The comic caper Housefull 5 performed well at the box office over the weekend as it collected more than Rs. 80 crores. It wasn’t just another laugh riot; it is a murder mystery and moreover, two versions of the film were released. Named Housefull 5A and Housefull 5B, it had two different endings, that is, the murderer differed. The strategy caught attention and further added to the chatter around the film. In this special feature, we’ll analyse whether this strategy paid dividends to the makers at the ticket window.
On Wednesday, we reported that the distributors and makers have planned to divide shows equally between the two versions and in single screens, 3 shows of 5A will be played and two shows of 5B will be played. But on the day of release, it became clear that 5A was getting more preference from the viewers. Accordingly, theatres reduced shows of Housefull 5B from Saturday or Sunday.
Bollywood Hungama looked at cinemas across the country to check the showcasing on Sunday and Monday. Many cinemas had reduced the shows of Housefull 5B on Sunday and it further went down on Monday.
Cinepolis Thane played 28 shows of 5A and 10 shows of 5B on Sunday. On Monday, the sprawling multiplex will play 29 shows of 5A and 7 shows of 5B. MovieTime Hub Goregaon has reduced 5B's shows from 5 on Sunday to 3 on Monday.
PVR Lower Parel played 10 shows of both Housefull 5A and 5B on Sunday. An industry insider explained, “Some cinemas had opened bookings until Sunday and patrons must have booked some tickets in every show. Hence, many cinemas didn't change the schedule until Sunday but will make the change from Monday.”
From Monday, PVR Lower Parel will play 6 shows of 5B while 5A will have 13 shows a day. The same applies to MovieMax Sion. From 5 shows to both 5A and 5B on Sunday, the schedule was tweaked from Monday. 5A will have 5 shows while only 3 shows a day have been allotted to 5B.
Outside Mumbai, the difference is even more profound. Cinepolis P&M Mall, Patna, on Sunday, had as many as 12 shows of Housefull 5A on Sunday while Housefull 5B had just 1 show. Connplex Cinemas JD Mall, Patna also allotted just 1 show of Housefull 5B. Entertainment Paradise, Jaipur had 5 shows of 5B on Sunday and on Monday, it'll have just 1 show.
PVR Logix, Noida played 23 shows of 5A on Sunday and 13 shows of 5B. The number went down to 11 for 5B. Inox Nehru Place, Delhi reduced the shows of 5B from 6 shows on Sunday to just 2 on Monday.
PVR Elante Chandigarh, too, will have just 2 shows of 5B from Monday, down from 5 shows on Sunday. In Kolkata, Cinepolis Lake Mall and Cinepolis Acropolis Mall are playing 5B with 1 show a day while 5A has 8 shows.
Some cinemas are an exception. Miraj Wadala, Mumbai had 6 shows of both 5A and 5B on Sunday and kept the same showcasing for Monday. Wide Angle Ahmedabad, meanwhile, has astonished one and all as it played more shows of Housefull 5B than 5A. On Sunday, it allotted 4 shows to 5A and 9 shows to 5B. On Monday, no show of 5A has been scheduled while 5B will continue to have all 9 shows.
On the other hand, some cinemas have done away with Housefull 5B completely. Cinepolis Mohali had 16 shows of Housefull 5A on Sunday and 15 shows on Monday. 5B, meanwhile, had zero shows on both days. The iconic Raj Mandir, Jaipur has 4 shows of Housefull 5, all of which are of 5A.
Even The Friday Cinema in Surat has done the same. Kiritbhai T Vaghasia, the owner of The Friday Cinema, explained, “On Friday, I kept equal shows of both versions. But we realized that moviegoers didn’t know about it and there was confusion. Some assumed that Housefull 5B is a sequel to Housefull 5A! Therefore, they decided to watch 5A first and hoped to watch 5B later in the week or next week.”
He added, “Moreover, on BookMyShow, patrons were invariably selecting 5A while checking the bookings. They would select the show of their choice and book tickets. This affected footfalls of 5B while Housefull 5A got a great response. Very few chose 5B; it was running at 50% occupancy of 5A.”
He continued, “On Saturday, I kept just one show of 5B, early in the morning. The other theatres of Surat have also opted for the same strategy.”
Vishek Chauhan, owner of Roopbani Cinema in Purnia, Bihar, exulted, “Logically, A comes before B. So, people opt for 5A. I believe that there shouldn’t have been 2 versions. It created confusion. From Week 2, I’d suggest that the makers should play either 5A or 5B. Or ideally, the makers should have released Housefull 5B two weeks later, when Sitaare Zameen Par would arrive in cinemas. They should have announced that they had already shot an alternate ending and that it’s now available in cinemas. That would have made sense and would have enticed people to see it again.”
An exhibitor from North India said, “5B shows have been reduced. This is because when you open the booking websites, 5A is seen first. Hence, the sale of 5A is more. The public is not even looking at Housefull 5B’s page. Hence, to capitalize on 5A’s popularity, 5B’s shows are being reduced and replaced with the former. On Friday, it was 50-50 or 60-40. But when theatres realized what was happening, they immediately changed. Now it’s either 70-30 or 80-20.”
What is heartening is that the film has been accepted. Kiritbhai T Vaghasia said, “The ticket sales were very encouraging on Saturday and Sunday. As for the word of mouth, it is a bit mixed. Those who are watching with their families are getting embarrassed with certain jokes. Yet, it got a great turnout.”
Vishek Chauhan agreed, “Everywhere, the film has performed well. It is a success. In fact, 5B’s suspense has been liked more.”
The industry insider explained, “Producer Sajid Nadiadwala should be lauded for trying something new. No other producer would have dared to think of something like this, forget executing it. Sajid implemented it so neatly and hence, both he and this move would go down in history.”
Also Read: Akshay Kumar surprises fans in disguise outside Bandra theatre for Housefull 5
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