Is Deepika and Arjun's Finding Fanny a 'break-out' film or a flop?

There are few things in the world that are as mysterious as Bollywood box office earnings. Thanks to the elaborate and complicated network of distribution and the variety of deals (above board and underhand) that are usually negotiated when a film is released, it’s difficult to find out exactly how much a film has made. When the film is a big hit, the numbers are easier to get hold of because no one has any interest in fudging them. Most of the time, however, the business of calculating box office earnings is anything but transparent and Finding Fanny is the latest film that makes an example of how confusing the box office can be. Trade Analyst Vinod Mirani told Rediff that the film has performed ‘below average’ on its opening day. Box Office India claimed that “Finding Fanny opened poorly everywhere though picked up at metro multiplexes in the evening but will need big Saturday growth for a decent weekend.” In sharp contrast to these observations are the jubilant press releases being issued by the producers, claiming Finding Fanny is “the break-out film of 2014” because it passed “the crucial Monday test with ease.” According to a press release issued by Fox Star Studios (who presented Finding Fanny), the film has made Rs 22.4 crore (including Monday’s numbers). Box Office India offers a different analysis and says the film had unexpectedly low collections over the weekend and after four days, it’s made Rs 18.25 crore. Reportedly, the film’s business dropped as much as 60% on Monday. [caption id=“attachment_1714827” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Courtesy: Facebook[/caption] Possibly in a bid to widen its appeal, there’s a Hindi-dubbed version of Finding Fanny in addition to the English original. It seems the ploy may not have worked at the box office. The critics were widely divided in their opinion. Rediff’s Raja Sen described it as   ‘wickedly fantastic’. CNN-IBN’s Rajeev Masand was less effusive, but still full of praise and called Finding Fanny a “charming” film. (You can read our reviews of the film here and here .) Finding Fanny is about a road trip that Angie (Deepika Padukone), Ferdie (Naseeruddin Shah), Rosie (Dimple Kapadia), Don Pedro (Pankaj Kapur) and Savio (Arjun Kapoor) take with the hope of finding Fanny, the girl that Ferdie had wanted to marry 46 years ago.