Housefull 2 still going strong at the box office

It was yet another weekend when the previous week's releases continued to dominate over the newer films. Bittoo Boss and Chhodo Kal Ki Baateindidn't find any takers, say trade experts, adding that Housefull 2 andTitanic 3D held strong in the second weekend too. 

A Mumbai-based exhibitor says that the numbers of Bittoo Boss were dismal. On condition of anonymity, he said, "Comparatively, the English film Battleship, which also released on the Friday gone by, has registered better numbers than Bittoo Boss."

A Delhi-based distributor added, "There's nothing in the film. And even though he registered his presence in TV shows, Pulkit Samrat can't bring in the audience. As for Chhodo Kal Ki Baatein, chhodo, jaane do."

Mumbai-based Girish Wankhede, representative of a national multiplex chain, points out that the film comes from the makers of last year's Pyaar Ka Punchnama. "But that film had people coming out of the theatres praising the film. That wasn't the case with Bittoo. It just didn't create buzz," he explained.

Veteran trade analyst Amod Mehra says that the film is a losing proposition for the corporate house that acquired it from producer Kumar Mangat. "Friday collections were R 40 lakh. So the weekend wouldn't have seen more than R 2 crore. It remains be seen how much they lose ultimately," he said.

Meanwhile, Sajid Khan's sequel to Housefull, led by Akshay Kumar, registered decent numbers in the second weekend. The collections on Saturday jumped to about Rs 6.75 crore from Rs 4.75 crore on Friday.

Sunday numbers were said to be about Rs 9 crore, taking the India net collections to R 81 crore. The film, which cost over Rs 75 crore to make, including prints and advertising, has already ensured the producers Rs 28 crore from satellite rights.

Titanic in 3D continued to pull in the crowd. Prakhar Joshi, programming head of another multiplex chain observes, "The holidays have begun.Housefull 2 and Titanic 3D are the films the audience has preferred to watch. The Leonardo DiCaprio-Kate Winslet starrer registered an average occupancy of 70 per cent over the weekend. The success of these films once again reiterates the fact that good and sound content works at the box office."