Namaloom Afraad is having a good run at the box office as its collection outruns Operation 021’s in terms of box office collection as of today. According to NMA’s director Nabeel Qureshi the movie has earned Rs50.5 (5.5 crore) million since its release on October 6, while Operation 021’s representative tells us it has earned approximately Rs40.75 million (4.75 crore). Namaloom Afraad is clearly the winner here.
Qureshi was asked the reason for NMA’s success and he replied,
“I didn’t ask the audience to solve an MCQ or a Math question. I just gave them a film which entertained them fully and maybe this was NMA’s USP. IT is pure entertainment. Pakistani movies usually lack this quotient; the recent releases have been intelligent, intense but they lack entertainment.”
Complexes and Multiplexes across Pakistan have also started allotting more screens to NMA instead of 021 because people are more interested in watching the entertainer. There was a rumor doing rounds that Operation 021 was being replaced by NMA but it was proven wrong when we spoke to a representative of Karachi’s Atrium cinema, “We haven’t been replacing Operation 021 with Namaloom Afraad, we’re just planning more shows for NMA due to the demand.”
Entertainment saved the day for NMA and overly convoluted plot may have held Operation 021 back.
The ‘opening day’ battle
As both directors Nabeel Qureshi and Jami congratulate each other on a job well done the question that remained that which of the holiday releases really did better at the box office during the Eid holidays. There is little in the way of ‘official figures’ when it comes to television ratings and box office figures and us entertainment reporters often struggle to piece together numbers from various sources and hope that they we haven’t been bamboozled.
While 021 failed to attract audiences in Karachi’s cinemas downtown like Bambino and Capri the film was welcomed in multiplexes in Punjab. Conversely, Namaloom Afraad’s unique brand of humor and borrowed from television cast was received particularly warmly in Karachi.
The big budget Bollywood competition Bang Bang (Hrithik Roshan, Katrina Kaif) performed well at the box office since its release on October 2nd but reportedly the two Pakistani films Namaloom Afraad and Operation 021 fought back valiantly to grab the first and second spot in terms of box office collection. In all, it was a great week for cinemas in Pakistan as they collected over Rs50 million/5 crore which is an all-time high for any Eid season in Pakistan.
Considering the audiences’ enthusiasm for local movies, generally positive reviews for both movies and advance bookings in cinemas Eid season was highly profitable for the exhibitors.
Bang Bang collected approximately Rs7.6 million on first day of Eid while Namaloom Afraad and Operation 021 earned Rs 4.5 and Rs5.5 million respectively on their opening day, according to The Express Tribune.
According to a source at Team 021, Namaloom Afraad had an opening of around Rs7.2 million while 021 earned approximately Rs9.5 million.
If we consider figures from various available sources we come to the conclusion that the first day belonged to Bang Bang, the second day of Eid saw a downfall in collection for Bang Bang whereas an uphill journey for Operation 021 and Namaloom Afraad.
Jami and Summer Nicks directorial venture did witness its set of hurdles. The crowd in two of the oldest cinemas, Capri and Bambino, reportedly didn’t appreciate the English script in Operation 021 and ‘threw bottles’ midway. This incident happened during the 12pm show at Bambino. Later, 021’s director and producers held a press conference to demand an inquiry into the matter as they thought the cinema-owners and distributors were responsible for the incident.
Namaloom Afraad had a good run as it was as Pakistani as a movie could get. Fahad Mustafa’s successful run on ARY digital’s game show Jeeto Pakistan might also have played an important role in gathering a tumultuous audience. And Javed Sheikh’s presence added substance to the already well thought out movie.
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