LEAVING trade publicists spinning further, My Name Is Khan (MNIK) crashed by around 70 per cent again over its 2nd weekend. In India, the film could barely net over eight crore; helped comparatively by Mumbai’s 65 per cent crash compared to the blowout in places like Indore (on a 80 per cent + nosedive) in middle India. The film generally has been in relapse since opening. Even where its not a washout the drops have been huge. At this point, My Name Is Khan is looking at a 55-60 crore run at the end in the country and a boatload of losses.
Outside India, if the hopes were to compensate the losses in India with a Slumdog Millionaire type run overseas, that is not going to happen. My Name Is Khan has crashed in USA also dropping over 64 per cent in its 2nd weekend. Never mind Slumdog Millionaire, it won’t be able to catch 3 Idiots from bollywood itself overseas. And the irony is 3 Idiots was set in India not San Francisco. UK’s heavy Muslim/Pakistani population supported MNIK better with drop of around 50 per cent but in the end this segment won’t be nearly enough.
Overall the 100 crore film needing 250 crore gross revenues for the distributor has come out cropper and will be a major loser. The optimistic estimates are losses of 15-20 crore. With the release of Amitabh Bachchan’s Teen Patti and Karthik calling Karthik, followed by the likes of Athithi Kab Jaoge the chances for My Name Is Khan are pretty much over. Suffice to say Fox International will not be burning its hands on Shah rukh Khan or ‘My Name is Khan’ type cinema anytime soon.
The film is not a Dulha Mil Gaya but in the end, My Name Is Khan has been rejected across the vast preponderance of India and is a major commercial loser; arguably Shahrukh Khan’s biggest flop. In immediate box office terms the comparision points to last year’s flop Qurbaan but in historical box office and symbolic terms it may be comparable to Anil Kapoor’s Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja, the box office debacle of 1993, which essentially ended his claim as a box office superstar after an excellent 1980s and early/mid 90s.
I too agree. I saw the movie a week before its release in a special show organised by my friend and party colleague Shaina NC and Shahrukh’s family in Delhi. This was one Sharukh movie that made me want to leave early but I couldn’t do so out of courtesy to my hosts. Kudos to those who endured it !
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