The run-up to Diwali seems to be a very busy time with an average of three to four films releasing at the box office every week. Last week saw three films, Vikram Bhatt's 1920, Rituparno Ghosh's The Last Lear and Rubaru try their luck at the box office.

Vikram Bhatt's horror flick, 1920 fared very decently at the box office, with an opening ranging between 50 to 60 per cent, despite featuring rank newcomers. The film's marketing and publicity seems to have paid off and the movie seems to be doing well in both the metros and the smaller cities. It will come as relief to Bhatt, whose last few films have bombed at the box office—including films like Speed, Red and Life Main Kabhie Kabhie, all made in the last two years. Rituparno Ghosh's The Last Lear unfortunately did not attract enough crowds despite the controversy generated by Jaya Bachchan's remark. Even the presence of Amitabh Bachchan. Preity Zinta and Arjun Rampal has not been able to lift the film's prospects as it opened to an initial of 20 to 30 per cent at the multiplexes. Arjun Bali's Rubaru starring Randeep Hooda and Shahana Goswami bombed at the box office, registering an opening of only 15 per cent. There are reports of the film's shows being cancelled at certain theatres as well. Of last week's releases, Neeraj Pandey's A Wednesday seems to be picking up in its second week. Word-of-mouth publicity seems to have worked wonders for the film. It is doing very satisfactorily at the box office. Next week, veteran director Shyam Benegal's Welcome To Sajjanpur, Shona Urvashi's Saas Bahu Aur Sensex and Jaideep Verma's Hulla are expected top hit the theatres. It seems like an interesting mix.