The Conjuring isn't the scariest film of all time ... and yet it works

The Conjuring isn't the scariest film of all time and certainly not a cinematic phenomenon that you shouldn't dare miss. Period.

But the monstrous box office success ($200 million and counting), the overtly positive reviews and the high pitched marketing campaign, even in India, suggests otherwise. Indeed, the movie has got a few spine chilling sequences that can truly scare the hell out of you (In fact, during one of those scenes, a girl sitting next to my friend squeezed his wrist so tightly that the poor guy almost screamed writhing in pain.) Yet The Conjuring breaks no new grounds. It isn't as scary as The Exorcist or The Evil Dead (a movie which can give me sleepless nights even today). It doesn't explores a new genre in horror like Paranormal Activity franchise. The film doesn't even has that suspense angle to all the supernatural activity that catapulted The Ring and The Grudge to a great success.

In spite having none of the above, The Conjuring works; and works pretty effectively.

Byomkesh Bakhshi returns in 2014

Dibakar Banerjee's next venture is perhaps his most ambitious and difficult one.

I'm not trying to undermine his previous work here which includes gems like Khosla ka Ghosla, Love Sex aur Dhokha and Shanghai. The last film, in particular, was a very complex movie to make. in each of these films, Banerjee had tried his hands in the genres that find few takers in Bollywood. Khosla ka Ghosla was a black comedy while Shanghai was a political thriller. His new film also deals with a genre explored rarely in the Hindi film industry - Detective fiction. And he has decided to bring onscreen a character which has seen a no. of incarnations in the past, one as recent as 2010, and is hugely popular among its fans.

Detective Byomkesh Bakhshi, produced by Yash Raj Films, is the new film being directed by Banarjee.

Why Pacific Rim deserved success?

I am thoroughly disappointed with the failure of Pacific Rim.

Ramaiya Vastavaiya - A 30 crore gamble on a dated plot

Few readers might find me unreasonable discussing Ramaiya Vastavaiya since I haven't watched it (and no, I am not willing to sacrifice 2 and half hours of my life even if someone offers me a free PVR ticket. Temple Run is a far more engaging option if I have to waste my time). I remember how my jaw dropped (ok, I'm exaggerating a bit) upon seeing a guy sporting ridiculous hair and smiling like a buffoon romancing Shruti Hassan (Aww!) in the movie's trailer. I did wonder how on earth someone could commit a crime of pairing a svelte actress like Shruti opposite that guy. Of course, I didn't even make a feeble attempt at gaining some valuable information about this guy which would enlighten me. It was only when he and Prabhudeva appeared on few reality shows to promote the film (sans Shruti Hassan. See, how even the most basic element of the promotion of a film - glamour - is sacrificed at the altar of ... read on) that I came to know that he is a new entrant to that exclusive club which consists of distinguishing members like Harman Baweja and Jackie Bhagnani (Didn't recognize them by names? Don't worry, just give a close look to the privileged surnames and you will know). Anyway, this article is not about the 'poor guy' (of course, not in the literal sense). The thought of writing this piece occurred to me when I read few reviews of the film and came to know that the cost of film was close to, (gulp!), 30 crore.

Success of Medium Budgeted Films with Little Face Value in 2013 in Bollywood

Unlike Hollywood, Bollywood has always been a place where new faces have found it tough to enjoy success in their very initial outing unless they come from a family of film stars. Even after the advent of multiplexes and acceptance of content different from the conventional Bollywood films, very few movies led by newcomers, or in the terms of trade, lacking face value have done well in last few years. However, this year has been an exception. Most of the big budget star driven vehicles have given disappointing returns while medium budget films with newer faces have performed very well. Films like Kai Po Che, Aashiqui 2, Fukrey and Raanjhanaa  were never expected to put up big numbers. But the results have been completely different. The acceptance of these films by the audience is not only heartening but encouraging as well for the Hindi film industry.

Hollywood Box Office Update: Despicable Me 2 Great Opening, The Lone Ranger is a Failure

Despicable Me 2, the sequel to the 2010 surprise hit, had a great opening with its first five days yielding $142.1 million. The film was released on Wednesday to reap the benefits of fourth of July weekend and it grabbed the opportunity with both hands. The films has scored one of the best openings for an animation film and good word of mouth suggests that the film will play very well in the coming weeks.

Bollywood Box Office: Lootera Average Beginning, Policegiri is a Disaster

The first two Bollywood releases of the second half of the year haven't really set the box office on fire. Vikramaditya Motwane's Lootera starring Ranveer Singh and Sonakshi Sinha had a slow start in most of the screens across the country; though the film did pick up later on and earned close to 17 crore in its first weekend. The figures are not that great, but the film's healthy growth on Saturday and Sunday suggest good word of mouth. So, if the film manages to get good collections on weekdays, it has got a chance to score at the box office.

Hollywood Box Office Update: Monsters University Tops Again, The Heat is a Solid Success but White House Down Falters

This week's two new releases couldn't go past Monsters University as the Disney Pixar movie earned $45 million to retain its position. The animation hit has so far earned in excess of $170 million. Amongst the new releases, comedy The Heat had a super opening of around $39 million. This was easily the best opening ever for its stars Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy  The same can't be said for Channing Tatum as his movie White House Down had a disappointing opening of  just under $25 million. It was also one of the lowest debuts for  its director Roland Emmerich who has given huge hits in past like Independence Day and 2012. 

Bollywood Box Office Update: Ghanchakkar is a Disappointment, Ranjhanaa is a Success

This week's major release Ghanchakkar has fallen flat at the box office. There were a lot of hopes from this film considering track record of its lead actors Emraan Hashmi and Vidya Balan as well as director Rajkumar Gupta who had previously given offbeat hits like Aamir and No One Killed Jessica. But the hopes were dashed with slow opening and mixed reports. Ghanchakkar had an average weekend of just around 19 crore,and the collections had a huge fall on monday. The trending suggests that the film won't go a long distance.

World War Z Review

Before moving ahead with the review of World War Z, I would like to ask the zombie genre fans, who have loved the gore in George A. Romero's films, got thrilled in Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later and stunned by the human drama in The Walking Dead, to forget whatever they have seen so far. Unless you do so, you won't be able to enjoy and appreciate the latest Brad Pitt apocalypse thriller.

Hollywood Box Office Update: Monsters University and World War Z Open Very Well

Hollywood had a sunny day at the box office as both the new releases exceeded expectations and opened very well. Monsters University kept the Disney Pixar record intact at the box office as it opened at no.1 position with the weekend estimate of $82 million. This was the second best debut for a Pixar film after Toy Story 3's $110 million haul in 2010. The sequel to the Monsters Inc. (2001) carries good reports and will very easily crack $200 million.

Bollywood Box Office Update: Raanjhanaa Fair Opening, Fukrey Emerges Surprise Success

This week saw release of three Bollywood films and one Hollywood flick. None of them, though, could set the box office on fire. South Star Dhanush's debut film Raanjhanaa had an average opening but the movie picked up in the evening. Though the reports are fair, the film needs to do well on the weekend considering its budget and marketing costs. Neil Nitin Mukesh registered another failure as his new film Shortcut Romeo had disastrous beginning at the box office. It will be a huge flop. Enemmy had neither buzz, nor star power and so the film was a non-starter from the beginning. Lastly, Brad Pitt starrer World War Z had an average beginning at the box office. The genre of the film is niche (zombies) and so the film hasn't been given wide release like Iron man 3, Fast and Furious 6 and Man of Steel.

World War Z Preview

This week sees the release of Brad Pit starrer World War Z, a post apocalyptic thriller. The film is one of the most anticipated summer movies. It has been directed by Marc Forster of Quantum of Solace fame. The plot of the film follows the typical zombie genre style. The world has fallen victim to zombie pandemic and UN employee Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) has to find a way to stop it before the clock runs out of time and the humanity perishes.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug First Trailer Released

The first promo of the The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, the second part in the The Hobbit trilogy was released few days back. The first movie, The Unexpected Journey, was a grand success at the box office and the second part is expected to emulate it. In the sequel, Bilbo Baggins, along with Gandalf and the company of dwarves, continue with his journey towards the lonely mountain where the dragon Smaug is with their gold.

Top Hits Bollywood in First Half of 2013

This hasn't been a great year for Bollywood so far as only handful films have been able to make a mark on the box office while a no. of big and medium budget films have bitten the dust. Nevertheless, there is a silver lining in a way that good films saw fair box office collections and mostly it was sub par stuff that was rejected. Let's have a look at the top Bollywood hits this year.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier Sneak Peek

Captain America: The Winter Soldier, sequel to the 2011 superhero film, is one of the most awaited films of 2014. The movie, which is being produced by Marvel Studios, sees Chris Evans returning in the lead role. He has been paired with Scarlett Johansson who will be reprising her role of Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow. The sequel also stars Samuel L Jackson, Robert Redford and Cobie Smulders.

Indian Box Office Update: Low Weekend for Fukrey, Ye Jawaani Hai Deewani Goes Past 160 Crore Mark

Fukrey didn't show much growth on Saturday and Sunday as the weekend figures came out to be around 9.5 crore. The film did decent business in North but elsewhere collections were not good and so the overall weekend business was on the lower side. The figures aren't bad but the film was marketed well and so expectations were higher than this. The weekdays will be the key now because a standard fall from Friday to Monday would mean that the film will end the week one with below par figures of 12-13 crore.

Hollywood Box Office: Man of Steel Has a Record Opening

The new Superman film Man of Steel had an impressive start at the US box office. The Zack Snyder directed $225 million budgeted superhero film with Henry Cavill in the title role grossed around $125 million in the weekend. It was a new record for the month of June as the movie went past Toy Story 3's debut of $110.3 million. In the second place was another new film This is the End. The R-rated comedy had a good opening as well as it notched up $32.8 million by Sunday.

Bollywood: 5 Biggest Flops in 2013

This hasn't been a good year for Bollywood so far after a record-breaking 2012. A lot of blame lies with the sub-par products that producers & directors have dished out this year. We will be having an analysis of first half of 2013 at the end of the month. Before that let's have a look at some of the films that were expected to put up big numbers at the box office. However their failure led to huge losses to the distributors.

                                                  1. Himmatwala

 There was a time when Sajid Khan could do no wrong. Critical failure had not reflected in any of his previous three films. In fact, each subsequent film was a bigger hit than the previous one. Himmatwala, the remake of 1980s potboiler, looked like another winner. The promo suggested that it had all the necessary ingredients needed for a full blown masala movie.100 crore were right there on the cards and the only right question then seemed 'in how many days'. Himmatwala opened well and then very quickly lost the steam. The movie, which was expected to rake in more than 50 crore in first three days, couldn't hit the half-century in its entire run.

                                                       2.  Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola

Vishal Bharadwaj's films are critics' darling most of the time, but apart from Kaminey (2009), none of his films have been very successful at the box office. In spite of that Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola looked like a potential hit. The intriguing promo as well as hit music had generated enough curiosity for the film to open well. However it turned out to be the first critical failure for Bharadwaj in many years. The viewers too couldn't understand it and the film turned out to be the first big budget debacle of the year.

                                                                  3. Ek Thi Daayan 

Horror films like Raaz 3 and 1920 Returns had done well last year & it had proved that horror cinema had the audience. Ek Thi Daayan had a lot going for it. The lead star Emraan Hashmi has a good track record in this genre. The movie was marketed very well too. In spite of that the movie had an average beginning and couldn't consolidate. Clearly the producer and director failed to create the right product for the fans of the horror films.

                                                                    4. Aurangzeb

The promo of the film was good, even if not great, and the star cast had some well recognized names like Arjun Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Jackie Shroff and Prithviraj. Aurangzeb was produced by Yash Raj Films whose Ishaqzaade starring the same lead hero in his debut role was a good summer success. It didn't happen this time though as the crime thriller failed to arouse enough curiosity that could reflect in the film's collections. It turned out to be one of the major disappointments of the summer.

                                                        5. Yamla Pagla Deewana 2

The sequels have been doing well in Bollywood and the original was well received by the viewers in 2011. This time they had a very favourable release spot as well as the movie opened in the fist week of June. However Yamla Pagla Deewana 2 was hit by the poor word of mouth from the very beginning. As a result the film failed to surpass the first week collections of the original in week one; and it was expected to outgross that in first three days itself. 

300: Rise of an Empire First Trailer Released

The first trailer of 300: Rise of an Empire was released last week. The new film is the sequel to the 2007 mega hit 300 starring Gerard Butler. The sequel sees the entry of new actors like Sullivan Stapleton and Eva Green. Few characters from the original also return for the sequel.Lena Headey reprises the role of Queen Gorgo while Rodrigo Santoro will be playing Xerxes, the God king of Persia again. Zack Snyder serves as producer in the film which has been directed by Noam Murro.