Weekend opening naa milegi dobara

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The film industry, despite all its differences, generally rejoices as one when a film does well. These days, however, it’s a different sentiment being played out. As Singham and Zindagi Naa Milegi Dobara both proved to be massive hits, they also queered the pitch for every other film which released in this period.
“Both Zindagi… and Singham have had such strong collections that no distributor or exhibitor is willing to reduce the number of shows for them,” says a filmmaker, who is still waiting for his long pending film to make it to the theatres. “Multiplexes and single screen theatres aren’t giving any chance whatsoever to the new films as they are minting money from these two blockbusters.”
The weekend’s three new releases couldn’t fetch more than one or two shows in a city theatre, while a couple of them couldn’t manage an all-India release. Worse, not many critics even bothered reviewing these films, further denting their chances of survival. “This trend would continue till the Independence Day weekend, when Aarakshan is slotted for release,” says a trade pundit. “For theatre-wallahs, this is the best possible phase. After all, single screens have been busy with Murder 2 and Singham, while multiplexes are full of crowds because of Zindagi… and Delhi Belly. Apart from these, there was Double Dhamaal also which also made a quick buck.”
The next weekend sees another slew of small budget films, including Chala Mussaddi — Office Office, I Am Kalam, Warning and Milta Hai Chance By Chance. Wonder what their makers are going through.