MUMBAI: Very rarely does it happen that a Hollywood film gets a better opening on Friday than a Bollywood film. Today, 3 April was one such day when Fast & Furious 4 saw a better opening at the box office compared to Akshay Kumar starrer 8×10 Tasveer.
Fast and the Furious is the fourth installment of this franchise. It has released in English and Hindi languages across India. This movie was programmed for a few lesser shows at the multiplex cinemas in comparison to 8×10 Tasveer.
The average occupancy of the two films at some cinemas across the country was neck to neck and at most others Fast & Furious 4 zipped ahead. “In PVR’s North India properties, the Hindi dubbed version of Fast & Furious 4 has performed better than Tasveer,” says PVR programming head Prakhar Joshi.
However, in North, 8×10 Tasveer has taken a comparatively better opening as compared to other metro cities. The difference in occupancy between the two films is approximately 20 per cent in the north and is far steeper in Mumbai and Bangalore.
“Tasveer’s average occupancy is 40 per cent and Fast & Furious’ is more than 80 per cent at our properties in Bombay,” says Big Cinemas programming head Rajendra Singh. In Fame’s Bangalore cinema, Fast & Furious’ occupancy was 70 per cent today and Tasveer’s was 30 per cent.
Multiplex officials point out this opening is good compared to director Nagesh Kukunoor’s previous films, but low compared to Akshay Kumar’s previous films.
Marathi film Me Shivaji Raje Bhosale Boltoye has taken a flying opening in Pune, Nasik, Latur, Aurangabad, Nagpur and a few cinemas in Bombay. While in some, the film opened to 60 per cent occupancy, in many others it was houseful.
