Vicky Kaushal, Ammy Virk, Triptii Dimri starrer ‘Bad Newz‘ has hit the marquee today. The early reviews of the movie are decent and netizens think that it is entertaining. However, will it pass the box office test? Let’s find out. ETimes spoke to some trade experts to find out deets into the film’s business and how the opening weekend is expected to be.’Bad Newz’ did not have a very wide release. The film has released in around 1800-2000 screens.
According to trade expert Taran Adarsh, “The early trends indicate an opening of around Rs 7-8 crore The advance bookings were good yesterday. If the bookings are higher in the evening shows, the opening number can get higher. But as of now, till afternoon 2pm, I’m looking at this figure. Its an excellent figure. If the word of mouth is good over the weekend, it should easily cross around Rs 30 crore.”
One of the major factors which has resulted in a decent opening of the film is that ‘Tauba Tauba’ has become a huge hit. Producer and Film business expert, Girish Johar opined, “Music does help a lot of traction, awareness and that happened with ‘Bad Newz’. This is a sign of breather as it has got a decent opening. I’m happy that ‘Bad News’ is getting some good news for the industry. The opening in the morning shows was around 45 percent which is quite good.”
Executive Director of Gaiety Galaxy, Maratha Mandir Cinemas, Manoj Desai added that the opening in the morning show was dull at Gaiety. “The opening is not as per we thought. Around 150-200 tickets were sold, out of 1000 tickets. Friday matinee shows are always dull as Muslims go for the ‘namaz’. One hopes it will be better in the evening shows.”
However, Adarsh feels that the film is targetted to the urban centres and may not do well in single screens. But one never knows! “It’s not an expensive film. It’s a moderate starcast, mid-sized film. It’s more for the metros but of course, it’s a hit song -Tauba Tauba so that could be a pulling point for audience from the small centres. I’m hoping it converts into footfalls. It can go above Rs 35 crore for the first three days also if there is good word of mouth,” adds Taran.
This further re-instates the fact that music does help in attracting the audience to cinema halls. “Even in the earlier days, 70s and 80s, music contributed significantly. I don’t know why our filmmakers in the recent times forgot the contribution of music. Of course, the content matters eventually. But music can really add as a hook to attract the audience,” says Taran.
Well, now we shall wait and watch if the film fares well over the weekend with positive word of mouth! Girish Johar concluded by saying, “The opening day number can also be Rs 10 crore, depending on the evening shows. But I’ll be happy even if the film makes around Rs 7,8 crore on Friday.”