Bobby Deol did't attending Yamla Pagla Deewana promotions

2010 was not an easy year for Bobby Deol. And it looks like 2011 too will be specially taxing, what with the family film Yamla Pagla Deewana's promotions clashing with the schedules of Anees Bazmee's Thank You. The Deol family, Dharmendra and his two sons Sunny and Bobby Deol had vowed to give all their time to the marketing and promotion of their family film Yamla Pagla Deewana. Alas, the Deols proposed. But Anees Bazmee disposed.

Earlier this week Dharmendra and Sunny Deol had to go without Bobby for a promotional tour to Nagpur. Bobby was dragged away to Bangkok for the shooting of Bazmee's Thank You. But the schedule of Bazmee's Thank You couldn't be put off.

Says a source, "Anees' schedule for Thank You had already been disrupted twice. Once because of Bobby's father-in-law's death, they had to abruptly end a schedule in Canada. Then during another schedule Sonam fell ill. There was no way Anees could postpone the schedule any more. He has to complete another schedule of his other film Ready with Salman in March." Emotional to the core, Dharmendra and Sunny Deol are apparently hurt by Bobby's absence from what is being seen as a family affair.

Yamla Pagla Deewana director Samir Karnik confirms, "Yes Bobby couldn't be here for the promotion of this week. Dharamji and Sunny had to go to Nagpur without him. Bobby had to be in Bangkok for Thank You. Parivar kuch adhura lag raha tha. But never mind. Bobby has other commitments." Hope the Deols would also come around to feeling the same way.

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"Avatar", 3D drive foreign box office

According to preliminary estimates, receipts for the six major Hollywood studios from all countries outside the United States and Canada will total $12.7 billion, breaking the $10.7 billion record set in 2009. This was accomplished despite the fact that "admissions (the number of tickets sold) have been more or less flat internationally versus 2009," one studio executive noted.

What made the difference was a more than doubling of the number of 3D titles released abroad at steeper ticket prices, thus yielding a roughly 35% 3D ticket surcharge. (In the United States and Canada, 2010 is on track to match last year's take of $10.6 billion, despite a notable five percent drop in admissions.)

"2010 was certainly the year when 3D had a major impact on box office, with eight of the top 15 international titles (presented) in 3D," said Andrew Cripps, president of Paramount Pictures International. Leading the way was "Avatar," which grossed almost $1.5 billion of its $2 billion foreign haul during 2010.

Other major 3D titles included "Alice in Wonderland" ($690.2 million), "Toy Story 3" ($649.2 million), which topped the list of 2010 releases. Among other 3D notables were "Shrek Forever After" ($505 million), "Clash of the Titans" ($330 million), "Despicable Me" ($291 million) and "How to Train Your Dragon" ($277.5 million). Among 2D titles, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1" ($610 million) and "Inception" ($531 million), ranked at No. 3 and No. 4, respectively, ahead of the "Shrek" sequel.

The top-five films on average earned about two-thirds of their worldwide sales from outside North America. Not all was smooth sailing in 2010. The enormous success of "Avatar" -- plus the robust performance of "Alice in Wonderland" -- wildly skewed results of the first quarter. The second quarter went largely in the other direction thanks to the football World Cup, crippling releases such as "The A-Team," whose foreign total stalled at $101 million. The third quarter was better, but 2010 ended on a down note because of tough year-ago comparisons with "Avatar"-fueled business.

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