The initial box office collections of the Abhishek Bachchan-Aishwarya Rai starrer Raavan today (June 18) is way below the mark. In the big cities, the average collection of the first show was 50-60 per cent, whereas the initial in smaller places was in the region of 20-35 per cent.

While good multiplexes in A-class cities did record around 70 per cent attendance in the first show of the day, the position was not the same in the smaller multiplexes and, of course, in smaller cities and towns.

Opening a dampner

When compared to the opening of similarly hyped recent releases, Raajneeti and Kites, the opening of Mani Ratnam’s Raavan could be considered a dampner. Several stations of Gujarat like Nadiad, Valsad, etc., reported barely 20 per cent attendance.

In Bombay, PVR multiples in Juhu recorded around 25 per cent in the first show (10 am) and approximately 45 per cent attendance in the second show (10.30 am). The properties of PVR in Goregaon and Mulund reported better collection than its Juhu property but not as good as Raajneeti.

The position at Fun Republic in Bombay was not very different. Movietime multiplex at Goregaon (East) in Bombay fared better with around 70 per cent collection in the opening show.

In Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, the first show collection at Movie World and Movie Magic multiplex were in the region of 70 per cent. Cinemax properties in Ahmedabad recorded barely 25 per cent opening. In Jaipur, the collections at Inox Crystal Palm and Inox Vaibhav were not more than 40-50 per cent, which is not considered very encouraging in the opening shows.

Unexciting trailers the culprit

In spite of the film’s music becoming popular, if the Ash-Abhishek starrer could not take a decent start, the fate is being blamed on the unexciting trailers of the film. Many in the trade feel that the promos failed to convey much to the public.

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