MUMBAI: Compared to its first weekend haul of Rs 650 million (Rs 480 million domestically and Rs 170 million internationally), Rakesh Roshan and Reliance Big Pictures‘ Kites took a severe dip and managed to garner just Rs 300 million in its second weekend.

The most expensive film ever, in terms of the distribution price paid by Reliance Big Pictures, Kites had to perform very well at the box-office, in its first two weeks, to recover a sizeable amount of the investment.

The negative feedback that the film received after the first day of release gave way to cracks that were visible on the first Saturday and then from Monday onwards. Many viewers across India came to know that Kites was not in Hindi and hence gave the film a miss.

Comments Fun Cinemas COO Vishal Kapur, "Though Kites did terrific business in the initial three days of its release, footfalls started receding from Monday onwards. I can only say that the film has been falling noticeably at the box-office. We will have a few shows of the film here and there for another two weeks."

Says a trade analyst on condition of anonymity, "Yes, the film was ideally
targeted to gross between Rs 1.2 to Rs 1.3 billion, but that was not to be. Though the film‘s performance in India is poor, the result of the English and the Spanish versions has yet to come in. Nothing is over yet. There‘s still time. It‘s better to wait and watch."

The film will find fresh competition with the release of Prakash Jha and UTV Motion Pictures‘ Rajneeti this week.

Meanwhile, Prince of Persia, that opened last Friday, has had a bumper opening in major metros. "It registered 70 to 80 per cent occupancy in its first weekend and is bound to do good business in the coming weeks," discloses Kapur.

On the other hand, Paramount‘s Shrek Forever After continued to attract audiences even in its second week. "Though the opening was not as expected for a franchise as big as ‘Shrek‘, the film recorded footfalls between 40 and 50 per cent all throughout the first week," notes Kapur.