Bollywood pins hopes on Yash Raj’s New York

In what would be a make-or-break movie not only for Yashraj Films but also for hundreds of film exhibitors and distributors, New York, the Rs 19-crore film from the Yashraj banner, released today in over 700 screens across the country — the highest in the current calendar year.

Bollywood has pinned all its hopes for recovery on its box office collections, as trade pundits anticipate a good opening weekend for the film that stars John Abraham, Katrina Kaif and Neil Nitin Mukesh.

The release is significant for Bollywood because it comes after a two-month dispute by Bollywood producers on the issue of revenue-sharing with mulitplex owners. There have been no Hindi-movie releases since April 4. The film exhibition and distribution industry suffered a loss of around Rs 350 crore during the period, industry sources said.

“Since it is our first release after the strike, we are looking forward to its success,” a senior executive of Yashraj Films said. However, he did not comment on either the budget of New York or the number of prints of the flick.

Trade pundits anticipate a grand opening for New York, the highest since Ghajini or Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, the two blockbuster films of 2008. New York is set against the backdrop of 9/11 terror attacks on the city. Trade experts feel if the film does well, it will set the momentum for other major releases, like the Rs 70-crore film Kambakth Ishq starring Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor and Love Aaj Kal starring Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone. Both will be released in July.

“There has been a nine-week gap since major movies were released in multiplexes. All eyes are on how New York fares at the box office. Everybody is looking at the film with a magnifying glass and, while it should do very well, if it does not, it will be a big setback for the film industry,” Komal Nahata, leading film-trade analyst, said.

Bollywood has come up with two Hindi films post the two-month strike — Kal Kissne Dekha and Paying Guest — and both have failed to attract an audience, Nahata added.

Leading multiplex chains like PVR Cinemas, Big Cinemas, Inox and Cinemax, among others, expect New York to generate an opening of 80-85 per cent capacity on the first two days of the release, riding on bulk corporate and group bookings.

“I expect around 80 per cent opening for New York. It will be screened in all our 25 locations and across 50-odd screens,” Devang Sampat, senior vice-president, Cinemax India, a leading multiplex chain, told Business Standard.

A senior executive of PVR Cinemas said the advance bookings for Yash Raj’s film had been the best over three-four months. “New York should see an 80 per cent opening at the box office, we feel. We will be screening the film across most of our properties,” the executive said.

“In India, we would be screening the film in around 75 screens across various cities. Also, New York is the first movie that we would be screening in the Netherlands market, further to our association with Pathe Cinemas,” Tushar Dhingra, COO, BIG Cinemas, added.