MUMBAI: Yash Raj Film‘s latest offering Rocket Singh - Salesman of The Year opened below expectations. In its opening weekend, the Ranbir Kapoor-starrer did a net business of around Rs 102 million in India.

Going by the manner in which Ranbir‘s earlier two films Wake Up Sid and Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani fared at the opening, everyone was expecting the latest Yash Raj product to have a flying start, moreso, because the film was a product of Shimit Amin and Jaideep Sahni, the architects of the super hit YRF Film Chak De!India.

Said trade analyst NP Yadav, "Rocket Singh had an dull opening on Friday, was a little better on Saturday but on Sunday, it did show better collections. On the whole, the overall weekend remained well below the mark."

According to industry sources, the film began with a 20 to 40 per cent start at certain plexes while single-screens reported a start between 10 to 15 per cent. The opening day saw a occupancy of around 30 to 40 per cent at multiplexes. On the overall, the film‘s opening business was much below expectations.

Avers Fun Cinema COO Vishal Kapur, "This film will not be liked by all and sundry, but what we have gathered from the people who have seen it, Rocket Singh - Salesman of The Year is a good film. Though the film‘s opening was average with around 30 per cent occupancy, the word-of-mouth publicity going around may see the film pick up in the coming days."

Meanwhile, the coming Friday will see James Cameron‘s 3D film, Avatar hit the screens, which has created a hype because of its special effects.

"Every film will perform on their own merits, but the Avatar rage will definitely have an impact on their box-office performance," says Kapur. "The 3D spectacle is bound to create anxiety among viewers who have read a lot about the making of the film. I think the box-office turnout during the weekend would be fantastic with most of the shows booked well in advance."

Meanwhile, Paa grossed Rs 50 million in its second weekend, taking its 10-day total to around 210 million.

Insiders in the industry hope that the film would be able to generate a business of around Rs 70 million this week.