How I Met You Mother Series Finale Deserves A High Five!

By Anant Mathur (April 1, 2014)

SPOILER ALERT!
If you haven't seen the series finale (final episode) of How I Met You Mother stop reading here. This post contains lots of spoilers.

Yesterday the final episode of the hit comedy HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER aired on CBS. Soon after the episode finished many people took to the internet and started reviewing and commenting about what they saw. So far it seems there is a mixed feeling amongst the shows viewers - people either loved the episode or hated it.

Personally, I belong to the loved it club. I thought it was brilliant and possibly one of the best series finales ever. It tied up all the loose ends beautifully and took us into the future and showed us where the characters end up. 

As for the people who were saying they hated it, I don't know which show these reviewers watched for 9 seasons, I refuse to believe they've seen every episode. If they had they'd know that the reason Barney Stinson is a womanizer is because he had his heart broken by a woman he was very much in love with. Just like he was with Robin Scherbatsky when they get divorced; this explains why he returned to his previous state when the divorce was too much for him to handle.

Another issue the negative reviewers had was that the mother dies and Ted Mosby ends up with Robin. I don't see a problem with the writers killing the mother because you can kind of guess she's probably dead from the first episode; why else would Ted be telling his grown kids about their mother? I think Ted and Robin didn't end up together earlier because at times he was kind of a jerk and immature and couldn't decide whom he really wanted (Victoria or Robin or Stella or Victoria or Robin) but the years he spent with his wife taught him to be patient and loving and prepared him for Robin; and many years after his wife dies he is finally able to compose himself to go and woo the unwooable girl.

I also love the fact that the writers showed how the gang drifted apart because that's what happens in big cities. As you get older you have new experiences and there's no longer time for hanging out with the gang - priorities change. You can't really hang out till 4am at a bar with the gang when your baby is hungry or you have to wake up early to take your kids to school. Especially when you're in your 40s and the bar is filled with 20 year olds.

I think it only proves how good the writers and actress Cristin Milioti were that the audience was able to get so attached to the mother in one season and felt sad to find out she died. Death is part of life and so is moving on and I think that's the real message from the writers of HIMYM. 

I'm sure when the shock wears off and people have a chance to think about it they'll realize how legen (wait for it) dary... Legendary! the final episode truly is...


SOME MEMORABLE MOMENTS FROM THE SERIES FINALE:

– "Haaaaave you met Ted?"

– "Just be cool, lady. Damn!"

- The T.M.'s

- “You are the love of my life. Everything I have and everything I am, is yours. Forever.”

- Marshall: A certain delicate flower cried all night in the shower. 
  Lily: …and I was pretty bummed, too

- Barney: That last girl — No. 31...
  Mother: That’s a pretty name. Is it French?

© Anant Mathur. All Rights Reserved.

86th Academy Awards: Winners

By Anant Mathur (March 3, 2014)

Like every year I was looking forward to the 86th Annual Academy Awards this year and I must say it was a great show last night. Host Ellen DeGeneres was witty and funny. I had watched most of the nominated films so it was very exciting to find out which picture would be awarded the best of the lot at the end of the night. I was disappointed that The Book Thief wasn't nominated for best picture I thought it deserved to be there. In case you missed the show last night, I won't keep you in suspense any longer, below is a list of all the nominees and winners:

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
“Gravity” Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, Dave Shirk and Neil Corbould
“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton and Eric Reynolds
“Iron Man 3” Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Erik Nash and Dan Sudick
“The Lone Ranger” Tim Alexander, Gary Brozenich, Edson Williams and John Frazier
“Star Trek Into Darkness” Roger Guyett, Patrick Tubach, Ben Grossmann and Burt Dalton


BEST SOUND MIXING
“Captain Phillips” Chris Burdon, Mark Taylor, Mike Prestwood Smith and Chris Munro
“Gravity” Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead and Chris Munro
“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” Christopher Boyes, Michael Hedges, Michael Semanick and Tony Johnson
“Inside Llewyn Davis” Skip Lievsay, Greg Orloff and Peter F. Kurland
“Lone Survivor” Andy Koyama, Beau Borders and David Brownlow




BEST SOUND EDITING
“All Is Lost” Steve Boeddeker and Richard Hymns
“Captain Phillips” Oliver Tarney
“Gravity” Glenn Freemantle
“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” Brent Burge
“Lone Survivor” Wylie Stateman

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
“Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn’t Me)” Esteban Crespo
“Avant Que De Tout Perdre (Just before Losing Everything)” Xavier Legrand and Alexandre Gavras
“Helium” Anders Walter and Kim Magnusson
“Pitääkö Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?)” Selma Vilhunen and Kirsikka Saari
“The Voorman Problem” Mark Gill and Baldwin Li

 BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
“Feral” Daniel Sousa and Dan Golden
“Get a Horse!” Lauren MacMullan and Dorothy McKim
“Mr. Hublot” Laurent Witz and Alexandre Espigares
“Possessions” Shuhei Morita
“Room on the Broom” Max Lang and Jan Lachauer

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
“American Hustle” Production Design: Judy Becker; Set Decoration: Heather Loeffler
“Gravity” Production Design: Andy Nicholson; Set Decoration: Rosie Goodwin and Joanne Woollard
“The Great Gatsby” Production Design: Catherine Martin; Set Decoration: Beverley Dunn
“Her” Production Design: K.K. Barrett; Set Decoration: Gene Serdena
“12 Years a Slave” Production Design: Adam Stockhausen; Set Decoration: Alice Baker

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Alone Yet Not Alone” from “Alone Yet Not Alone”
Music by Bruce Broughton; Lyric by Dennis Spiegel
“Happy” from “Despicable Me 2”
Music and Lyric by Pharrell Williams
“Let It Go” from “Frozen”
Music and Lyric by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez
“The Moon Song” from “Her”
Music by Karen O; Lyric by Karen O and Spike Jonze
“Ordinary Love” from “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”
Music by Paul Hewson, Dave Evans, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen; Lyric by Paul Hewson

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
“The Book Thief” John Williams
“Gravity” Steven Price“Her” William Butler and Owen Pallett
“Philomena” Alexandre Desplat
“Saving Mr. Banks” Thomas Newman

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
“Dallas Buyers Club” Adruitha Lee and Robin Mathews
“Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa” Stephen Prouty
“The Lone Ranger” Joel Harlow and Gloria Pasqua-Casny

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“The Broken Circle Breakdown” Belgium
“The Great Beauty” Italy
“The Hunt” Denmark
“The Missing Picture” Cambodia
“Omar” Palestine





 
BEST FILM EDITING
“American Hustle” Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers and Alan Baumgarten
“Captain Phillips” Christopher Rouse
“Dallas Buyers Club” John Mac McMurphy and Martin Pensa
“Gravity” Alfonso Cuarón and Mark Sanger
“12 Years a Slave” Joe Walker

  

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
“CaveDigger” Jeffrey Karoff
“Facing Fear” Jason Cohen
“Karama Has No Walls” Sara Ishaq
“The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life” Malcolm Clarke and Nicholas Reed
“Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall” Edgar Barens

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
“The Act of Killing”Joshua Oppenheimer and Signe Byrge Sørensen
“Cutie and the Boxer” Zachary Heinzerling and Lydia Dean Pilcher
“Dirty Wars” Richard Rowley and Jeremy Scahill
“The Square” Jehane Noujaim and Karim Amer
“20 Feet from Stardom” Morgan Neville, Gil Friesen and Caitrin Rogers






BEST COSTUME DESIGN
“American Hustle” Michael Wilkinson
“The Grandmaster” William Chang Suk Ping
“The Great Gatsby” Catherine Martin
“The Invisible Woman” Michael O’Connor
“12 Years a Slave” Patricia Norris






BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
“The Grandmaster” Philippe Le Sourd
“Gravity” Emmanuel Lubezki
“Inside Llewyn Davis” Bruno Delbonnel
“Nebraska” Phedon Papamichael
“Prisoners” Roger A. Deakins





 
BEST ANIMATED FILM
“The Croods” Chris Sanders, Kirk DeMicco and Kristine Belson
“Despicable Me 2” Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin and Chris Meledandri
“Ernest & Celestine” Benjamin Renner and Didier Brunner
“Frozen” Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee and Peter Del Vecho
“The Wind Rises” Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki







BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Barkhad Abdi in “Captain Phillips”
Bradley Cooper in “American Hustle”
Michael Fassbender in “12 Years a Slave”
Jonah Hill in “The Wolf of Wall Street”
Jared Leto in “Dallas Buyers Club”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Sally Hawkins in “Blue Jasmine”
Jennifer Lawrence in “American Hustle”
Lupita Nyong’o in “12 Years a Slave”
Julia Roberts in “August: Osage County”
June Squibb in “Nebraska”







BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
“Before Midnight” – Written by Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke
“Captain Phillips” – Screenplay by Billy Ray
“Philomena” – Screenplay by Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope
“12 Years a Slave” – Screenplay by John Ridley
“The Wolf of Wall Street” – Screenplay by Terence Winter

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
“American Hustle” – Written by Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell
“Blue Jasmine” – Written by Woody Allen
“Her” – Written by Spike Jonze
“Nebraska” – Written by Bob Nelson
“Dallas Buyers Club” – Written by Craig Borten & Melisa Wallack

BEST ACTRESS
Amy Adams in “American Hustle”
Cate Blanchett in “Blue Jasmine”
Sandra Bullock in “Gravity”
Judi Dench in “Philomena”
Meryl Streep in “August: Osage County” 






BEST ACTOR
Christian Bale in “American Hustle”
Bruce Dern in “Nebraska”
Leonardo DiCaprio in “The Wolf of Wall Street”
Chiwetel Ejiofor in “12 Years a Slave”
Matthew McConaughey in “Dallas Buyers Club”






BEST DIRECTOR
“American Hustle” David O. Russell
“Gravity” Alfonso Cuarón
“Nebraska” Alexander Payne
“12 Years a Slave” Steve McQueen
“The Wolf of Wall Street” Martin Scorsese



  


BEST PICTURE
“American Hustle” Charles Roven, Richard Suckle, Megan Ellison and Jonathan Gordon, Producers
“Captain Phillips” Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti and Michael De Luca, Producers
“Dallas Buyers Club” Robbie Brenner and Rachel Winter, Producers
“Gravity” Alfonso Cuarón and David Heyman, Producers
“Her” Megan Ellison, Spike Jonze and Vincent Landay, Producers
“Nebraska” Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa, Producers
“Philomena” Gabrielle Tana, Steve Coogan and Tracey Seaward, Producers
“12 Years a Slave” Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen and Anthony Katagas, Producers
 

© Anant Mathur. All Rights Reserved.

86th Academy Awards: Nominees

By Anant Mathur (February 11, 2014)

With Oscar night just a few of week away here are the list of nominees for this years Academy Awards ceremony:


Best Picture

-12 Years a Slave – Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen, and Anthony Katagas
-American Hustle – Charles Roven, Richard Suckle, Megan Ellison, and Jonathan Gordon
-Captain Phillips – Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, and Michael De Luca
-Dallas Buyers Club – Robbie Brenner and Rachel Winter
-Gravity – Alfonso Cuarón and David Heyman
-Her – Megan Ellison, Spike Jonze, and Vincent Landay
-Nebraska – Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa
-Philomena – Gabrielle Tana, Steve Coogan, and Tracey Seaward
-The Wolf of Wall Street – Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio, Joey McFarland, and Emma Tillinger Koskoff


Best Director

-Alfonso Cuarón – Gravity
-David O. Russell – American Hustle
-Alexander Payne – Nebraska
-Steve McQueen – 12 Years a Slave
-Martin Scorsese – The Wolf of Wall Street


Best Actor    

-Matthew McConaughey – Dallas Buyers Club as Ron Woodroof
-Christian Bale – American Hustle as Irving Rosenfeld
-Bruce Dern – Nebraska as Woody Grant
-Leonardo DiCaprio – The Wolf of Wall Street as Jordan Belfort
-Chiwetel Ejiofor – 12 Years a Slave as Solomon Northup


Best Actress
 
-Cate Blanchett – Blue Jasmine as Jeanette "Jasmine" Francis
-Amy Adams – American Hustle as Sydney Prosser
-Sandra Bullock – Gravity as Dr. Ryan Stone
-Judi Dench – Philomena as Philomena Lee
-Meryl Streep – August: Osage County as Violet Weston


Best Supporting Actor

-Jared Leto – Dallas Buyers Club as Rayon
-Barkhad Abdi – Captain Phillips as Abduwali Muse
-Bradley Cooper – American Hustle as Agent Richard "Richie" DiMaso
-Michael Fassbender – 12 Years a Slave as Edwin Epps
-Jonah Hill – The Wolf of Wall Street as Donnie Azoff


Best Supporting Actress

-Lupita Nyong'o – 12 Years a Slave as Patsey
-Sally Hawkins – Blue Jasmine as Ginger
-Jennifer Lawrence – American Hustle as Rosalyn Rosenfeld
-Julia Roberts – August: Osage County as Barbara Weston-Fordham
-June Squibb – Nebraska as Kate Grant


Best Original Screenplay

-Her – Spike Jonze
-American Hustle – Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell
-Blue Jasmine – Woody Allen
-Dallas Buyers Club – Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack
-Nebraska – Bob Nelson


Best Adapted Screenplay

-12 Years a Slave – John Ridley from Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup
-Before Midnight – Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, and Ethan Hawke; characters based on the films Before Sunrise and Before Sunset
-Captain Phillips – Billy Ray from A Captain's Duty by Richard Phillips and Stephan Talty
-Philomena – Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope from The Lost Child of Philomena Lee by Martin Sixsmith
-The Wolf of Wall Street – Terence Winter from The Wolf of Wall Street by Jordan Belfort 


Best Animated Feature Film

-Frozen – Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee, and Peter Del Vecho
-The Croods – Kirk DeMicco, Chris Sanders, and Kristine Belson
-Despicable Me 2 – Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin and Chris Meledandri
-Ernest & Celestine – Benjamin Renner and Didier Brunner
-The Wind Rises – Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki


Best Foreign Language Film

-The Great Beauty (Italy) in Italian – Paolo Sorrentino
-The Broken Circle Breakdown (Belgium) in Dutch – Felix Van Groeningen
-The Hunt (Denmark) in Danish – Thomas Vinterberg
-The Missing Picture (Cambodia) in French – Rithy Panh
-Omar (Palestine) in Arabic – Hany Abu-Assad


Best Documentary – Feature

-20 Feet from Stardom – Morgan Neville, Gil Friesen (posthumous award), and Caitrin Rogers
-The Act of Killing – Joshua Oppenheimer and Signe Byrge Sørensen
-Cutie and the Boxer – Zachary Heinzerling and Lydia Dean Pilcher
-Dirty Wars – Richard Rowley and Jeremy Scahill
-The Square – Jehane Noujaim and Karim Amer


Best Documentary – Short Subject

-The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life – Malcolm Clarke and Nicholas Reed
-CaveDigger – Jeffrey Karoff
-Facing Fear – Jason Cohen
-Karama Has No Walls – Sara Ishaq
-Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall – Edgar Barens


Best Live Action Short Film

-Helium – Anders Walter and Kim Magnusson
-Aquél no era yo (That Wasn't Me) – Esteban Crespo
-Avant que de tout perdre (Just Before Losing Everything) – Xavier Legrand and Alexandre Gavras
-Pitääkö mun kaikki hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?) – Selma Vilhunen and Kirsikka Saari
-The Voorman Problem – Mark Gill and Baldwin Li


Best Animated Short Film
-Mr Hublot – Laurent Witz and Alexandre Espigares
-Feral – Daniel Sousa and Dan Golden
-Get a Horse! – Lauren MacMullan and Dorothy McKim
-Possessions – Shuhei Morita
-Room on the Broom – Max Lang and Jan Lachauer


Best Original Score
-Gravity – Steven Price
-The Book Thief – John Williams
-Her – William Butler and Owen Pallett
-Philomena – Alexandre Desplat
-Saving Mr. Banks – Thomas Newman


Best Original Song
-"Let It Go" from Frozen – Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez
-"Happy" from Despicable Me 2 – Pharrell Williams
-"The Moon Song" from Her – Karen Orzolek and Spike Jonze
-"Ordinary Love" from Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom – U2


Best Sound Editing

-Gravity – Glenn Freemantle
-All Is Lost – Steve Boeddeker and Richard Hymns
-Captain Phillips – Oliver Tarney
-The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – Brent Burge and Chris Ward
-Lone Survivor – Wylie Stateman


Best Sound Mixing

-Gravity – Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead, and Chris Munro
-Captain Phillips – Chris Burdon, Mark Taylor, Mike Prestwood Smith, and Chris Munro
-The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – Christopher Boyes, Michael Hedges, Michael Semanick, and Tony Johnson
-Inside Llewyn Davis – Skip Lievsay, Greg Orloff, and Peter F. Kurland
-Lone Survivor – Andy Koyama, Beau Borders, and David Brownlow


Best Production Design

-The Great Gatsby – Catherine Martin (Production Design); Beverley Dunn (Set Decoration)
-American Hustle – Judy Becker (Production Design); Heather Loeffler (Set Decoration)
-Gravity – Andy Nicholson (Production Design); Rosie Goodwin and Joanne Woollard (Set Decoration)
-Her – K. K. Barrett (Production Design); Gene Serdena (Set Decoration)
-12 Years a Slave – Adam Stockhausen (Production Design); Alice Baker (Set Decoration)


Best Cinematography

-Gravity – Emmanuel Lubezki
-The Grandmaster – Philippe Le Sourd
-Inside Llewyn Davis – Bruno Delbonnel
-Nebraska – Phedon Papamichael
-Prisoners – Roger Deakins


Best Makeup and Hairstyling

-Dallas Buyers Club – Adruitha Lee and Robin Mathews
-Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa – Stephen Prouty
-The Lone Ranger – Joel Harlow and Gloria Pasqua-Casny


Best Costume Design

-The Great Gatsby – Catherine Martin
-American Hustle – Michael Wilkinson
-The Grandmaster – William Chang Suk Ping
-The Invisible Woman – Michael O'Connor
-12 Years a Slave – Patricia Norris


Best Film Editing

-Gravity – Alfonso Cuarón and Mark Sanger
-American Hustle – Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers, and Alan Baumgarten
-Captain Phillips – Christopher Rouse
-Dallas Buyers Club – John Mac McMurphy and Martin Pensa
-12 Years a Slave – Joe Walker


Best Visual Effects

-Gravity – Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, Dave Shirk, and Neil Corbould
-The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton, and Eric Reynolds
-Iron Man 3 – Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Erik Nash, and Dan Sudick
-The Lone Ranger – Tim Alexander, Gary Brozenich, Edson Williams, and John Frazier
-Star Trek Into Darkness – Roger Guyett, Patrick Tubach, Ben Grossmann, and Burt Dalton

© Anant Mathur. All Rights Reserved.

Second Half Analysis of 2013...

By Anant Mathur (January 21, 2014)

Since the first weekend of July 2013 approximately 79 Hindi films were released in the second half of 2013. Out of these 75 were flops, only 3 (Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, Chennai Express and Grand Masti) can be considered a hit because they were able to make a profit for their distributors, and 1 (B.A. Pass) was a super hit because it was made for a miniscule budget of Rs. 2 crore and made a profit of approximately Rs. 3 crores for its distributor.

15 of the 79 films had a budget between Rs. 20-50 crores - out of these 15 only two (Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and Grand Masti) managed profits of Rs. 17.52 and 8.33 crores, respectively. 7 of the 79 films had a budget between 75-125 crores and only 1 of them (Chennai Express) managed to make a profit for the distributor. Dhoom 3 had the largest budget (Rs. 125 crores) of all the releases in the second half of 2013 and just failed to recover its cost for the distributor even though it earned a humongous Rs. 261.25 crores in nett collections. Distributor's share of Dhoom 3 was approximately Rs. 122.31 crores giving them a box office loss of Rs. 2.69 crores.

The biggest flop of the lot was Mahabharat - with a budget of Rs. 50 crores - it only managed Rs. 0.67 crore in nett collections providing a loss of Rs. 49.33 crores for its distributor. Mahabharat is an animated feature film it was directed by Amaan Khan and had a many top actors (Amitabh Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit, Ajay Devgn, Vidya Balan, Sunny Deol, Anil Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, Manoj Bajpayee and Deepti Naval) lending their support. Animated films rarely do well in India so it's a wonder why anyone would risk Rs. 50 crores on a film of this genre?

With 75 of 79 films flopping - and 22 of the 75 with budgets between 20 and 125 Crores - the outcome of the second half of 2013 was extremely grim.

BELOW IS A LIST OF THE BIG BUDGET RELEASES OF THE SECOND HALF OF 2013 AND HOW THEY PERFORMED AT THE BOX OFFICE:

Lootera (Budget Rs. 27 cr.) Jul 5
VERDICT: Flop
TOTAL NETT COLLECTIONS = Rs. 25.95 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S SHARE = Rs. 12.68 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S LOSS = Rs. 14.32 cr.

Policegiri (Budget Rs. 35-40 cr.) Jul 5
VERDICT: Super Flop
TOTAL NETT COLLECTIONS = Rs. 16.80 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S SHARE = Rs. 8.14 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S LOSS = Rs. 26.86-31.86 cr.

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (Budget Rs. 30 cr.) Jul 12
VERDICT: Hit
TOTAL NETT COLLECTIONS = Rs. 108.93 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S SHARE = Rs. 47.52 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S PROFIT = Rs. 17.52 cr.

Ramaiya Vastavaiya (Budget Rs. 30 cr.) Jul 19
VERDICT: Flop
TOTAL NETT COLLECTIONS = Rs. 27.87 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S SHARE = Rs. 13.34 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S LOSS = Rs. 16.66 cr.

D-Day (Budget Rs. 30 cr.) Jul 19
VERDICT: Super Flop
TOTAL NETT COLLECTIONS = Rs. 19.54 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S SHARE = Rs. 9.26 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S LOSS = Rs. 20.74 cr.

Chennai Express (Budget Rs. 75 cr.) Aug 09
VERDICT: Hit
TOTAL NETT COLLECTIONS = Rs. 218.53 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S SHARE = Rs. 107.60 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S PROFIT = Rs. 32.60 cr.

Once Upon Ay Time In Mumbai Dobaara! (Budget Rs. 85 cr.) Aug 15
VERDICT: Super Flop
TOTAL NETT COLLECTIONS = Rs. 55.56 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S SHARE = Rs. 27.27 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S LOSS = Rs. 57.73 cr.

Madras Cafe (Budget Rs. 35 cr.) Aug 23
VERDICT: Flop
TOTAL NETT COLLECTIONS = Rs. 41.79 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S SHARE = Rs. 19.96 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S LOSS = Rs. 15.04 cr.

Satyagraha (Budget Rs. 50 cr.) Aug 30
VERDICT: Flop
TOTAL NETT COLLECTIONS = Rs. 62.03 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S SHARE = Rs. 30.27 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S LOSS = Rs. 19.73 cr.

Shuddh Desi Romance (Budget Rs. 25 cr.) Sep 6
VERDICT: Flop
TOTAL NETT COLLECTIONS = Rs. Shuddh Desi Romance cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S SHARE = Rs. 21.73 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S LOSS = Rs. 3.27 cr.

Zanjeer (Budget Rs. 75 cr.) Sep 6
VERDICT: Colossus Flop
TOTAL NETT COLLECTIONS = Rs. 14.34 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S SHARE = Rs. 7.15 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S LOSS = Rs. 67.85 cr.

Grand Masti (Budget Rs. 35 cr.) Sep 13
VERDICT: Hit
TOTAL NETT COLLECTIONS = Rs. 93.78 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S SHARE = Rs. 43.33 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S PROFIT = Rs. 8.33 cr.

Phata Poster Nikhla Hero (Budget Rs. 25 cr.) Sep 20
VERDICT: Flop
TOTAL NETT COLLECTIONS = Rs. 36.52 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S SHARE = Rs. 17.56 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S LOSS = Rs. 7.44 cr.

Besharam (Budget Rs. 85 cr.) Oct 04
VERDICT: Colossus Flop
TOTAL NETT COLLECTIONS = Rs. 54.02 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S SHARE = Rs. 26.68 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S LOSS = Rs. 58.32 cr.

BOSS (Budget Rs. 50 cr.) Oct 18
VERDICT: Flop
TOTAL NETT COLLECTIONS = Rs. 52.42 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S SHARE = Rs. 25.84 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S LOSS = Rs. 24.16 cr.

Krrish 3 (Budget Rs. 115 cr.) Nov 01
VERDICT: Flop
TOTAL NETT COLLECTIONS = Rs. 198.65 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S SHARE = Rs. 93.64 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S LOSS = Rs. 21.36 cr.

Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela (Budget Rs. 80 cr.) Nov 15
VERDICT: Super Flop
TOTAL NETT COLLECTIONS = Rs. 105.64 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S SHARE = Rs. 49.29 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S LOSS = Rs. 30.71 cr.

Singh Saab The Great (Budget Rs. 16.25 cr.) Nov 22
VERDICT: Flop
TOTAL NETT COLLECTIONS = Rs. 26.65 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S SHARE = Rs. 12.80 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S LOSS = Rs. 3.45 cr.

Gori Tere Pyaar Mein (Budget Rs. 30 cr.) Nov 22
VERDICT: Colossus Flop
TOTAL NETT COLLECTIONS = Rs. 16.32 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S SHARE = Rs. 7.83 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S LOSS = Rs. 22.17 cr.

Bullett Raja (Budget Rs. 50 cr.) Nov 29
VERDICT: Flop
TOTAL NETT COLLECTIONS = Rs. 36.27 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S SHARE = Rs. 17.91 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S LOSS = Rs. 32.09 cr.

R... Rajkumar (Budget Rs. 40 cr.) Dec 6
VERDICT: Flop
TOTAL NETT COLLECTIONS = Rs. 58.09 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S SHARE = Rs. 27.34 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S LOSS = Rs. 12.66 cr.

Dhoom 3 (Budget Rs. 125 cr.) Dec 20
VERDICT: Flop
TOTAL NETT COLLECTIONS = Rs. 261.25 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S SHARE = Rs. 122.31 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S LOSS = Rs. 2.69 cr.

Mahabharat (Budget Rs. 50 cr.) Dec 28
VERDICT: Colossus Flop
TOTAL NETT COLLECTIONS = Rs. 1.36 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S SHARE = Rs. 00.67 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S LOSS = Rs. 49.33 cr.

Other Notable FLOPS during the second half of 2013 include: 
Sixteen, Shorts, Tara? The Journey Of Love & Passion, Boyss To Boyss Hain, Ship Of Theseus, Bajatey Raho (Budget Rs. 15 cr.), Issaq, Nasha (Budget Rs. 8 cr.), Luv U Soniyo, Rabba Main Kya Karoon, Chor Chor Super Chor, Calapor, Bas Ek Tamanna, The Light Swami Vivekananda, Ooops A Desi, Haunted Child, Teesra Shabd The Shadow Of A Women, Do Nawab Hyderabad Kay, Thore Keep Distance, Love King Murder, Ab To Jaago, Us Disha Main, Maut Ka Badla, Zindagi Jalebi, Horror Story, John Day, The Lunchbox, Warning, Super Model, Raqt - Ek Rishta, Maazii, Prague, War... Chhod Na Yaar, Baat Bann Gayi, Shahid, Mickey Virus, Ishk Actually, Dilli Gang, Sooper Se Ooper, Amdavad Junction, Wake Up India, Satya 2, Kahani Ek Devi Ki, Rajjo, 3 In 1, Club 60, Tu Bewafa Hai, Jai Mahalakshmi, Jackpot, What The Fish, Club 60, Resham Dunkkk, The Dirty MMS, Bhadaas, Mokssh.

© Anant Mathur. All Rights Reserved.

Why Do Bad Films Make Good Money?

By Anant Mathur (November 29, 2013)

Many times people have asked me why is it that bad movies make 100s of crores and good movies will maybe earn 10-20 crores? Well, the simple answer is marketing. But there's more to it than that...

With most top earning actors only doing one or two films a year fans look forward to their next big budget release. Fans are what drive ticket sales and they come in hordes to see their favourite star on the big screen - "First day, first show."

Knowing this, producers and distributors go to great lengths to release a big budget film on at least 2500 to 3000 screens. They know the film is no good and will only be able to earn money in the first week or two, so, they release it on as many screens as possible to earn money back before people realize the film is no good and stop coming. Most filmmakers even pay well known critics to get their films 4 or 4.5 stars out of 5 in reviews (filmmakers have admitted to that).

The problem is... the way film production works today is not based on the strength of the script. Films today are produced based on the talent attached to it, the bigger the stars the more money the producer is able to get, script be damned. The more they get the more they pocket. Since the distributor is not given any paperwork by the producer, he is unable to check how much the film actually cost to make - he is at the mercy of the producer and gives the producer whatever exuberant amount he asks for without ever seeing one frame of the film - only based on star cast and other talent attached to the film like director, producer and music director.

For example, there's no way that the film Once Upon a Time in Mumbai Dobaara! cost 85-100 crores to make when Krrish 3 cost Rs. 115 crores. Krrish 3 has a lot of visual effects and action sequences which will make one believe that the cost could be 115 crores, but, unless Akshay Kumar charged Rs. 60 crores as his salary there's no reason for OUATIMD to cost so much especially since the first film (Once Upon a Time in Mumbai) had a budget of 28 crores and it had a bigger star cast. Of course, OUATIMD wasn't able to recover its cost. 

Part of the problem was that OUATIMD didn't get as wide a release as the producer and distributor had wanted. Most of the Cinema Halls were still playing Chennai Express and were unable to accommodate screens for OUATIMD since Chennai Express was such a success. Instead of 2500 screen, OUATIMD was released on 1600 screens that too on smaller screens (less seating) and with some screens shared with Chennai Express. OUATIMD only managed to earn 60.11 crore before the audience gave up on it. With these mega budgets it has become extremely difficult for films to earn their money back, especially with producers only being interested in filling their own pockets.

Gone are the days when Hum Aapke Hain Kaun and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge were made for Rs. 4 Crores. HAHK had a very limited release, initially it was released with only 26 prints, as word of mouth grew in it's favour so did the number of screens. HAHK eventually went on the earn over 100 crores - that's 92 crores in profit and a return on investment of 2300% (that's right ...two thousand three hundred percent... I thought I would type it out in case you thought you mis-read it). HAHK is considered one of the greatest blockbusters ever in Hindi cinema. Name one movie today that can give such ROI - today distributors are lucky if films make their money back, a ROI of 1% is considered a bonus. Nowadays we have films which are not even 1% as good and cost at least 20 time more.

Here's an idea... Next time you want to see your favourite star wait for a week or two before you go see a new release you will soon see how fast the film flops. If its genuinely good then after the first day or two word of mouth will increase it's audience, especially with so much social media around.

© Anant Mathur. All Rights Reserved.

Déjà Vu Moments...

By Anant Mathur (October 14, 2013) 

This has probably happened to you at some point while watching a film - you suddenly say "I knew that was going to happen." It just means you're smarter than the writer of that film, I don't mean intellectually; simply that your level of understanding the story is greater than his/her ability of writing it. Predicting a scene just means that you've watched or read so much over the years that you're able to figure out what's going to happen before it actually does - sort of like history repeating itself or a déjà vu moment.

What once worked in a Shakespeare play might not work anymore because the audience can predict what's gonna happen. This has nothing to do with the ability of the writer but our ability of understanding the story. I've been schooled in writing/making films so I know the ins and outs and all the gimmicks that go along with developing a screenplay. The trouble is the audience is also learning all this and getting smarter as years pass (especially with the help of "Making of" featurettes available on DVDs and BluRays).

Very rarely do I find the movie going experience entertaining any more - unless it's a classic I'm watching (for the umpteenth time) chances are I won't like it. Personally, films that I enjoy the most now are ones that entertain in a new way. What I mean by this is... because so many stories have been told over the year it's very difficult to find something original, I mean how many times can we watch a boy meets girl or rich girl poor boy story. No, what I expect now is not an original story but one that's presented in a new way or with a twist on the original.

The trouble is 99% of film makers believe wholeheartedly that they know what the audience wants and thus they keep churning out the same old lame stuff; and then they wonder why their films fail. To these film makers signing a big star guarantees a big opening and recovery of the cost in the first week - the story be damned! But soon they'll realize that this no longer works, films are getting expensive and the first week is not enough to recover the cost. Films have to last for several weeks and must have a good story otherwise why would people pay their hard earned money to go to the movie theater when they can download it within a few days from some pirate website or watch it on TV in a couple of months for free?

The future is very bleak for films even gimmicks like 3D can't save the film industry when there are better stories elsewhere. If films were free people wouldn't care how bad the stories were - this is why TV soaps are so popular - they're inexpensive to watch - you don't have to shell out Rs. 200 per person to watch them. The problem being ignored is that most screenwriters are learning the same style of writing that existed 30, 40 or 50 years ago. If you're a scientist or a medical doctor you're not going to learn methods that were taught 50 years ago, you'll learn the most modern methods. Unfortunately, in Bollywood, there is no real body that exists for teaching how to write screenplays.

Screenplays evolve with the story, a style that works for one story won't necessarily work for another. Writers need to learn that boy meets girl doesn't work because it's predictable the audience already knows they will live happily ever after; what happens in-between doesn't really matter - unless you can present it in a new way - who cares. Until writers learn this and stop being brainwashed into writing the three acts style, films will be predictable and boring and we will witness many more déjà vu moments...

© Anant Mathur. All Rights Reserved.

2013 Fall Season!

By Anant Mathur (September 19, 2013)

Fall... It's that incredible time of the year when the leaves start to change colour and the summer heat dies down, just before the winter cool sets in. It also signals the premiere of new television shows and the return of previous audience favourites. Next week, the new 2013-2014 season begins! So, here's a list of NEW shows I feel show promise for the upcoming television season:

The Michael J. Fox Show (NBC)
Genre: Comedy
Starring: Michael J. Fox, Betsy Brandt, Conor Romero, Juliette Goglia,Jack Gore
Plot: After being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, Mike Henry had to give up his career as a news anchor and focus on his health and his family. Five years later, Mike decides to get back to work and struggles between family and career.

We Are Men (CBS)
Genre: Comedy 
Starring: Kal Penn, Chris Smith, Jerry O'Connell, Tony Shalhoub
Plot: After Carter is left at the altar by his soon to be wife, he moves into a short-term rental complex, where he bonds a friendship with three divorced older men.


Almost Human (FOX)
Genre: Drama, Science Fiction
Starring: Karl Urban, Minka Kelly, Lili Taylor, Mackenzie Crook   
Plot: The series is set 35 years into the future when humans in the Los Angeles Police Department are paired up with life-like androids, as a detective who has a dislike for robots ends up being teamed up with one with emotional feelings.


Intelligence (CBS)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Espionage, Science Fiction
Starring: Josh Holloway, Marg Helgenberger, Meghan Ory, Michael Rady

Plot: The series follows a high-tech intelligence operative who is the first of his kind to have a microchip implanted in his brain. Endowed with this technology and ability, he is able to access and detect anything and anyone, but at the expense of taking risks or breaking protocol in order to protect national security, prompting his superior to assign him a Secret Service agent to make sure he does not get out of line, or, for that matter, into enemy hands.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (ABC)

Genre: Action/Adventure, Drama, Science fiction

Starring: Clark Gregg, Ming-Na Wen, Brett Dalton, Chloe Bennet, Elizabeth Henstridge

Plot: Agent Phil Coulson puts together a small team of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to handle strange new cases. Each case will test the team in cooperation and ingenuity as they try to work together figuring out newly emerging superhuman individuals in the world.

Once Upon a Time in Wonderland (ABC)

Genre: Fantasy, Drama, Adventure, Mystery

Starring: Sophie Lowe, Michael Socha, Peter Gadiot, Emma Rigby

Plot: In Victorian England, the young and beautiful Alice tells a tale of a strange new land that exists called Wonderland….one that has her family and doctors convinced she is mad. When the Knave of Hearts and the White Rabbit arrive to save her from a doomed fate, the trio tumble down the rabbit hole for the adventure of a lifetime to rescue Alice’s lost love, Cyrus.


MID-SEASON REPLACEMENTS
 

Chicago PD (NBC)
Genre: Drama
Starring: Jason Beghe, Jon Seda, Melissa Sagemiller, Tania Raymonde
Plot: The Dick Wolf-produced spinoff of "Chicago Fire" will also be shot in Chicago. The show revolves around the fictional District 21 of the CPD, and focuses on uniformed cops who patrol the beat and deal with street crimes, and the Intelligence Unit that targets organized crime, drug trafficking and high-profile murders.

Mind Games (ABC) 
Genre: Drama
Starring: Steve Zahn, Christian Slater, Megalyn Echikunwoke, Cedric Sanders
Plot: Centers on the complicated relationship between two brothers, Clark Clark, a bipolar genius in human psychology, and Ross, a slick ex-con, who solve their clients' problems using the real science of human motivation and manipulation.

Us & Them (Fox)
Genre: Comedy
Starring: Jason Ritter, Alexis Bledel, Dustin Ybarra, Ashlie Atkinson
Plot: After a six-month-long online romance, Gavin, who lives in New York, and Stacey, who lives in Pennsylvania, decide to meet in person. Their crazy family and friends constantly interfere in their budding relationship, which becomes more of a challenge than living in different states.

© Anant Mathur. All Rights Reserved.

Second Quarter Analysis of 2013...

By Anant Mathur (July 14, 2013)

IPL6 was in full swing during the second quarter of 2013, but that didn't stop Bollywood from releasing low and medium budget films. Not surprising, the first big budget film of the second quarter Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani was released in the first weekend of June, shortly after the end of IPL6, and amazingly the film recovered its cost in the first week itself. But, it was 2 small budget films which proved to be most profitable in the second quarter - Aashiqui 2 was made at a cost Rs. 9 Cr. and Fukrey had a modest budget of 5 Cr. 

Since the first weekend of April 2013 approximately 44 Hindi films were released in the Second Quarter of 2013. Out of these 44 films 40 were flops, 1 was average (because it was barely able to recover its cost) and only 3 (Aashiqui 2, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, Fukrey) can be considered hits. Out of the 3 Hits two were able to make a profit because they were made for a miniscule budget and managed huge profits for their distributors. Aashiqui 2 made for Rs. 9 Cr. gave over 271% return on investment (ROI) and Fukrey which was made for a micro budget of Rs. 5 Cr. but delivered a ROI of over 200%.

4 of the 44 films had a budget which equaled or exceeded Rs. 30 Cr. Out of these 4 films only Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, made at a budget of Rs. 50 Cr., managed a profit of Rs. 34.34 Cr. and an approximate ROI of 69%. Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani had the largest budget of all the releases in the second quarter of 2013 and was able recover its cost for the distributor by earning a colossal Rs. 185.33 Cr. in nett collections. Distributor's share of Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani was approximately Rs. 84.34 Cr. giving them a box office profit of Rs. 34.34 Cr.
 
The biggest flop of the lot was Yamla Pagla Deewana 2 - with a budget of Rs. 40 Cr. - it only managed Rs. 28.95 Cr. in nett collections providing a loss of Rs. 25.23 Cr. for its distributor.
 

BELOW IS A LIST OF THE BIG BUDGET RELEASES OF THE SECOND QUARTER OF 2013 AND HOW THEY PERFORMED AT THE BOX OFFICE:

Chashme Baddoor (Budget 25 Cr.)
VERDICT: FLOP
TOTAL NETT COLLECTIONS = Rs. 41.68 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S SHARE = Rs. 19.64 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S LOSS = Rs. 5.36 cr.

Commando - A One Man Army (Budget 15 Cr.)
VERDICT: FLOP
TOTAL NETT COLLECTIONS = Rs. 21.48 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S SHARE = Rs. 10.35 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S LOSS = Rs. 4.65 cr.

Nautanki Saala! (Budget 16 Cr.)
VERDICT: FLOP
TOTAL NETT COLLECTIONS = Rs. 21.70 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S SHARE = Rs. 10.38 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S LOSS = Rs. 5.62 cr.

Ek Thi Daayan (Budget 24 Cr.)
VERDICT: FLOP
TOTAL NETT COLLECTIONS = Rs. 25.44 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S SHARE = Rs. 12.51 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S LOSS = Rs. 11.49 cr.

Aashiqui 2 (Budget 9 Cr.)
VERDICT: BLOCKBUSTER
TOTAL NETT COLLECTIONS = Rs. 78.37 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S SHARE = Rs. 33.43 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S PROFIT = Rs. 24.43 cr.

Shootout At Wadala (Budget 26 Cr.)
VERDICT: AVERAGE
TOTAL NETT COLLECTIONS = Rs. 54.69 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S SHARE = Rs. 25.93 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S LOSS = Rs. 0.07 cr.

Go Goa Gone (Budget 16 Cr.)
VERDICT: FLOP
TOTAL NETT COLLECTIONS = Rs. 25.16 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S SHARE = Rs. 11.98r.
DISTRIBUTOR'S LOSS = Rs. 4.02 cr.

Aurangzeb (Budget 20 Cr.)
VERDICT: FLOP
TOTAL NETT COLLECTIONS = Rs. 22.34 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S SHARE = Rs. 10.84 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S LOSS = Rs. 9.16 cr.

Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (Budget 50 Cr.)
VERDICT: BLOCKBUSTER
TOTAL NETT COLLECTIONS = Rs. 185.33 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S SHARE = Rs. 84.34 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S PROFIT = Rs. 34.34 cr.

Yamla Pagla Deewana 2 (Budget 40 Cr.)
VERDICT: FLOP
TOTAL NETT COLLECTIONS = Rs. 28.95 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S SHARE = Rs. 14.77 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S LOSS = Rs. 25.23 cr.

Fukrey (Budget 5 Cr.)
VERDICT: HIT
TOTAL NETT COLLECTIONS = Rs. 32.77 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S SHARE = Rs. 15.02 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S LOSS = Rs. 14.98 cr.

Raanjhanaa (Budget 35 Cr.)
VERDICT: FLOP
TOTAL NETT COLLECTIONS = Rs. 58.94 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S SHARE = Rs. 26.82 cr.
DISTRIBUTOR'S LOSS = Rs. 8.18 cr.

Ghanchakkar (Budget 30 Cr.)
VERDICT:  FLOP
TOTAL NETT COLLECTIONS = Rs. 28.07 cr.*
DISTRIBUTOR'S SHARE = Rs. 14.04 cr.*
DISTRIBUTOR'S LOSS = Rs. 15.96 cr.*

*Based on First week collections only.

© Anant Mathur. All Rights Reserved.