Box office: Akshay Kumar's 'Baby' continues to dominate

Akshay Kumar in Baby

Last Friday saw three films of different genres hitting the theatres, but Neeraj Pandey's 'Baby', which released the week before, has pipped them all in terms of collections. And among last week's releases, 'Khamoshiyan' is doing better business than 'Hawaizaada' and 'Rahasya' put together.

Photos: Special screening of 'Baby'

Akshay Kumar in 'Baby'

Exhibitor Rajesh Thadani says the Akshay Kumar-starrer 'Baby' collected about Rs 8 crore in its second weekend. "'Khamoshiyan' grossed about Rs 5.5 crore while 'Hawaizaada' barely took off with collection of just about Rs 1.5 crore. 'Rahasya' has not really struck a chord with the audience due to lack of publicity," he asserts.

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh echoes Thadani, saying that 'Baby' continued to dominate the last weekend. "'Khamoshiyan' was the second choice for movie-goers, the music being its main draw," he says.

Photos: Special screening of 'Khamoshiyan'

Exhibitors are eagerly awaiting a hit that has, so far, eluded 2015. Vishal Anand of Fun Cinemas says, "None of last week's releases have worked. The pick of the week was 'Baby', which is still going strong due to its positive word-of-mouth publicity. We are pinning our hopes on 'Shamitabh', 'Badlapur' and 'Roy' to break the January jinx."

However, with the cricket World Cup less than a fortnight away, the industry is apprehensive of the repercussions on films. "There are concerns, but cinema and cricket have learnt to co-exist. A good film will always draw crowds," Adarsh reasons.

Rs 8crore Baby's collection in its second weekend

Rs 5.5crore Khamoshiyan's business over the last weekend