Punjabi Pic ‘Jodi’ Latest To Break Out In Strong Market For Indian Fare – Specialty Box Office

deadline.com:

Indian films are a box office mainstay and one, Jodi, from Rhythm Boyz Entertainment, hit big this weekend Stateside, grossing $734,000 on just 125 screens.

In April, the film set a record as the most viewed Punjabi trailer in 24 hours (over 12 million views on YouTube). “This has been happening more and more — Indian films popping into the top 5, or 10, or 15th” place in North America, said Paul Degarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, which compiled the numbers on Jodi. “It shows the strength of Indian cinema.

That’s a really impressive number, almost three quarters of a million dollars at 125 theaters.” The ones that pop do really well on a per-theater-average, even if they make $1-$2 million or aren’t in the top ten, he said.

Jodi’s PTA is $5.75k. Some other breakouts this year include Waltair Veerayya, Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar and Dasara. Indian films may wind up being even more important to exhibitors down the line given the potential for prolonged Hollywood labor action.