On January 10, 2 Kannada films released in theatres, amid immense struggles to secure adequate screens/shows, what with one major Telugu movie also out on the same day, and more to follow in the days to come including from Tamil, for the Sankranti/Pongal festival. Choo Mantar and Nimma Vasthugalige Neeve Javaabdaararu were the Sankranti films from Kannada, and while the latter got overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics, and Sharan’s horror comedy got mixed response, the box office reception to both remained tepid.
This despite the fact that Ram Charan’s Gamechanger, which had hogged the majority of screens, opened to largely negative reviews. This is not to say that audiences in Bengaluru are not going to theatres – they are, just not for Kannada films, if the data by industry trackers is anything to go by. Earlier today, Karnataka Talkies reported a list of top 10 movies with the highest fast filling/sold out shows in Bengaluru and neither Choo Mantar nor Nimma Vasthugalige Neeve Javaabdaararu were on it.
Top 10 movies in Bengaluru as of early January 11
Topping the list was not Gamechanger, instead, it was a new Malayalam movie starring Asif Ali in the lead, namely Rekhachithram, with the Hindi re-release Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani coming in at number 2. The rest of the list includes films like Mufasa, Gamechanger, Nosferatu, Sonic 3, Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai (re-release), Moana 2, Marco and Rifle Club.
Rekhachithram, interestingly, has less than 100 shows in the city, more than half of which were fast filling as early as 9 am, which has only increased in the course of the day. Choo Mantar with 141 shows, was going green at the time the list was compiled. Kiccha Sudeep’s Max, with 119 shows, is also not on the list. It has been reported that the film is likely to end its theatrical run shortly and head to OTT.
This post was originally published on here
