The half-yearly report for Bollywood is a bag of mixed fortunes with only four films managing to hit the bull's eye at the box office. In the first quarter of 2008, it was 'Race' and 'Jodha Akbar', while in the second quarter it was 'Jannat' which sent cash registers ringing. Trade sources said from January to June, 116 films were released out of which 'Race', 'Jannat' have been hits. While 'Jodhaa Akbar', 'Sarkar Raj' have been declared average grossers. Trade sources admit that with the economics of film business turning completely corporate, the line between a hit and a flop has nearly vanished. But, box office collections are still determined by the film's collections in the first two weeks. Trade analyst Amod Mehra attributes the poor response at the box office to soaring prices of multiplex tickets. "It is unimaginable that the loss ratio can be so high due to bad films. People are not interested in shelling out money for films," he said. April-May months were dominated by the Indian Premier League. This slack period saw much-hyped film like 'Tashan' biting the dust. Even Amitabh Bachchan starrer 'Bhootnath' released in May got a poor opening. Similarly, 'Jodhaa Akbar', released to much critical acclaim, lost out at the box office in the initial stages due to the controversies surrounding the name of Akbar's Rajput wife. The film was not allowed to be released in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and the ban was later revoked by the Supreme Court. The film went on to complete 100 days at the box office. (PTI) ... read more »