Ra.One fails to break Bodyguard's record

The bang did happen, but not on the scale anticipated. Shah Rukh Khan’s Ra.One, which was expected to shatter box office records, has on the opening day netted Rs 15.5 crore, lower than Salman Khan’s Bodyguard that raked in Rs 20.62 crore. Experts expect the superhero fiction to net Rs 35 crore in the first two days.

“The opening day collections of Ra.One are lower than Bodyguard (released on August 31 this year,” notes a trade analyst. “In spite of the inflated ticket prices, the film opening in more screens than ever — and even if the one combines adds Rs 1-2 crore from the dubbed versions, the movie doesn’t even seem to come close to the first-day collections of Bodyguard.”

The 160-minute movie was released on 3,500 screens in India (4,600 screens worldwide) in 2D and 3D format, while Bodyguard had 2,700 screens. Bodyguard , released on Eid, had collected around Rs 38 crore in the first two days.

Industrial officials said Salman Khan-starrer Bodyguard had a first-day average occupancy ranging between 85 and 100 per cent, while it was 75 and 80 per cent for Ra.One.

According to Suniel Wadhwa, independent film distributor, most Diwali releases are affected as several families are staying at home for festivities. “Due to this, most night shows witnessed a huge drop. The movie’s Thursday business should be in range Rs 20 crore to Rs 22 crore, ” he said.

For instance, Rohit Shetty’s Golmaal 3, which was released last year during the same time, collected Rs 8.1 crore on the first day, while on day two it made Rs 15 crore.

“It is too early to predict about the film. We are hoping the extended weekend could help the movie collections,” says Komal Nahata, film trade analyst. Bodyguard had collected Rs 85 crore net on the extended five-day weekend.

Two large multiplex players say most of the shows have 80-85 per cent bookings on Thursday, with several of them running to full houses.

Analysts tracking the film sector say that Ra.One, produced by SRK’s wife Gauri Khan, needs to do over Rs 250-300 crore at the box office to be profitable. The cost of making the film has been approximately Rs 180-200 crore, which includes print and marketing costs.

The analysts add that since the movie has seen a rise of 60 per cent in bookings for late night shows, it could catch up with Bodyguard in terms of cumulative box-office collections in the first two days.

Producers Eros International and Red Chillies Entertainment (SRK’s company) have already recovered up to Rs 102 crore through the sale of cable & satellite rights (Rs 35 crore to Star India), music rights (Rs 15 crore T-Series) and brand tie-ups (Rs 52 crore).