The Sunday craze has shored up INOX Calcutta ticket sales

Calcutta, May 25: Funday Sunday saw the city score over Delhi, Mumbai and Pune on at least one count — cine craze under one roof.

INOX Calcutta, on May 23, recorded “the highest sales on a single day” among multiplexes across the country.

By the time the counters closed for the 10 pm show of Uff Kya Jaadoo Mohabbat Hain, the day’s box-office collections had soared to a cinematic high of Rs 6,54,180.

The Sunday footfall pushed the city’s lone multiplex to the top slot, nationwide, nudging out close competitor PVR Saket of Delhi.

The rank was determined on the basis of trade collections from 22 multiplexes located in Mumbai, Delhi, Jaipur, Pune, besides those in Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. Standalone theatres were left out of the numbers game.

“Delhi’s PVR Saket is tough to beat, as the multiplex has the highest average ticket prices and has often hit the Rs 7,00,000-mark in the past,” disclosed an INOX spokesperson on Tuesday.

“On any given day, the Calcutta multiplex is way ahead of its Pune and Baroda counterparts,” she added.

Among the bouquet of films contributing to Calcutta’s Sunday success saga, Mani Ratnam’s Yuva — shot extensively in the city — bloomed the brightest. Released on May 21, it accounted for 40 per cent collections at the Elgin Road multiplex, translating into revenue of “around Rs 2 lakh”.

Main Hoon Na — based almost entirely at the Calcuttan’s favourite holiday hotspot, Darjeeling —ranked second, with Run, Lakeer, Kal Ho Naa Ho, Uff Kya Jaadoo Mohabbat Hain, Charas, The Passion of the Christ and Peter Pan not too far behind.

The INOX ticket slabs are flexible, varying with the timings and the banner of the movie. On Sunday, seats for Yuva were sold at Rs 180 for dress circle and Rs 200 for gallery.

“Calcutta has a very vibrant market for films. Our revenue is pretty high over the weekends and we have touched the Rs 5,00,000 mark on more than one occasion,” revealed the INOX spokesperson.

“We hope to break our record this weekend, with the release of the Saif Ali Khan-Rani Mukherjee starrer Hum Tum and Twentieth Century Fox’s The Day After Tomorrow,” added Ravi Raman, general manager, INOX.

The week after, INOX would be banking heavily on the magic of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and the might of Matrix Reloaded to better its record. The big-ticket duo hits the multiplex on June 4.