“Kites,” the adventure film from Reliance Big Pictures, took in approximately $1 million throughout the weekend to become the first Bollywood movie to open in the top 10 in the U.S. and Canada.
The film, introduced in 207 theaters, had sales of $958,673, canvasser Hollywood.com Box-Office said yesterday in an e-mail. Billionaire Anil Ambani’s Reliance said in a statement that no other Indian film has opened in the top 10.
Reliance Big is growing its U.S. presence. Last year, the company agreed to invest $325 million for an equity stake in Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks Studios. “Kites” follows two immigrants, one from Mexico and the other from India, who go on the run to escape a vengeful Las Vegas casino owner.
At least one other Indian-produced film had a bigger U.S. opening than “Kites.” “My Name is Khan” produced by Mumbai- based Dharma Productions and released by Fox Searchlight, took in $1.94 million in February. The film ranked 13th in a weekend lineup that included “Valentine’s Day,” “The Wolfman” and “Avatar,” according to researcher Box Office Mojo.
Audiences will get a different look at “Kites” on May 28 when Reliance releases “Kites: The Remix,” a shorter version of the film edited by U.S. director Brett Ratner.
The original is “long and has a lot of dancing and extra stuff. It’s Bollywood and it works for that audience,” Ratner said in a telephone interview. “I just streamlined it and stuck with the love story, which works so well.”
Ratner, whose credits include “Rush Hour,” trimmed “Kites” to 90 minutes from 130 and changed some of the background music, Reliance said in a May 11 statement.
The film, introduced in 207 theaters, had sales of $958,673, canvasser Hollywood.com Box-Office said yesterday in an e-mail. Billionaire Anil Ambani’s Reliance said in a statement that no other Indian film has opened in the top 10.
Reliance Big is growing its U.S. presence. Last year, the company agreed to invest $325 million for an equity stake in Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks Studios. “Kites” follows two immigrants, one from Mexico and the other from India, who go on the run to escape a vengeful Las Vegas casino owner.
At least one other Indian-produced film had a bigger U.S. opening than “Kites.” “My Name is Khan” produced by Mumbai- based Dharma Productions and released by Fox Searchlight, took in $1.94 million in February. The film ranked 13th in a weekend lineup that included “Valentine’s Day,” “The Wolfman” and “Avatar,” according to researcher Box Office Mojo.
Audiences will get a different look at “Kites” on May 28 when Reliance releases “Kites: The Remix,” a shorter version of the film edited by U.S. director Brett Ratner.
The original is “long and has a lot of dancing and extra stuff. It’s Bollywood and it works for that audience,” Ratner said in a telephone interview. “I just streamlined it and stuck with the love story, which works so well.”
Ratner, whose credits include “Rush Hour,” trimmed “Kites” to 90 minutes from 130 and changed some of the background music, Reliance said in a May 11 statement.
source:businessweek.com
