Rock On 2 bears the brunt of demonetisation or of its own mediocrity? Box office update

The repeated Jaago pleas by the Rock On 2 team only put the audience to sleep. Other than the critics’ reviews, the box office collection of the film also stands testimony to the fact that it could not match up to its successful sequel Rock On!! that released in 2008.[caption id="attachment_3104930" align="alignleft" width="380"] Rock On 2 released this past Friday to a weak opening.[/caption]According to a report by Koimoi.com, the first weekend collection of the film was a meager Rs 7.01 crore. If compared to its prequel, Rock On!! earned Rs 6.25 crore on its first weekend.Though Rock On 2 marches ahead marginally, trade pundits predict that the much-hyped sequel will be unable to achieve Rs 25 crore, the box office collection of its prequel.Trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted his verdict on the film along with the box office figures of the first three days after the release:Made with a budget of around Rs 45 crore, the filmmakers have attributed the weak opening to the demonetisation move of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which came into effect four days prior to the release of the film.“People are busy queuing up outside the banks and even if they are able to get the new Rs. 2000 note, they are not able to get the change for it which is affecting the overall collection of the film. If we had any clue about the decision we would have definitely pushed the release date,” said co-producer Ritesh Sidhwani of Excel Entertainment, as per a news report by The Indian Express.The filmmakers had endorsed the PM’s move and tried their best to mitigate its negative impact on the collections through waive offs of convenience fees during online booking, special prices for college students and other incentives.However, irrespective of all the crisis management measures, the film received a dismal opening and its progress at the box office has been almost insignificant.