MUMBAI: The much touted Diwali releases – Blue, Main Aurr Mrs Khanna and All The Best have released and riding ahead of the other is the Akshay Kumar starrer Blue.
The movie has opened exceptionally well with approximately 70 – 80 per cent occupancy at some theatres, whereas it is running to full house at some theatres. On the other hand, the Salman Khan – Kareena Kapoor starrer Main Aurr Mrs Khanna and Ajay Devgn and Sanjay Dutt starrer All The Best have not done as expected. Both the movies opened in the range of approximately 20 – 50 per cent.
Speaking to Businessofcinema.com, Fun Cinemas chief operating officer Vishal Kapur said, "Blue opened really well and we are almost 80 per cent booked over the weekend but the reviews of the film have not been really good. The audience coming out of the theatres have not really liked the film. Main Aurr Mrs. Khanna has had an average response with about 40 – 50 per cent, while All the Best has been the lowest of the lot with 20 per cent."
Fame cinemas AVP distribution, programming and corporate sales Aditya Shroff added, "The response to all the three films has been mixed. Blue has definitely opened very well and it should keep up till Monday night since it’s the holiday weekend. All The Best and Main Aurr Mrs. Khanna has been a below average opening. This could also be due to the fact today being pre-Diwali most of the people are busy with Diwali preparations. Maybe once Diwali gets over and people are free these films will pick up."
"Blue is a film that’s worth watching once, people are not coming in to watch a story but more for the action because of all the hype that was created, people are curious to see it. The reaction so far has been good, it has opened really well and it’s still picking up. Main Aurr Mrs. Khanna is more of a family film and while most of the Salman fans have liked the film, the opening has been average at 40 per cent and we are expecting it to go up by evening. Having said that, these four days all the three movies should do good business since it’s a long weekend," says Cinemax senior vice president strategy Devang Sampat.
