Priyanka Chopra
has received an overwhelming response from audiences in the West for her debut
Hollywood venture, Baywatch. Even though the movie has been panned universally
by critics, they have all called Priyanka 'unused' in the role of Victoria
Leeds.
As the movie
released across India this morning, I went ahead to some of the popular
multiplexes and single screens to get a whiff of how PeeCee's Baywatch is
performing. Morning shows were quite empty at the multiplexes with just 14-15%
occupancy, however, people were queuing up outside single screens resulting in
them registering a 70% occupancy.
To talk of the
reactions, fans coming out of multiplexes said that Baywatch was a worthy
one-time watch with Priyanka performing well amongst a slew of well-known
Hollywood stars. Audiences at single screens were upset that Priyanka refrained
from skin show and ample liplocks in the film. They were of the opinion that
she had sexier scenes and smooches in Bollywood films and expected her to take
things a notch higher in Baywatch.
Without further
ado, let's go straight to our trade experts and theatre owners to see what they
foresee for Baywatch.
Trade Expert
Taran Adarsh says, "Hollywood is dominating this week for sure. Baywatch
did not open on a great note, but it's much better than the Hindi releases this
week. Wonder Woman (the other Hollywood release) would rule this week."
PVR Juhu Owner,
Ravi Sibal says, "Baywatch has had a dismal opening. Morning and afternoon
shows registered a mere 17% occupancy. Wonder Woman is outperforming Baywatch
owing to better reviews. Talking about the Hindi releases, you can't actually
compare them with the Hollywood films. Dobaara and A Death In The Gunj have got
great reviews, and they might pick up over the week."
Gaiety-Galaxy and
Maratha Mandir owner, Manoj Desai says, "From what I have heard from
audiences, they are disappointed because they thought that Priyanka would have
a lot more liplocks and skin show than she has in her Bollywood films. But she
didn't. Occupancy was well above 70%. Among Hindi films, Hindi Medium has
picked up superbly, and audiences are coming in huge numbers even in the third
week."
It's still early
days and difficult to predict Baywatch's destiny. Let's wait and watch to see
how the film performs over the week. Stay hooked onto SpotboyE.com for
the first day box-office collections of this week’s releases.
Thumbnail Image Source: twitter/paramountpicturesindia