KARACHI: The three Pakistani releases that came out on Eidul Azha – namely
Actor in Law,
Janaan and
Zindagi Kitni Haseen Hay – may have received mixed to mostly positive reviews but their box office figures indicate they are all going steady.
By the end of their opening week, all three films retained their original spots with
Actor in Law
still leading the race, having collected over Rs110 million. Exhibitors
seem to agree that the Nabeel Qureshi directorial has been pulling in
great footfall all week.
Urdu 1 Marketing Manager Sajjad Haider said, “
Actor in Law
is doing great business because it has great content and visuals
rivaling any Indian film. In some cases, it is better than that even!”
Janaan’s collections could not be confirmed but it did rake
in about Rs39.2 million over the three-day Eid holidays. The film’s
total worldwide collection so far has been Rs130 million while the final
figures from the local box office are expected to be in by Friday.
As far as
Zindagi Kitni Haseen Hay is concerned, total
figures have not yet been put together for it either. However, what is
evident is that the Anjum Shahzad directorial is still in third place.
Exhibitors stated the film has done relatively less business, as
compared to the other two films.
Additionally, Ashir Azeem’s
Maalik is performing well too,
despite a minimum number of shows available to it. Perhaps all the
controversy it found itself in has worked out for the best, drawing in
crowds who want to see what the buzz was about. Atrium Cinemas Managing
Director Nadeem Mandviwalla claimed
Maalik has been performing
really well. “We have given it only one show in the afternoon but still,
it’s getting about 50% to 60% occupancy,” he said.
Exhibitors also confirmed that attendance in theatres dropped Monday
onwards, as is the norm. Nonetheless, Mandviwalla reiterated that
Actor in Law had an average occupancy of 95% to 97%,
Janaan with 89% to 92% and
Zindagi Kitni Haseen Hay
with 85%. “The shows were all sold out over the weekend. The attendance
slightly dropped yesterday but regardless, the films are doing great
business.”
Commenting on what footfall will be like during the rest of this
week, Mandviwalla added, “Until now, it was the holiday season. But now
comes a crucial time to see which film manages to stay on top.” Super
Cinemas General Manager Khorem Gultasab echoed his sentiments and said,
“This week is going to reveal how much these films are actually worth.”
Gultasab added that
Janaan has gradually been catching up. “The weekend saw both
Janaan and
Actor in Law having almost 100% occupancy,” he shared. “
Zindagi Kitni Haseen Hay
was at about 80% already so Monday brought a significant drop in
business for it, while the other two films experienced only a slight
drop.”
According to Cinepax Cinemas Marketing Manager Mohsin Yaseen, overall
attendance dropped about 50% on Monday. “But that is normal after long
holidays. The coming weekend will be almost similar, in terms of shows
allocated to the films,” he said. “The only change is that three new
films are coming this weekend,
Banjo,
Sully and
Magnificent Seven,
and they will be allocated minimum shows. I think all three Pakistani
films are going to retain their spots this week as well.”
As far as the lifetime business expectations go,
Actor in Law
producer Fizza Ali Meerza said she would not quote a figure. “I don’t
think in terms of numbers. I am glad that people are coming to watch the
film and liking it,” she said. “We have had tough competition from
local movies and even Bollywood, and have stood in the face of it. It’s
great to see that our film is doing particularly well.”
Published in The Express Tribune, September 21st, 2016.
