'LOVE AAJ KAL' IS THIRD BIG HIT OF THE YEAR

Its occupancy has been between 90-100 percent.

Love is endless. Ask Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone whose recently released "Love Aaj Kal" has sent the cash registers buzzing, raking in Rs.8 crore (Rs.80 million) on its opening day. And experts say the movie has incredible box office latent.

"The response to the film has been amazing and we have had jam-packed houses over the weekend. While we had occupancy of 98 percent on the first day (Friday), the weekend has been house full with 100 percent occupancy. It's an enjoyable movie and worth watching once," Amit Awasthi, manager programming and operations of Spice Cinemas, Noida told IANS.

"We are running 25 shows for the movie in a day and have already collected Rs.16,56,000 over the first weekend. In fact, we've already sold 2500 tickets even today. The movie is going strong and is predictable to get more business with Raksha bandhan (August 5) coming and is going to stay on until 'Kaminey' releases on August 14," he added.

A source from PVR Cinemas echoed the same response and said: "The reaction to the movie is very good and people have really liked the movie. We are expecting more footfalls coming in the way it has been over the weekend."

Directed by Imtiaz Ali, the movie has been co-produced by Saif and his friend Dinesh Vijan along with Sunil A. Lulla under their banners Illuminati Films and Eros International respectively.

Straddling across two different eras - the film is about the spirit of love that never changes despite time and space differences.

Made at a budget of around Rs.48 crore (Rs.480 million), it released across 1800 screens worldwide. It is the third A-lister hit of 2009 after "New York" and "Kambakkht Ishq" though the latter was panned by critics in terms of content.

Also starring Rishi Kapoor, Shweta Gulati and Rahul Khanna, the film is the launch vehicle of Brazilian model Giselle Monteiro.

"'Love Aaj Kal' is a super hit movie. The occupancy has been somewhere between 90-100 percent bringing in good collections, which is very remarkable. It's a simple and romantic movie and a must watch for a family," said Yogesh Raizada, corporate head (cinemas), Wave cinemas.

"We are running 11-15 shows across different properties and the movie is going to stay anywhere close to two-three weeks. Moreover with the Rakhi holiday coming in, families are surely going to bring in footfalls considering the storyline appeal of the film," he added.

In terms of A-listers, "Love Aaj Kal" has no contender until Shahid Kapur-Priyanka Chopra starrer "Kaminey" hits the screen.