Will 'The Shaukeens' and 'Rang Rasiya' Halt 'Happy New Year' Collection?

Four Bollywood films, "The Shaukeens", "Rang Rasiya", "A Decent Arrangement" and "Chaar Sahibzade", which are slated to hit the screens on 7 November, may affect the two-week-old "Happy New Year".

Released in around 5,000 screens in the domestic box office on 24 October, "Happy New Year" got superb response and made record-breaking collection at the Indian box office in the first week. But in its second week, the movie has gone down so much that its last seven-day domestic total is not even equal to what it collected on its opening day.

One biggest reason for the downfall of "Happy New Year" is the poor word-of-mouth. Secondly, the large number of theatres that it was holding in its opening week was taken away by three Bollywood and three Hollywood films, which released in its second week.

"Happy New Year" is facing another big threat in the domestic market in its third week. Once again, it is going to lose large amount of cinema halls to new releases. Trade experts predict that these new films will reduce its collection to single digit (less than ₹9 crore) in the coming week.

Among the four new films, "The Shaukeens" is the most-hyped and highly-promoted film. Produced by Akshay Kumar, it is the remake of 1982 classic comedy film "Shaukeen". In addition to Bollywood Superstars' special appearances, the film also boasts of several other attractions. It is expected to release in 2,000+ screens.

"Rang Rasiya" is another hyped film among the four. Directed by Ketan Mehta, it is the big-screen adaptation of Marathi writer Ranjit Desai's biographical novel on 19th century painter from erstwhile Travancore (Kerala), Raja Ravi Varma. Its promos have garnered positive response from the viewers. The movie is likely to release in 1,000+ in the domestic market.

"A Decent Arrangement" and "Chaar Sahibzade" are expected to release in 500 to 750 screens together. While all four new films release in 3,500+ in the domestic market, they are sure to snatch huge amount of screens from "Happy New Year", which has already been vacated from many cinema halls in the second week.

Considering this fact, trade analysts at B-Town feel that "Happy New Year" is sure to suffer a set-back at the domestic box office in its third week. However, the new releases, which belong to different genres, may even completely halt the collection of the Shah Rukh Khan starrer if they get a positive word-of-mouth.