Horror flick Phoonk spooks competition at the box office

And, Varma's formula appears to have worked, as surprising every movie critic, Phoonk has garnered nearly 90 percent of occupancy in its opening weekend, faring better than other Hindi movies like Mumbai Meri Jaan and Maan Gaye Mughall-e-Azam that opened at the same time.

However, Varma does not want to take all the credit. "It's the technical finesse and actor's performances that make the difference. The treatment of the film matters," he said.

But industry sources say that Phoonk was low on the scare department but still fared well because of the marketing and distribution gimmicks adopted by the producers of Phoonk.

"They challenged anyone to watch the Phoonk all alone without leaving the movie theater till the movie ended, for a chance to win Rs.5 lakh," the sources said.

"In addition, the limited release and small production budget worked in its favor. Also it has been a while since a horror film has hit theaters, making movie goers more curious," they said.

Maybe. But who is Varma to complain? After the weekend earnings raked in by Phoonk, he will be laughing his way to the bank for successfully scaring the wits out of the people, even though his movies do not measure up to Hollywood's big three scariest flicks - The Sixth Sense, Jaws and Exorcist which, in the horror genre, have made it as the three biggest grosser in the history.