Slumdog poised to gross Rs.300 mn in India

Mumbai, Feb 7 (IANS) Oscar contender "Slumdog Millionaire", which has received global critical acclaim and become a worldwide box-office success, has raked in Rs.215 million since its Jan 23 release in India and is expected to gross about Rs.300 million. "We expect 'Slumdog Millionaire' to make about Rs.300 million in India. Considering the fact that it is not one of the formula films, its box-office performance in India so far is really gratifying. Frankly, it was beyond our expectations," Vijay Singh, CEO of Fox Star Studios that brought the film to India, told IANS.

The money made by the film in India is nearly four percent of its worldwide collection of Rs.5.30 billion.

Fox Star has released both the English and Hindi versions of "Slumdog Millionaire" in India. Expectedly, the Hindi version, "Slumdog Crorepati" has fared better at the box-office, contributing 30 percent more to the distributor's kitty.

"The Hindi version is doing better business in the smaller centres. In fact, we had to increase the number of prints of the Hindi version in the second week of its run following the public demand in those centres," Singh said.

"Slumdog Millionare" opened with Rs.135 million overall and its per print earnings in second week stood at Rs.592,000 in an average, which is excellent for a film of its genre when taken into account that as many 363 prints of the film were in circulation in the second week of its run in India.

Although the number of prints has been reduced to 350 in the third week, according to Singh, multiplexes in some cities have increased the number of shows to cater to the demand.

The heart-warming story of a poor boy from the slums of Mumbai who goes on to win the Indian version of TV game show "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" has won top prizes from the Directors Guild of America, Screen Actors Guild and Producers Guild of America, as also the Golden Globes and Critics' Choice Awards.

The film by British Director Danny Boyle is also leading in the Oscar race with 10 nominations. Click the Movie button below for more info:
Slumdog Crorepati