The trailer of ‘Golmaal Again’ was released less than a month before its release. But it worked big time and a huge opening was expected. Sadly, it faced problems when ‘Secret Superstar’, which was to release on the same day as ‘Golmaal Again’, took away almost 50% of the shows in major multiplex chains, leaving the rest for ‘Golmaal Again’. The comic caper’s makers had asked for 65-70% shows but their attitude towards the whole thing was lackadaisical, probably because they never expected that a small film like ‘Secret Superstar’ would take away so many shows. ‘Golmaal Again’ makers then pressurized the multiplex owners and even refused to allow commencement of advance booking till Thursday, that is, just a day before release. Finally, bookings opened after multiplexes decided to increase shows, but not much.
Despite a slightly small release, ‘Golmaal Again’ opened very well and collected Rs. 30.10 crore on its first day! This was a huge opening and almost everywhere, the film was running full, even in multiplexes where there were 15-20 shows of the film. ‘Secret Superstar’ on the other hand did well but not as great considering its wide release. At this point, Aamir Khan, the producer of ‘Secret Superstar’, made an unprecedented move. Realizing that his film is running with 50% occupancy, he gave away some of the additional shows to ‘Golmaal Again’! As a result, the collections of ‘Golmaal Again’ remained very steady and the film collected Rs. 28.50 crore on Saturday. Normally, if a film releases on a major holiday, the collections drop on the second day even if it’s Saturday. But ‘Golmaal Again”s drop was very less. Till Tuesday, it has earned Rs. 116.60 crore and is doing well everywhere. The holiday period is about to get over and that would reflect in the collections. In fact, the drops now will be a bit more but that’s normal. If ‘Golmaal Again’ sustains well in Weekend 2 at least if not in the weekdays of 2nd week, it would emerge as a major blockbuster.
‘Secret Superstar’ on the other hand is a terrific film and one of the best in recent times. But its reach is limited and its business has been great only in select places. The five-day collections are Rs. 36.50 crore and the first week earnings will be around Rs. 41 crore. It might manage to touch the Rs. 50-crore-mark but that’s too less for a film that was expected to cross Rs. 100 crore mark!
