Call it luck or mere good timing, but Bollywood movie "Race 2" has generated Rs 100 million in revenues in about six weeks of running in Pakistan and it has smashed all previous box office records of Indian films in Pakistan. Previously, Salman Khan starrer Dabangg had grossed Rs 80 million, while Bodyguard and Don 2 earned Rs 60 million and Rs 80 million respectively.
While critics despised the cheesy one-liners and the pointless plot of the film, the saucy combination of actors John-Deepika Padukone and Saif-Jacqueline Fernandez did wonders at the Pakistani box office. The Abbas-Mustan sequel to Race, which was released late February, has proved that this duo still holds potential to hit box office strongly.
Managing Director of Atrium Cinemas, Nadeem Mandviwalla, believes that the business of Race 2 at the box office is a welcome change for the Pakistani cinema industry. He also said the cinema industry in Pakistan will be able to double its market potential in less than five years considering the pace with which screens are being multiplied.
The success of Race 2 tells our own film-makers that cinema culture is going strong and that audiences crave big screen entertainment. Now is the time that they need to up their quality and output!
