Shahid Kapoor and Vishal Bhardwaj’s third collaboration, O’Romeo, was a widely anticipated release in February. The film marked an entry for the filmmaker into a more massy action genre than his usual drama-heavy narrative style. Given the combination, expectations were high for the film. But O’Romeo did not deliver as promised. The film had a lukewarm start upon release, recovered to an extent, and has now crossed ₹100 crore worldwide. But is that enough to call it a box office success? We analyse:
O Romeo box office performance
O Romeo released on 13 February, collecting ₹8.50 crore net on its release day in the domestic territory. It registered a sizable jump of around 45% on Saturday, but the India-Pakistan T20 World Cup match on Sunday hurt its earnings, as the collections dipped by over 25%. By the end of its opening weekend, O Romeo had earned ₹30 crore net in India and ₹45 crore gross worldwide. Then began the drop as earnings stayed below ₹5 crore per day for the remainder of the first week, and failed to recover over the second weekend. As of 26 February, after two weeks in theatres, O Romeo has earned ₹62 crore net in India, and around ₹98 crore gross worldwide. Trade sources predict it should cross ₹100 crore today (27 February).
Is O Romeo hit or flop?
A film’s box office success is determined not just by its earnings alone, but mainly by its profitability. That is determined by its landing cost, i.e. the budget and marketing overheads. While the exact landing cost of O Romeo has not been announced by its makers, trade insiders say the film cost ₹100-120 crore to make, inclusive of marketing and promotions. Even if we take the conservative estimate of ₹100 crore, the film needs to earn ₹100 crore in net collections (after taxes) to break even. Currently, that figure stands at around ₹72 crore. Given that the film is now earning only around ₹1.2-1.5 crore per day, it looks almost impossible for it to reach the ₹100 crore mark. That means O Romeo will most likely end its run as a box office underperformer. The final verdict – on whether it is a flop or just a below-average earner – will be clear in the coming weeks. As of now, it seems the film will be a flop.
All about O Romeo
Apart from Shahid, O Romeo also stars Triptii Dimri, Vikrant Massey, Tamannaah Bhatia, Avinash Tiwary, Disha Patani, Farida Jalal, and Nana Patekar. O Romeo is inspired by a chapter of author Hussain Zaidi’s book Mafia Queens of Mumbai. The film is set against a deeply emotional, turbulent narrative that explores passion, pain, and the irreversible consequences of love denied, according to the makers.