Abhiwarya at the Box Office

So we know Abhishek and Aishwarya together can sell magazines. But can they sell movies?

The recent disaster of Umrao Jaan which sank faster than a kabab in my Mom's daal had everyone asking that question. So all eyes were on the no-longer romantically ambiguous duo when Guru hit the theaters on January 12 this year.

Early reports were said to be disappointing. As expected the collections were decent in the metros but poor everywhere else. Guru seemed like it was on its way to being a flop. Then a couple of things happened that might have changed Guru's fate.

It's a given that dramas don't garner huge opening audiences, usually picking up box office steam gradually. Right around that first week, Abhishek received the best reviews for his career in the press. And this was further augmented by much clamouring along the same lines among the blogistanis.

The second thing, of course, was that news of the Abhiwarya engagement went public and everyone's curiosity got the better of them because it seems they went to watch the movie in droves.

In almost 4 weeks, Guru's worldwide take at the box office is over $15 million worldwide.

Is that good? There is a quick point of comparison available. Both stars acted together in Dhoom 2 although they weren't lined up romantically in that project. Dhoom 2 was last year's biggest blockbuster, edging out Lage Raho Munnabhai in the final stretch. Its collection? $32 million globally after 7 weeks in theaters.

By that yardstick, Guru is certainly registering a big ka-ching! and ushering in a great start for Bollywood in 2007.