With the collections going well past Rs 90 crore for this multi-starrer, it indeed is a good enough achievement as comedies typically have a (relatively) limited run in theatres.
Joginder Tuteja
When Total Dhamaal was announced, it did create quite some excitement in the trade. Even though the franchise is not as big as other comedy outings like Golmaal or Housefull series, it certainly comes with good recall value. Hence, with Indra Kumar bringing together big names like Ajay Devgn, Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit along with the original cast of Riteish Deshmuikh, Arshad Warsi and Jaaved Jaffery, Total Dhamaal managed to create quite some curiosity.
No wonder, with Rs 94 crore already collected in the first week, the movie actually set quite a few records to its name.
First and foremost, the film is now the biggest first week opener ever for a comedy that has released on a non-holiday. Devgn holds the record for the biggest ever on a holiday too with his Golmaal Again collecting Rs 136 crore in its first week. That was during Diwali and the next best is Varun Dhawan's Judwaa 2, which had the advantage of Gandhi Jayanti holiday that resulted in first week numbers of Rs 98.08 crore.
Hence, with the collections going well past Rs 90 crore for this multi-starrer, it indeed is a good enough achievement as comedies typically have a (relatively) limited run in theatres, though they are big on the satellite and digital circuits.
However, Total Dhamaal has proven to be an exception as it is not aiming to much bigger than even Judwaa 2 when it comes to the lifetime collections. While the David Dhawan directed movie had collected Rs 138.61 crore in theatrical collections, it is expected that Total Dhamaal would be heading towards the Rs 150 crore figure.
What makes the film truly remarkable for Devgn is the fact in the list of Top-10 biggest weeks for a comedy film, he has as many as three films in the list - Golmaal Again, Total Dhamaal and Golmaal 3. In fact, Deshmukh has an even better record as he has featured in four such comedy movies - Total Dhamaal, Housefull 3, Grand Masti and Housefull 2. Arshad Warsi too boasts of three films in the list - Golmaal Again, Total Dhamaal and Golmaal 3.
As for Kapoor, he has two to his name - Total Dhamaal and Welcome Back. On the other hand, Madhuri too finally has a hit to her name after a few unsuccessful comeback attempts with films like Aaja Nachle, Dedh Ishqiya and Gulaab Gang.
It is good to see veteran directors make a splash in this list too. Indra Kumar (Total Dhamaal, Grand Masti), David Dhawan (Judwaa 2) and Anees Bazmee (Welcome Back) have been in the business for decades and they certainly understand the pulse of the audiences, something which is visible in the kind of footfalls that their comedies are ensuring at the Box Office.
In months to come, there are some more notable comedies releasing as well and one hopes that newer records are created with their arrival. Housefull 4 is the biggest of them all and all eyes are on Sajid Nadiadwala-backed multi-starrer (Akshay Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh, Bobby Deol) to set new records on its Diwali release.
Then there is Anees Bazmee's Paagalpanti, that features his Welcome Back hero John Abraham along with Warsi. Reports are already coming in that it is a laugh riot in the making.
With plans already put together for the making of Hera Pheri 3 and Golmaal 5 in time to come, expect lot more laughter from audiences when these biggies play on the big screen.
Top-10 opening weeks for comedy films:
Golmaal Again - Rs 136.08 crore
Judwaa 2 - Rs 98.08 crore
Total Dhamaal - Rs 94 crore
Housefull 3 - Rs 80.10 crore
Singh Is Blinng - Rs 77.6 crore
Welcome Back - Rs 74.02 crore
Grand Masti - Rs 65.51 crore
Housefull 2 - Rs 64.20 crore
Golmaal 3 - Rs 62 crore
Stree - Rs 60.39 crore
(Joginder Tuteja is a trade expert and film critic, and loves to talk and write about anything that is related to films. He loves the word 'Bollywood' and truly believes that it has a ring to it that is sweeter than 'Hollywood')
