'All Is Well' registers dismal business while 'Manjhi: The Mountain Man' does decently well despite limited shows across the country
A still from 'All Is Well'
The box-office business last weekend was a throwback to the sluggish first quarter of 2015 with 'All Is Well' and 'Manjhi – The Mountain Man' opening to dull houses. The former failed to cash in on its star power — Abhishek Bachchan, Asin and Rishi Kapoor — and its prospects were blighted by mostly damning reviews. 'Manjhi', on the other hand, put up a decent show, making the most of its restricted theatrical release.
ADVERTISEMENT
A still from 'All Is Well'
Trade expert Amod Mehra says, "Both the films failed to take off on an optimistic note. While 'Manjhi' received critical acclaim and did well in terms of numbers, 'All Is Well' failed miserably, opening to just 15-20 per cent occupancy on day one. It made very little improvement over the weekend and now appears to be a major flop of the year."
The Umesh Shukla comedy-drama, which is said to have been made on a budget of Rs 40 crore, was released on more than 1200 screens across the country. "In some theatres, there were not more than eight to 10 people for a show. It clearly failed to capitalise on its star strength and the pre-release hype," a city-based exhibitor says.
Collections of the previous week's release, 'Brothers', slumped in its second week, almost half of what the Akshay Kumar and Sidharth Malhotra-starrer had grossed within the first three days of release (Rs 52.08 crore). It has, however, surpassed the lifetime domestic figures of 'Dil Dhadakne Do', which earned Rs 76.88 crore.
Salman Khan's 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan' is also still running in theatres, although on limited screens. It has grossed Rs 318.06 crore in 35 days, proving to be the biggest film of 2015 so far.