MUMBAI: The Indian Film Company (TIFC) has closed 2008 with Rs 5.10 billion (GBP 69 million) at the worldwide box office. The gross revenues are from films that have been released since 1 April, 2008.

In 2008, the company set new opening week and opening weekend box office records on two occasions. In August, Singh Is Kinng created a new worldwide and India opening week and opening weekend box office records. This was only broken in December by Ghajini, which was also released by TIFC.

Ghajini set record breaking opening weekend and opening week gross box office takings in India of Rs 700 million (GBP 9.55 million) and Rs 1.1 billion (GBP 15.01 million) respectively.

Ghajini was released on 1,500 screens across India, while Singh Is Kinng had been released on 1,400 screens.

In October, the company released Golmaal Returns. In May, two co-productions namely Bhoothnath and Ranga Panduranga, a Telugu film which marked the company’s entry into regional cinema, were released.

More recently, IFC’s first international film, Little Zizou, won awards for Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Producer at international film festivals in New York and Singapore.

This year also saw TIFC set a new model in the Indian film industry for the sale of music rights for a limited period by selling the Singh Is Kinng soundtrack rights for a limited duration. This was repeated for Kidnap and Dil Kabaddi.

TIFC advisory company CEO Sandeep Bhargava said, "It’s extremely gratifying to see the efforts of the team rewarded in such a big way. The fact that our releases have dramatically broken previous industry records speaks volumes for the quality of the film slate, as well as hard work of the team in maximising the revenue potential of the portfolio through innovative marketing and distribution strategies. 2008 has been a record breaking year for IFC and the Company is well placed to continue strengthening its position in 2009."

(1 GBP = Rs 74)