Jhoom Barabar Jhoom has opened with a bang and taken the biggest opening of the year at the box office. The reports on the film are indeed somewhat bipolar. Sections of masses are patronizing the entertainment quotient in droves, while others haven't followed suit. But as far as box office collections go, the weekend alone will ensure huge grosses for the week. Shaad Ali's previous supergrosser Bunty aur Babli followed a similar pattern (huge opening-divided response-cult audience-massive collections in the end). At this point, it is unclear if JBJ will follow suit but the film should emerge an earner at the least, with collections being ahead of the other 2007 hits right from the start. The film has had a somewhat mild release overseas but in India it has launched 240 prints in Bombay circuit alone and is booked out for the weekend even in theaters in Chennai where its facing a huge opposition in the form of Rajnikanth's Tamil Blockbuster Sivaji. Its collections in E. Punjab and even Bengal should be outstanding as well.
Had JBJ not released this week however, the movie that would most likely have continued to rule is the current sustaining hit of the season, Cheeni Kum. As reported earlier, CK overtook the multistarrer Shootout at Lokhandwala in India mid-way in the 2nd week and has been the top grosser since. While other films have been tumbling, Cheeni Kum's 3rd week collections are identical to week 2 and more prints have been added in a number of centers.
