Ishaqzaade Weekend Box-Office: Rs 16 Crore

Ishaqzaade was clearly the first choice of all cine-goers once it released on 11 May and took a good start all over. If the morning shows sent out positive signals, evening and night shows were even better, hence ensuring that rest of the weekend was bountiful as well. It was expected that the film would take a 50% opening and see better footfalls if accepted. This was exactly the case as the Habib Faisal directed affair collected close to Rs. 16 crore in its first three days which, as far as one remembers, is the best start that a film featuring a debutant has ever taken.

Arjun Kapoor, who didn’t quite make a flashy entry into Bollywood and had a faux pas in the form of Virus Diwan (which never got made and was shelved in favour of Ishaqzaade), is clearly the new toast of the town as his natural act has been appreciated all over. 
Parineeti Chopra is now sitting pretty amongst the promising newcomers as well, and the audience too has given a green signal to both youngsters. This means that even though the film did find some criticism coming it’s way from some quarters, by and large the response was positive which means even the weekdays won’t see a crash.

Since films coming from the house of Yash Raj Films boast of in-house economics, the costs are cut down and various rights (satellite, music, DVD etc.) ensure return for such medium budget affairs. With box-office throwing good moolah as well, Ishaqzaade is fast moving towards the ‘semi-hit’ mark at the least and may do even better if it holds on well in the second week (despite opposition from Department).