Ranbir beats cousin Kareena in box office race

Ranbir Kapoor’s deaf and mute character in “Barfi!” seems to be giving cousin Kareena Kapoor’s glamorous avatar in “Heroine” a run for her money!

The sweet and simple love story of a mute and deaf boy in “Barfi!” seems to have touched the heartstrings of viewers who are still flocking theatres to savour the unconventional romantic flavour. On the other hand, “Heroine”, with an an overdose of glitz, doesn’t seem to have the same effect on the moviegoers.

It is obvious from the fact that the Rs.30 crore-“Barfi!”, released Sep 14, has raked in Rs.82.05 crore net at the domestic box-office, while “Heroine”, which released a week later, has garnered just Rs.32 crore. Made at a budget of Rs.20 crore, it has recovered the cost, but is not as big a success as “Barfi!”.

Both the films have been produced and distributed by Disney UTV.

“‘Barfi’ is performing exceedingly well across all international markets. The movie is resonating with audience and such sustenance across second weekend and weekdays is rare to see in recent times! Exhibitors all across have retained a good number of shows despite new releases,” Amrita Pandey, executive director – syndication, international distribution, Studios, Disney UTV, said in a statement.

“Barfi!” is India’s official entry to the prestigious Academy Awards in Best Foreign Language Film.

Gaurav Verma, director, India Theatrical Distribution, Studios, Disney UTV, says that it is like “icing on the cake”.

“The second weekend saw more and more people coming in for the film and seeing the response we are in talks with exhibitors to add more screens for ‘Barfi!'” he added.

As far as the international markets are concerned “Barfi!” seems to be ruling the roost there too. It has earned $4.82 million, while “Heroine” collection is $1.75 million as of Tuesday.

But Pandey claims that none of the female-centric films in recent years have received a response as good as “Heroine”.

She said “Heroine” had a “phenomenal opening in all major international markets”!

“This was a highly anticipated movie and our marketing push has helped pull in massive crowds to theatres,” she added.