Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt-starrer ‘Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahaani’ is nearing the mark of Rs 100 crore within the first week having already earned nearly 92 crores so far. But it would seem that this success may not last long, as the film is not expected to make anything more than Rs 120-130 crores in its overall lifetime.
Film trade expert Karan Taurani of Elara Capital told IANS: “ ‘Rocky Aur Rani’ is very typical Bollywood content, something that almost everyone has seen and everyone knows what to expect. So at this point while the Rs. 100 crore mark was expected, it is unlikely to go beyond Rs. 120-130 crore in its overall lifetime collections.”
When asked how this figure compares to other big movies like ‘Pathaan’, he said “These are very different films, and ‘Rocky Aur Rani’ was nowhere nearly within that same league. Even during pre-Covid times, the movie would have been expected to make little over 250 crores, and the current figures are nothing surprising.”
Asked if Hollywood films, particularly the success of ‘Oppenheimer’ in India has impacted the movie, he said: “Yes most definitely. Over 10-15% loss was caused just by ‘Oppenheimer’. People crave different content these days, ‘Oppenheimer’ had something else to offer, while ‘Rocky Aur Rani’ was your very typical Bollywood film, so people already knew what to expect.”
Referring to the Tom Cruise movie ‘Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One’ he said “MI7 had already finished by the time the movie hit theatres, but even that had a big impact. Again, as I said, people just want something new.”
On whether the upcoming big budget Indian films like ‘Gadar 2’ and ‘Jailer’ will also affect its collections, Taurani said: “That is definitely a factor. In fact, if you take ‘Oppenheimer’ and some of these other big Hollywood movies that has already resulted in a strong loss.”
“But ‘Gadar 2’ and ‘Jailer’ will very easily surpass this collection as for August they are the two biggest films which are greatly awaited. And ‘Rocky Aur Rani’s entire success is very momentary. This will fizzle out very soon. So don’t really expect it to make any more than 120-130 crores as its lifetime collection.”
When asked about how the audience has viewed the movie due to it getting a very mixed reception, he said: “I mean, as I said before, you have ‘Oppenheimer’, you have ‘Gadar 2’, ‘Jailer’ and all these other bigger movies that have or will come out. So if you take all that in, ‘Rocky Aur Rani’ has just performed within expectations. It may go past a little more, but 120-130 crores is the maximum you can expect.”
On the impact of OTT, Taurani said: “That is a yes and no, because OTT is not just specific to ‘Rocky Aur Rani’, it has affected everything. So while you cannot rule out OTT I don’t think it has that much to do with anything.”
‘Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani’ has every element of a Bollywood romance-masala classic, but that formulaic approach may just be what relegates it to the section of a one-time watch, as many big movies have come out at the end of July and in the beginning of August.