Bollywood yells back: Box office revenue could cross Rs 12,000 crore in 2023

New Delhi: After a long post-coronavirus box office winter, 2023 has become the year of comeback for Bollywood. Several films broke collection records, set new standards, and silenced critics who had blamed the city’s collapse on an elitist urban narrative.

Jawan ( INR643.87 million), pattern ( INR543.05 million), Gadar 2 ( INR525.45 million) and animals ( INRAccording to the latest tally, it exceeded 537.17 million). INRIt achieved $500 million in the domestic market alone, surpassing previous record collections. INRAamir Khan’s Dangal (the highest-grossing Hindi film till January 2023), which was released in 2016, is far behind at 387.38 million.

Total annual box office revenue by language could exceed INR12,000 billion. With a slew of blockbuster titles scheduled for the last week of December, there is a possibility that it will break 2019 box office records. INR10,948 billion.

Industry pundits, who had heralded the end of the Hindi film industry, are now keen to highlight the return of the Bollywood potboiler. The Hindi film combines elements of drama, action and emotion, complemented by the presence of a mainstream star like Shah. Rukh Khan and Sunny Deol. The comeback of these stars comes as this year opens up more and more possibilities for other actors and directors from the 1990s to experiment with genres such as action dramas, comedies and family entertainers to cater to the needs of their audiences. This was another important achievement. Demand from a diverse audience, including small-town moviegoers. For example, Rajkumar Santoshi, known for hits like ‘Ghayal’ and ‘Andaz Apna Apna’, has collaborated with Aamir Khan in two projects, including one starring Deol. Salman Khan has signed a family drama directed by Sooraj Barjatiya. David Dhawan is planning a comedy film with his son Varun.

“This year was definitely a better year than 2022, with more releases and hits. But we can’t keep making one type of movie anymore, otherwise audiences will get bored. The beauty of this business is that it takes all kinds of scales, genres and budgets,” says Sanjeev Kumar Bijli, Executive Director, PVR Inox Ltd.

Besides male-led action entertainers, Dream Girl 2 ( INR149 million), Satyaprem Ki Katha ( INR77.5 billion), Zara Bakke Zara Bakke ( INR880 million), Sam Bahadur ( INR72.65 billion), 12th failure ( INR521.8 billion) turned into a sleeper hit. Bijli said the trend wasn’t widespread until last year.

Devan Sampat, chief executive officer of Cinepolis India, said it was justified to define 2023 as the year of resurgence for Hindi films, considering the huge impact of Bollywood on the box office. He added that SRK’s return with Pathan in January and the nostalgic moments of Gadaar 2 (a sequel to the 22-year-old film series) were the standouts of the year.

In 2023, Hindi films made a remarkable comeback, accounting for 33% of the annual box office revenue from 19% in 2021, rising to 33% in 2022, and 44% in 2023, according to Ormax’s theatrical business. said Sanket Kulkarni, development director. media. “One of the reasons for the success of Hindi films is the ability to offer theatrically worthy experiential films in multiplexes and single screens, which is essential for success in theaters in the post-pandemic era. The film was able to successfully combine the star power of the Bollywood actors with the heavy storytelling of the southern directors,” Kulkarni said, adding that “Jawan” and “Animal” are examples of such collaborations. he added.

According to BookMyShow’s 2023 Best Annual Report, 1,648,508 people flocked to movie theaters this year, each watching at least six movies this year, with an average frequency of once every two months. Jawan, Pattern, Gadar 2: Katha Continues, Jailer, Animals (Hindi), Leo, Kerala Stories, Adipurush (Hindi), Ponniyan Selvan: Part 2 (Tamil), Tiger 3, Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahaani, OMG 2 stood out as the most watched movie. Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai and Ahmedabad led the way in movie-going experience.

“The willingness to explore beyond the typical mass entertainer suggests a healthy evolution within the industry. Factors contributing to this include compelling storylines, star power, and technical excellence such as VFX. “The film industry and audience’s acceptance of the film, background music and production quality, and the possibility of a renewed interest among moviegoers for Hindi films,” BookMyShow said.

But unlike 2022, when South Indian films like ‘RRR’, ‘KGF: Chapter 2’ and ‘Kantara’ were not only big hits in the domestic market, but their dubbed versions resonated in the Hindi heartland as well. , 2023 saw no southern films at all. Destroy the northern market.

According to Kulkarni, the share of Tamil films in the total box office revenue has maintained from 16% in 2022 to 17% in 2023, while Telugu and Malayalam films have increased by 3% each in 2022 compared to 2022. This is a slight decrease of 2%. Kannada films suffered the biggest decline, with their share plummeting from 8% in 2022 to 2% in 2023.

BookMyShow’s Saxena said the resurgence of mid-sized films in Hindi cinema this year could mean wider acceptance of diverse content. “This trend may signal a move away from dependence on big-budget spectacles. Audiences have an increased appetite for diverse and unconventional storytelling, and are increasingly interested in a wide range of genres. The success of films that truly depict diverse stories signals a positive shift in audience tastes. It has been proven that audiences prefer watching movies on screen. If the content is good, viewers tend to watch it right away instead of waiting for release on streaming platforms,” ​​said Saxena. added.

However, the situation is not completely rosy for the Hindi film industry. While the box office numbers are cause for celebration, the post-COVID-19 landscape still lacks a clear template to attract audiences. In pre-pandemic times, the combination of certain stars and certain genres definitely returned, but according to the filmmakers, this is no longer the case.

For example, two films directed by Salman Khan did not perform well at the box office this year. Kisi ka bhai kisi ki jaan has just crossed the bridge. INR100 million and released on Diwali, Tiger 3 (also part of the popular Yash Raj Films Spy Universe) concluded with: INR285 million. Similarly, Akshay Kumar’s reliance on social messaging to deliver profitable films on a limited budget has not yielded the desired results.

“This makes it difficult to benchmark budgets. Expected outcomes for actors, directors and genres are not clear,” said Sharik Patel, chief business officer at Zee Studios, which produced Gadaar 2. Ta.

Next year will be a real test to determine how well the mid-budget film genre recovers. Patel said there are not that many blockbuster titles slated for release and unlike this year, when many star vehicles were released, films starring big names like SRK, Salman and Aamir are unlikely to be released in theaters. he pointed out. covid-19 was released in quick succession.

Additionally, streaming platforms that invested heavily in acquiring movies during the pandemic are now reluctant to splurge on movies that don’t connect well with theater-going audiences, and are instead shifting their budgets to star-driven major projects. It is preserved. Initially, these services were considered a haven for niche, fringe stories, but they no longer have value for theatrical flops or anything that doesn’t feature a familiar face. For example, Kapil Sharma’s Zwigat did not perform well at the box office in March this year and could not get an OTT deal. Additionally, services are no longer willing to sign package deals with producers for multiple films, preferring to pick and choose individual titles.

Some films have also become harder to release because digital deals are no longer guaranteed, and as a result, many stars have yet to announce new projects. In fact, several highly-anticipated Bollywood films have been in development for a long time, as producers struggle to find stars who can guarantee box-office success and face difficulties in securing financing from studios. is facing difficulties.

For example, after Disney India decided not to pick up the next installment of the Brahmastra franchise, Jio Studios showed interest. However, the project has stalled as the lead cast has not been finalized, and no updates have been made in this regard. Similarly, another mythological film, The Immortal Aswatthama, which was originally slated to have Ronnie Screwvala in a supporting role, now has Jio in its cast, but the final cast has not yet been decided.

“As far as Hindi films are concerned, the good news is the recovery in theatrical business. On the contrary, OTT platforms are working on figuring out what is working and what is not working for new and existing subscribers. “There has been a slowdown in content uptake during this time. This has slowed down content fluidity to some extent and necessitated revisions to budgets and talent salaries,” said Tanuj Garg, Partner, Ellipsis Entertainment.