Madhur Bhandarkar’s Fashion and Ahstavinayak’s Gol Maal Returns have scored big at the box office post Diwali.

While last year’s Diwali releases Om Shanti Om and Saawariya had a hair raising tussle with the latter proving to be a debacle, both movies released this year are faring well.

“Both films are faring exceptionally well at the box office. Content wise Fashion is for upper crust audiences and is attracting youngsters, Gol Maal Returns is for the masses,” Delhi-based distributor Joginder Mahajan said.

Girish Johar, associate VP, UTV motion pictures that produced Fashion, added,” Fashion has done fabulously well and it has been the biggest opening for a Madhur Bhandarkar film ever. We are very happy and the audiences are loving the film. It is doing bigger and better than its other counterparts. We are sure it will get audiences for at least the next five weeks.”
Fashion, starring Priyanka Chopra, Kangana Ranaut, debutante Mugdha Godse, Arbaaz Khan, Arjan Bajwa and many of the Who’s Who of the style fraternity, is a take on the Indian fashion industry.
Gol Maal Returns is a sequel to the 2006 hit comedy Gol Maal.
Fashion had already recovered half of its costs - around Rs.8.5 million - from in-film advertising through its sponsors and endorsements from brands like Lenovo, Sunsilk, Reebok and Kimaya even before it released.
Distributed by TV 18 network, Gol Maal Returns released with 1,000 prints worldwide for 1,400 shows while “Fashion” hit the screens with around 700 prints worldwide and collected 40,000 pounds on its opening day in Britain.

Ashtavinayak expects to earn Rs.400 million in the first week. Gol Maal Returns collected 40,000 pounds in Britain on the first day itself. It also broke records in Chitra Cinema in Mumbai where it is booked for the nine days. Exhibitors in north India have earned more than Rs. 1 million on first day. “It is faring exceptionally well at single screens across the country,” said a spokesperson for Ashtavinayak.