This week will see the release of three films: Mastiii 4, 120 Bahadur and Gustaakh Ishq. However, none of the three is expected to take any sort of initial and will be relying on post-release reception for any sort of run.
Mastiii 4 is the fourth instalment of the adult comedy series Masti. There was a time when the adult comedy genre was doing well last decade, and during this period came the biggest hit in the genre, Grand Masti in 2013, 2nd film from this franchise. That film opened strongly and went on to be a Super Hit. However, the genre went down in the latter half of the decade, probably due to the advent of mobile internet and has remained so till now. Mastiii 4 has expectedly dismal advances, with less than 3000 tickets sold at the national chains. It’s not a type of film that cannot rely on post-release pick up from reception, but it has to if it has to succeed.
120 Bahadur is a film based on the 1962 Indo-China War. This is also a case of a film from a genre which doesn’t normally score. A couple of exceptions that are there were propelled by star value or curiosity factor for the events on which the film was based, both of which 120 Bahadur doesn’t command. The film has low advances, selling only about 4000 tickets at national chains. Advances are even lower outside national chains. The film had previews on Wednesday to make a push from WOM publicity, but it doesn’t seem that it has made an impact, at least going by the advances. Unlike Mastiii 4, this film can pick up over the weekend if the reception is positive.
The holdover, De De Pyaar De 2, is expected to remain the top film this weekend, even though it hasn’t performed all that well itself. There is also a Hollywood film, Wicked: For Good, which will be doing huge business in the West, but it is not a type of film that performs well in India.