Waiting for a winning formula

After delivering two damp squibs back to back, Ta Ra Rum Pum and Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, Yash Chopra has made a cautious move with his third offering for the year, the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Chak De India. Yash Raj Films, Chopra's flagship, has released only 400 prints of the film, which is way below the 500-660 prints for its earlier releases.

Released on August 10, the Rs 24-crore film has got good reviews and is expected to rake in over Rs 15 crore from the domestic box office collections in the first three days. The collections, however, would be lower than the Salman Khan-Govinda starrer Partner, which raked in Rs 16 crore in the first three days.

Multiplex owners were a little disappointed when the advance bookings, that opened on August 4, did not meet a good response. But now they are a happy lot as the weekend saw a full house.

"The film has not had a huge opening that a Yash Raj Films and a Shah Rukh Khan film usually get. But, since the reviews have been good, we got over 80 per cent occupancy for the weekend," said Devang Sampat, vice-president (marketing and programming), Cinemax India. Added Saurabh Varma, vice-president (programming and distribution), Inox Leisure: "We are expecting to earn close to Rs 1.5 crore in the first three days."

One reason why the film may not set the cash registers ringing for Yash Raj Films is that it is not showing in a few territories. Industry sources said that in the Bengal territory, out of six multiplexes only one is screening the movie. Also in North Kolkatta and Darjeeling, single-screen theatres have chosen to stay out.

The earlier film from Yash Raj, Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, proved to be a disaster and resulted in the production house giving a rebate of 5 per cent on the revenue share with multiplexes.

Chak De India, Shah Rukh Khan's first release this year, is a crucial movie for Chopra considering that his first two films this year didn't live up to the mark. Theatre chain owners believe that the film will do favourable business overseas. Also, "The additional holiday on August 15 will boost footfalls," said Gautam Datta, chief of marketing, PVR Cinemas. Whether King Khan will surpass Salman Khan and Govinda starrer Partner is still to be seen.