Box office set to roar again as 'Ek Tha Tiger' releases on Independence Day

There is a storm coming - to the Indian box office. And it has nothing to do with The Dark Knight Rises and the well known line from that film. It is the upcoming Salman Khan-Katrina Kaif starrer Ek Tha Tiger (ETT), releasing on August 15.

There has been a lull at the box office the past weekend. The July blockbusters - Rowdy Rathore, Bol Bachchan, Cocktail and Kya Super Kool Hai Hum were followed by a dull phase in the first 15 days of August.

Anurag Kashyap's much awaited Gangs Of Wasseypur 2 had below average collections over the extended weekend. Released last Wednesday, it has raked in Rs.15 crore as per early estimates. Its collections on Friday, Saturday and Sunday were around Rs.3 crore each.

For a three day weekend, such a collection would have been considered adequate, but with the film having been in the theatres for five days, it is below average. The critical acclaim the film received has not done much for it commercially. However, since this was a low budget movie, producers and distributors will in all likelihood recover their costs and make a profit to boot.

Sunny Leone failed to boost the fortunes of Jism 2 in its second week. The film saw a heavy drop in its collections to less than Rs 4 crore. The first weekend collections were around Rs 21 crore. With ETT releasing on Wednesday, neither Jism 2 and Gangs of Wasseypur 2 is expected to do much more business from that day.  Kya Super Kool Hai Hum will wind up having drawn in around Rs 45 crore. It has made Rs 43 crore so far.

The Hollywood release Total Recall has had revenues of around Rs.5 crore in India. The last weekend saw the release of director Tony Gilroy's famed Bourne series fourth film - The Bourne Legacy. Its collections are not yet known.

Ticket prices for the Kabir Khan directed ETT have been raised 15 to 25 per cent anticipating a huge response. Preliminary bookings suggest that film opening records are at stake. It will be released on around 3,000 screens.

The film will be gunning for Bodyguard's Rs.21 crore and Agneepath's Rs 22 crore opening day collection records. With an extended five-day weekend this time, the top opening weekend records of Ra.One (Rs 53 crore) and Bodyguard (Rs 53 crore) may also be challenged.  The first week record of Bodyguard (Rs 100 crore) is also at stake.

Salman Khan has delivered a hat-trick of successes over the past three years on Eid with hits like Wanted (2009), Dabangg (2010) and Bodyguard (2011). Once again, ETT is releasing close to Eid. Even if the film fails to live up to its masala expectations, it may still emerge among the top five grosser of this year. And if it is good, anything is possible.

Note: All numbers are net domestic box-office collections. Net is gross box-office collections minus taxes applicable.

Source: BoxofficeIndia.com