After the decent performance of Baadshaho and Shubh Mangal Saavdhan at the box office, all trade pundits thought that the audience was willing to spend some time in cinemas once again. But take a close look at the collections Simran and Lucknow Central , which hit screens yesterday, you will realize that figuring out what the audience wants is almost impossible.

Starring Kangana Ranaut and directed by Hansal Mehta , Simran released across 1500 screens nationwide. The movie was expected to open well because Kangana Ranaut has her own brand value and does not need any male star to give her films a decent opening. However, that did not happen this time around as Simran did not witness many footfalls in cinema halls. Resultantly, the film could earn just Rs. 2.77 crores on its opening day. The figure is, undoubtedly, much below the expectations.

Simran is made with a budget of Rs. 30 crores. Keeping its budget in mind, the film needed to have pulled in at least Rs. 5 crores for a respectable opening day amount. The film needs to pick up really well on Saturday and Sunday for a good weekend. To be an average or above average film, Simran will have to earn almost Rs. 50 crores. In case it falls short to touch that mark, it will be another flop by Kangana Ranaut after Rangoon.

Talking about another release of the week, Lucknow Central , the Farhan Akhtar movie, too, failed to attract the crowd, neither in single screens nor in multiplexes. The film tucked away Rs. 2.04 crores despite getting good reviews from many topnotch reviewers.

It seems impossible for the film to pick in coming days because the majority of the audience is swinging towards Simran . Kangana's film is receiving better word of mouth than this Ranjit Tiwari directorial, which means her film has better chances to pull the crowd to theatres.