This Eid-ul-azha local cinemas saw three Pakistani films fight for glory. With a clashing release between the three competing movies; Superstar, Parey Hut Love and Heer Maan Ja. Stakeholders had earlier suggested that leading ladies Mahira Khan, Maya Ali and Hareem Farooq would determine the fate of their respective projects. While Mahira was expected to lead the pack because of her massive star power, stakeholders speculated Maya to be next, followed by Hareem. Interestingly, all predictions turned out to be true as Superstar wins the show, thanks to Mahira.
On the first two days of Eid, Superstar raked in Rs20.3 million followed by Parey Hut Love and Heer Maan Ja earning Rs10.8 million and 10.6 million respectively. However these box office figures which were provided by distributors themselves could not be corroborated from independent sources. While the stake holders were satisfied with the footfall of all three films, they felt none of the projects could reciprocate the magic that Wrong No 2 and Punjab Nahi Jaungi created on respective Eid holidays.
Talking to multiple stakeholders, found out that film-maker Ehteshamuddin’s directorial debut made waves in Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi. They maintained that Mahira was the reason behind the film’s success in the various cinema circuits.
Speaking about all three projects failing to offer ‘complete entertainment’ packages, a distribution club member said, “We were expecting these three films to earn Rs 450 million in their entire running at the box office. But all of them performed below par on the first two days. We are hopeful that with the upcoming weekend, the figures will go higher but our target will not be achieved.”
