Akshay Kumar can heave a sigh of relief. Going through a rough patch professionally, the actor had pinned a lot of hopes on his new film 'Desi Boyz'. Though the film hasn't set the cash registers jingling by joining the 'Rs 30 crore club' in its opening weekend, it has fared much better than his recent releases, for sure.

Of course, one cannot overlook the fact that 'Desi Boyz' was well-publicised, had an extensive release ['Rockstar' was released in 1,900 screens in India, while 'Desi Boyz' has opened in 2,200 screens in India] and the trade did expect a big fat total, but the 'Adults' tag has proved a deterrent. Word of mouth publicity for the film has also remained mixed, which explains the sharp decline in business on Monday and Tuesday.

Frankly speaking, a section of the film industry was doubtful about the content of 'Desi Boyz' [the protagonists become male escorts to make ends meet], prior to its release. But the naysayers were equally doubtful of 'Delhi Belly' [the spoken language in the film raised eyebrows] as well. But times have changed. The youth connected with 'Delhi Belly', while the multiplexes responded favorably to 'Desi Boyz', which only goes to prove that something that was considered taboo till a few years ago is no longer taboo today, at least in some parts of India.

Talking from the business point of view, 'Desi Boyz' is not likely to join the 'Rs 50 crore club' in Week 1, since the business has fallen considerably on weekdays. In fact, when a film doesn't cross the Rs 30 crore mark in the opening weekend and doesn't have long legs to sustain on weekdays, the coveted figure [Rs 50 cr] is definitely ruled out. Besides, with 'The Dirty Picture' arriving this Friday, 'Desi Boyz' is sure to feel the heat in its second weekend.