Walt Disney India’s first animation venture, Roadside Romeo, produced in association with Yashraj Films and animated by Tata Elxsi, opened poorly at the box office.
Compared to animation films made in India, like Hanuman and its sequel Hanuman Returns, which did wonders at the box office, Roadside Romeo failed to woo audiences.
A Box Office India trade report reveals that the film, which was released just before the Diwali weekend, opened to a poor 20%-25% response. The reports are not encouraging and the film will find it hard to make a mark at cinema halls.
Sahara One Motion Pictures? Hanuman, released in association with Percept Pictures and Silvertoons at a cost of Rs 2.5 crore in 2006, had record earnings of Rs 7 crore across the country. It earned Rs 3.5 crore in Mumbai alone.
Its sequel Hanuman Returns, made by Percept Pictures, as well as Shemaroo’s Bal Ganesh, too did ?fairly good business?.
A film critic said, ?Animation films should address children first and then adults. However, all characters in Roadside Romeo are so adultlike.
Also, unlike other Bollywood films and animation films, the build-up around the movie wasn?t satisfactory.
The fact that some of Bollywood?s biggest actors like Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Javed Jafri voiced characters in the film wasn?t given adequate publicity, especially given the fact that Khan and Kapoor are a real-life couple.
Heroes was released the same weekend as Roadside Romeo, but it opened to a fairly good response. The film registered around 70-80% collections in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. The response in Mumbai and Mysore was on the lower side, with 40%-plus collections.