The sweet and simple love story of a mute and deaf boy in Barfi! seems to have touched the heartstrings of viewers who are still flocking theatres to savour the unconventional romantic flavour. On the other hand, Heroine, with an overdose of glitz, doesn’t seem to have the same effect on the moviegoers.
It is obvious from the fact that the Rs300 million (Dh21 million)-Barfi!, released September 14, has raked in Rs820 million net at the domestic box-office, while Heroine, which released a week later, has garnered just Rs320 million. Made at a budget of Rs200 million, it has recovered the cost, but is not as big a success as Barfi!.
Both the films have been produced and distributed by Disney UTV.
“Barfi is performing exceedingly well across all international markets. The movie is resonating with audience and such sustenance across second weekend and weekdays is rare to see in recent times! Exhibitors all across have retained a good number of shows despite new releases,” Amrita Pandey, executive director — syndication, international distribution, Studios, Disney UTV, said in a statement.
Barfi! is India’s official entry to the prestigious Academy Awards in Best Foreign Language Film.
Gaurav Verma, director, India Theatrical Distribution, Studios, Disney UTV, says that it is like “icing on the cake”.
“The second weekend saw more and more people coming in for the film and seeing the response we are in talks with exhibitors to add more screens,” he added.
As far as the international markets are concerned Barfi! seems to be ruling the roost there too. It has earned $4.82 million (Dh17.6 million), while Heroine’s collection is $1.75 million as of Tuesday.
But Pandey claims that none of the female-centric films in recent years have received a response as good as Heroine.
She said Heroine had a “phenomenal opening in all major international markets. “This was a highly anticipated movie and our marketing push has helped pull in massive crowds to theatres,” she added.
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