BO: Naresh, Priyadarshi, Chiru Collapse; Only 1 Survives

This Friday turned out to be unusually crowded at the box office. More than ten films released on the same day. Yet none of them managed even decent openings. Except for Raju Weds Rambai, which had some momentum because of its Hyderabad premiere, almost every other film struggled to pull even basic first day audiences.

The biggest disappointment is Allari Naresh’s 12 A Railway Colony. Trade circles report that in many centers the film could not cross even 5 to 10% occupancy. Despite promotions, the content failed to build any curiosity.

To put it bluntly, Naresh has not seen such a weak opening in years. Even his previous disaster Bachchala Malli performed better. At this point, the question is not about hits or flops. The real concern is that Naresh urgently needs to be more selective with scripts. He cannot choose such low-grade films. The problem is not only content but overall quality. From the teaser and trailer itself, the film looked technically poor. The opening numbers now reflect that.

Premante, starring Priyadarshi and Anandhi, gained some visibility because both leads and anchor Suma promoted it well. But the collections have been pretty dismal. We have to see if it gets some boost on the weekend.

Bollywood releases Farhan Akhtar’s 120 Bahadur and Mastiii 4 flopped badly on day one itself. The remaining films collected such low numbers that further discussion hardly matters.

Shockingly, even the remastered rerelease of Chiranjeevi’s Kodama Simham is not performing well at all. Except in some centers like Hyderabad, collections everywhere else are near zero. The message is loud and clear. Audiences want strong content and solid promotions. Weak content, weak publicity and weak openings continue to be the pattern.

Meanwhile, Raju Weds Rambai is benefitting from the Rs. 99 ticket strategy. It is clearly leading the weekend among this week’s releases. Until Andhra King Taluka arrives next week, it will remain the first choice for theatregoers. The only question is whether it becomes another Little Hearts range success or fades quickly after the weekend.