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Curious case of Uri’s box office run; Oscars 2019 kept entertainment quotient high this week

It has been 40 days since Uri: The Surgical Strike released but it is still enjoying an uninterrupted run -- an usual scenario especially for a mid-budget film.

February 23, 2019 / 01:38 PM IST

The Indian box office witnessed a surprising trend this week with Uri: The Surgical Strike not losing steam and continuing its strong momentum in theatres. This is despite a new release that created a lot of buzz -- Ranveer Singh-starrer Gully Boy.

While many flocked to the theatres to watch the musical drama, the audience for the thriller was not less either. It has been 40 days since the film released but it is still enjoying an uninterrupted run. This is not a usual scenario especially for a mid-budget film.

What is more surprising is that the film’s weekday collections are strong when typically the numbers go down. In the opening week, the film’s business stood at Rs 71.26 crore and then went on to Rs 62.77 crore, Rs 37.02 crore, Rs 29.34 crore, Rs 18.74 crore, Rs 11.58 crore, during second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth week, respectively.

The film has remained unaffected by Gully Boy even in overseas market. Uri’s worldwide collections has gone above Rs 308 crore as it added Rs 43 crore until its sixth Saturday.

Trade analysts also believe that the film could overtake Toilet: Ek Prem Katha (Rs 316.61 crore), Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (Rs 318 crore) and Ek Tha Tiger (Rs 320 crore) before the end of its theatrical run.

It remains unclear if another new release, multi-starrer Total Dhamaal, will have any impact on Uri’s collection. However, the feat that the film has achieved is remarkable as it is Bollywood’s first Rs 200-crore film of 2019.

In the wake of the Pulwama terror attack, makers of two films -- Total Dhamaal and Luka Chuppi -- have decided to not release the films in Pakistan. Producers have also cancelled contracts with Pakistani distributors for other films like Diljit Dosanjh-starrer Arjun Patiala and Rajkumar Rao's Made in China.

According to film trade analysts, Pakistan is an important market for Indian films and the decision to not release films there could impact the overall business.

However, the film industry is not alone in this decision. The music industry has also taken a stand to cancel contracts with Pakistani singers. T-Series is one of them.

On the international front, Oscars made headlines for a lot of reasons. One was due to the announcement of Kevin Hart as the host of Academy Awards. When the comedian’s old homophobic tweets resurfaced and he refused to apologise for the same, the Academy decided to go ahead with the awards ceremony this year with no host.

Then, the decision to announce awards for film editing, live-action short films and makeup and hairstyling before the ceremony, with speeches broadcast at a later point, drew a lot of flak. Later, the Academy announced that all 24 awards would be revealed live.

The 91st Academy Awards will be telecast live on February 24.

Maryam Farooqui
first published: Feb 23, 2019 01:29 pm

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