Romantic comedy flicks and new-age films like Love Aaj Kal, All The Best, Wake Up Sid, Luck By Chance, Kaminey, Kambakkht Ishq and the recent Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani have been able to bring cheers at multiplexes as compared to the poor show put up by films like Jail, Blue, Main Aurr Mrs Khanna and Agyaat. “The comedy films have seen 100 per cent occupancy at theatres as compared to the low 20-30 per cent occupancy seen by films on other subjects," said an analyst.

According to Prakhar Joshi, head, programming, PVR Cinemas, "This year, viewers have shown a huge interest in comedy and new-age youth-oriented subjects such as Love Aaj Kal, All The Best, Wake Up Sid and now Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani. In spite of serious and family-oriented films like Jail, Blue and Main Aur Mrs Khanna having huge promotional activities,humour has surpassed all genres in 2009. Among the releases of 2009 so far, multiplexes say that the flavour of the year is undoubtedly comic drama and urban-oriented films.

"This is one of the reasons that Diwali's comedy flick, All The Best is still running at the theatres, garnering 60 per cent occupancy. It's clear that the audiences are not only looking at a big star-cast, but are also interested in content that can hook them to the screens," he added.

Talking about the recent releases, multiplexes across the country last Friday saw the release of the much-hyped Rajkumar Santoshi's romantic comedy film Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani (APKGK) and Madhur Bhandarkar's Jail. Where most multiplexes and trade analysts thought that both films would be in close competition, APKGK stole the show. Alok Tandon, CEO, Inox Leisure, said, "APKGK has been marketed as a frothy comedy. There is a lot of curiosity seen around the film and about the lead pair in the film, which has worked in its favour."

Adding to this, trade analysts say that Santoshi's APKGK has taken an unexpected start at multiplexes and is the second comedy hit of the year after Love Aaj Kal (released in August). APKGK, on Day One garnered Rs 6.75 crore as compared to the year's biggest release Love Aaj Kal, which garnered Rs 8 crore on the first day. "APKGK is definitely the second big opening of the year, followed by Imtiaz Ali's Love Aaj Kal. If you also compare the shows, Love Aaj Kal had 325 shows a day at PVR, while APKGK had 225 shows.

This clearly shows that the audiences this year are in a mood for comedy and not serious subjects like Jail. APKGK opened with 95 -100 per cent occupancy at PVR and saw high appreciation from the audience, while Jail had only 20-25 per cent response. The hype created around APKGK overshadowed Jail, thus making it a clear winner of the week. APKGK grossed around Rs 3 crore in three days, whereas Jail garnered a low Rs 52 lakh," said Joshi.

According to trade analysts, Love Aaj Kal garnered around Rs 27 crore in the opening weekend, while APKGK is expected to cross the Rs 25 crore, the second highest so far after Love Aaj Kal.