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As expected, ‘Hero’ started off well at the box office and had a good opening weekend that came up to Rs. 21 crore (Rs. 210 million). This was on the same lines as ‘Heropanti’, another film with absolute newcomers, and also was the best of the year when it came to a film starring debutants. The collections did see a dip over the weekdays and though the film didn’t crash per se, a steady momentum would have held the cause.
As a result, the Nikhil Advani directed film currently stands at a little under the Rs. 31 crore (Rs. 310 million) mark.
The film can take solace from the fact that it has managed to surpass the lifetime collections of Nikhil’s last release D-Day [Rs. 30 crore – Rs. 300 million] within one week flat. Also, unlike numerous newcomer films that gets lost in the oblivion without much of a fight, this one – albeit being backed by Salman Khan and Eros – has managed to make some noise en route its release at the least.
Moreover, the industry too now has newer options for leading hero and heroine in the form of Sooraj Pancholi and Athiya Shetty. Yes, a clean hit would have pleased all involved with the film but still, it isn’t a bad deal after all for ‘Hero’ to head for that Rs. 40 crore (Rs. 400 million) mark.
‘Welcome Back’ has done reasonably well in its second week. While maintaining its collections well, the Anees Bazmee film is now heading well towards the Rs. 100 crore (Rs. 1 billion) mark. With Rs. 18 crore (Rs. 180 million) more coming in its second week, the Firoz Nadiadwala and Eros film has now crossed the Rs. 92 crore (Rs. 920 million) mark and should manage to hit the century mark in one more week, or at maximum 10 days.
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