Horror scores over romance at box office

New Delhi, May 11 (IANS) This week audiences queued up for Vikram Bhatt's horror flick "Haunted" following the 3D buzz and it has raked in Rs.9.32 crore on the opening weekend, while college romance "Luv Ka The End" fizzled out at the box office.

Made at a budget of Rs.8.50 crore, "Haunted" doesn't boast of big names - it stars Mahakshay Chakraborty and Tia Bajpai.

"'Haunted' has got a good opening as it is a horror film and it is shot in 3D format. This novelty factor is working for the film," Yogesh Raizada, corporate head (Cinemas) of Wave Cinemas told IANS.

Set in the misty mountains of Dalhousie, the film is about sprawling mansion Glen Manor, which has a secret past and a haunted present. It is the first stereoscopic 3D horror film shot exclusively with 3DCC's custom-built 3D camera systems.

"There are a few scenes in the film that can actually scare people. Audiences are appreciating the content of the film," said Girish Wankhede, Cinemax, Mumbai.

However, Y-films, an arm of Yash Raj Films, first release "Luv Ka The End" starring Shakti Kapoor's daughter Shraddha Kapoor and newcomer Tahaa Shah opened up with 15 to 20 percent occupancy.

Directed by Bumpy, the film's cost was Rs.9 crore, which includes marketing and production cost. It has earned Rs.2.35 crores net at the box office over the weekend.

"Luv Ka The End" tracks the story of Rhea (Shraddha), the quintessential girl next door, who is in love with the most popular boy in college Luv (Tahaa). On the eve of her 18th birthday, they plan to take their relationship to the next level, when Rhea accidentally finds out Luv's reality and decides to teach him a lesson.

"Although the film is aimed at youngsters, it has failed to attract the target audience. The film lacks appeal," said a source from PVR.

Ashish Patel, head of Y-Films, says it is an experimental film and they were not expecting a big opening.

"It's in line with our expectations. We're inventing a new genre here and given the nature of the film, the very specific audience it talks to and it has a cast and crew of total newcomers, we weren't expecting a big opening," said Patil in a statement.

"We've done a fairly limited release just to test the waters - and the figures are, again, in line with our expectations for opening weekend," he added.

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Haunted