Cold wave leads to dip in theatre collections

New Delhi, Feb 10 (UNI) The ongoing cold wave sweeping Northwest India as well as Gujarat and Maharashtra has led to a sharp drop in the number of people thronging cinema halls, especially in the North Indian states and Mumbai, trade sources say.

Box office collections of films released in recent weeks have been severely affected by the intense cold wave sweeping North India over the last few weeks.

In fact, many films released in recent weeks like 'Halla Bol' (released on January 11), 'Rama Rama Kya Hai Yeh Drama' (February 1), 'Mithya' and 'Superstar' (February 8 ) recorded poor collections.

Barring perhaps the Aamir Khan-directed 'Taare Zameen Par', all the other films released in the last few weeks witnessed an audience response ranging from lukewarm to cold.

While in many cases, the lukewarm response to the films had to do with their poor script or direction, in a few cases, it was the cold wave sweeping North Delhi that contributed to poor show of the films at the box office, the sources said.

For example, a film like 'Halla Bol', which evoked much appreciation in film circles and from the critics as well, opened to an extremely cold response, something which has caused amazement in film circles moreso since it has evoked laudatory reviews from critics.

The chill sweeping Delhi and other parts of Northwest India also led to a sharp drop in collections of the Ajay Devgan, Arshad Warsi Ayesha Takia-starrer 'Sunday'.

Released on January 25 across the country, 'Sunday', which recorded above average collections in its opening week, saw an over 60 per cent drop in its collections in the week between February 1 and February 8.

Infact, popular films like 'Welcome' and 'Taare Zameen Par' too witnessed a sharp dip in their collections. While the collections of 'Welcome' dropped by over 75 per cent in the week between January 25 to February 1 while that of 'Taare Zameen Par' dropped by nearly 50 per cent, the trade sources said.

The result of a drop in mercury in the city saw a fall in the collections not only during evening and night shows but also during the afternoon and early morning shows, the trade sources said.

A cold wave also impacted box office receipts of last week's release 'Rama Rama Kya Hai Yeh Drama' and this week's release 'Mithya' and 'Superstar'.

Despite winning a lot of critical appreciation, 'Mithya' and 'Superstar' opened to a lukewarm response, garnering just 20 per cent to 25 per cent collections in theatres across the country on the opening day of its release, the trade sources added.

The sources said the collection of the films could pick up in the coming days as the cold wave would abate in North India as well as Maharashtra and Gujarat more so since both the cinematic ventures, especially 'Mithya' have generated rave reviews from the film critics.

Delhi has been reeling under a cold wave for the last few weeks.

Minimum temperatures in the Capital city this past week have been recorded several degrees below normal.

Cinema collections in Mumbai and its neighbouring areas too were affected due to the cold wave that has hit the city over the last few weeks.

The cold wave sweeping Mumbai, which on Friday recorded its lowest temperature in 35 years, has led to a sharp drop in cinema attendances .

Infact, the trade sources said the unusually cold weather in Mumbai ever since the beginning of the month was largely responsible for the below average collections of films like'Rama Rama Kya Hai Yeh Drama' and 'Superstar'.

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