Indian star Kareena Kapoor Khan’s latest Hindi film, The Buckingham Murders is directed by filmmaker Hansal Mehta (Aligarh, Shahid, Omerta fame). Produced by Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji Motion Pictures, the film has managed to score a little above $950,000 in the first four days at the ticket windows in India while the film’s global collections crossed a million dollars by Monday.
The Buckingham Murders
Directed by Mehta, The Buckingham Murders is enriched with Khan’s presence as the lead character of a bereaving mom tasked with solving a murder in London. The film was shot in rural England with a predominantly British crew. The Buckingham Murders premiered at the BFI London Film Festival last year and was widely praised for the heart-wrenching story and performances.
Critics are comparing the film to the 2020 HBO drama, Mare of Easttown. Khan, too, had earlier confirmed to Variety that her role was modelled on Kate Winslet’s role from Mare of Easttown. The gripping crime thriller boasts of an emotional core.
The Buckingham Murders: BO report
After an opening of $170,000 in India, The Buckingham Murders collections saw a slight rise to $220,000. On Sunday, the film’s third day at the box office, the crime thriller earned nearly $300,000. The Buckingham Murders collected below $10,000 on Monday, making a four-day total of $985,000 in India. While the numbers are quite low, it is a decent start for the film as serious thrillers do not generally pull crowds to theatres in India.
The Greatest of All Time Among top earners globally
Written and directed by Venkat Prabhu, The Greatest of All Time released in theatres on September 5 and has been raking huge numbers at the box office. Featuring Joseph Vijay in the lead role, the film also stars Jayaram, and Prabhu Deva. The film has entered the third week at the ticket windows and is already inching towards a global score of $50 million. By the end of the second weekend, it had earned $46.7 million. The Greatest of All Time was listed among Comscore’s global top list for top earning films worldwide in the weekend ending September 15.
Re-releases in India
Given a lack of fresh films and the fate of some big-ticket Hindi films at the box office, exhibitors and producers are re-releasing several Hindi films in theatres. Over the past weekend, Tumbbad, Tujhe Meri Kasam, Veer Zara, Padosan and Bombay To Goa hit theatres.
First released in 2003, Tujhe Meri Kasam marked the Bollywood debut of Genelia D’Souza and Riteish Deshmukh. Directed by K. Vijaya Bhaskar, the film is best-known for the charming chemistry between the lead pair. It explored the journey of childhood friend turning into lovers.
Veer Zara is headlined by Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta and Rani Mukerjee and Manoj Bajpayee. The film first released in 2004. Directed by Yash Chopra, it is set against the backdrop of India-Pakistan relations and traces the love story of an Indian Air Force officer, and a Pakistani woman. Jyoti Swaroop’s 1986 comedy film Padosan features Kishore Kumar, Sunil Dutt, Saira Banu, Mehmood and Mukri in lead roles. S Ramanathan’s Bombay To Goa released in 1972 and stars Amitabh Bachchan, Aruna Irani, Mehmood, Shatrughan Sinha and Lalita Pawar.
Tumbbad springs a Box Office surprise
Among the re-releases, Tumbbad has scored the best. Directed by Rahi Anil Barve, Tumbbad was widely appreciated by critics when it released in 2018 but failed to do much at the ticket windows. Set in pre-Independence era of India, the film tells the story of Vinayak Rao (Sohum Shah) who is obsessed with a hidden treasure tied to a cursed goddess. Featuring Mohammad Samad and Jyoti Malshe alongside Shah, the movie explores the themes of greed, and mythology. The film benefits from the mesmerizing visuals, eerie atmosphere, and unique storytelling. The producers have announced a sequel to the film on the sidelines of the re-release.
Tumbbad earned a little more than The Buckingham Murders over the first weekend of its re-release, making a good start. By the end of the fourth day, the horror-fantasy film scored nearly $1.2 million in India.
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