'Mere Brother Ki Dulhan' earns Rs 26.5 crores

The Imran Khan-Katrina Kaif-Ali Zafar starrer 'Mere Brother Ki Dulhan' has not got a bumper opening like 'Bodyguard' but the film is doing good business - it earned Rs.25.6 crore over the weekend.

Made at a budget of Rs.30 crore, which includes cost of production, print publicity and marketing, the Yash Raj Films' venture opened to 80-90 percent occupancy.

"'Mere Brother Ki Dulhan' has had a good start. It opened with 90 percent occupancy and the content is quite appealing to youngsters. Even Monday has seen a good occupancy," a source from PVR said.

Directed by debutant Ali Abbas Zafar, the romantic comedy is set in an urban middle class family and deals with two brothers - Luv Agnihotri (Ali Zafar) and Kush Agnihotri (Imran).

"People are liking the movie as it is a very light-hearted film and has a different concept. Not only our weekend shows got good response, even Monday, which is a general a working day had houseful shows. Both Imran and Katrina have done a good job. Even Ali Zafar is good," said Puneet Sahay, senior manager for programming and operations at Spice Cinemas.

Yogesh Raizada of Waves Cinemas says it's a well-packaged drama.

"The response to the film is very good. It has opened up with 80 to 90 percent occupancy. All the actors Imran, Katrina and Ali have justified their characters. It is a family entertainer and has a mix of emotion, drama and comedy. Overall its a good product," said Raizada.

Cinema owners say the film is likely to be affected by Shahid Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor starrer "Mausam" that releases Friday.

"With the release of 'Mausam', the film is likely to get affected as the shows will be less but we still expect "Mere Brother Ki Dulhan" to do well in the second week," said Sahay.

Raizada said: "The occupancy is likely to fall to to 40 percent to 50 percent."

IANS