Aamir Khan’s ‘Sitaare Zameen Par’ has now released in theatres and while the trailer got a decent response, it’s the positive word of mouth that shall play a huge role in the film’s box office fate. While one may usually expect a big Aamir Khan starrer to open with big numbers, this one is slightly different. It’s made for a different audience and will grow eventually if the public reviews are good.As per the advance booking report of the film till Thursday night, the movie had sold about 81931 tickets and collected Rs 2.5 crore in the advance bookings, according to Sacnilk. Talking about the expectations from the film on day 1, trade expert Taran Adarsh told ETimes, “I think the start is not going to be like the typical Aamir Khan starrer that we used to see in the past. I think the film will start slow, but will depend on the word of mouth. The start may be in single digits and if the word of mouth is very good, then I think it should cross the double digits on day one, but as of now, it’s looking like a single digit opening.”He added, “This is a word of mouth film. This is not a Dhoom or ‘Ghajini’ that will open with a bang. Now, as I said, it all depends on the public reports. I think Rs 7.5 to 8 crore is what we are looking at.”Film trade expert Girish Wankhede said, “‘Sitaara Zameen Par’ doesn’t look like a massive film. It looks typical, classy, elite film for the high-end, multiplex cutout. So, the way regular Aamir Khan films like PK, Dangal, performs, this one won’t do that way. Secondly, it is not a huge release. Instead of marketing, they are more invested in showcasing the characters with various celebrities.It has not touched the masses. Third thing is, there are no great songs. So, my expectation of the very first day is around 7 to 8 crores, which is very less compared to all the Aamir Khan releases. If the word of mouth is stronger, then it can just go out of the roof on Friday and Sunday.”Talking about the weekend numbers expected, in case the word of mouth is good, Wankhede adds, “At this moment, I can say that this film would not do more than 30-35 crores in the weekend, which is not a great number.”
Lesser screens for ‘Housefull 5 ‘
At the moment, ‘Housefull 5’ starring Akshay Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh, Abhishek Bachchan among others is dominating at the box office. It collected Rs 2.75 crore on Thursday which was day 14. The second week collection of the movie is now Rs 40 crore. The total collection of the movie so far is Rs 168 crore. But with the release of ‘Sitaare Zameen Par’, the number of screens for ‘Housefull 5’ will reduce. Taran Adarsh says, “Yes, that is going to be less. But in single screens, I think this film Housefull 5 will still be there. But major shows in multiplexes will be ‘Sitaare Zameen Par’.”However, Wankhede feels that since the genres of both are different, it won’t get affected. “Moreover, ‘Housefull 5’ is already beginning to steam out,” he said.If ‘Sitaare Zameen Par’ gets positive word of mouth, the film will have the entire week to find a place for itself at the box office. On June 27, Kajol starrer mythological thriller ‘Maa’ releases on screen which will give competition to ‘Sitaare Zameen Par’.
