal Returns in terms of occupancy. "Golmaal Returns is a family movie and a light-hearted comedy, while Fashion is targeted at the urban audience," he added.

Made with a budget of Rs 45 crore, Golmaal Returns was released with 400 physical prints and 450 digital prints. Said Indian Film Company CEO Sandeep Bhargav: "Going by the response on day one, the movie has done extremely well and is in sync with the festive mood."

UTV Motion Pictures initially released Fashion with lesser number of prints and steadily increased it to 315 physical prints and 225 digital prints.

"The movie has been received well by audience in multiplexes (large cities and metros) and single screens (small cities and the semi-rural areas) in the country. We believe that Fashion will do well in the overseas market, though the festive season is still some time away," said UTV Motion Pictures CEO Siddharth Roy Kapoor.

Both movies were released in the US and the Middle East on Thursday and would open in the UK on Friday. In India, the number of shows will increase to cash in on the weekend starting Friday.