‘Acche Din’ for Bollywood

The pandemic hit theatrical business badly, impacting the footfall in theatres even after the world resumed normalcy post the Covid-19 crisis, leading to financial setback in the industry. Now, things are looking bright for the big screen with the success of films such as Jawan, Pathaan and Gadar 2.

In 2019, the box office collections of the year were ₹4200 crores nett, with the top films including names such as Uri, Bharat, Kabir Singh, Super 30, Mission Mangal, Chhichhore, Dream Girl, War, The Sky is Pink, Dabangg 3, Good Newzz, Manikarnika, Gully Boy, and Bala. The cinemas were shut for most part of 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic crisis. The past year, 2022 had a moderate run of ₹1950 crore. However, it looks like tables have turned and cinema is coming back to life, returning to its pre-Covid period.

Trade analyst Atul Mohan tells us, “This year’s box office is already 41% above last year’s collection. With more huge upcoming releases ahead this year, like Animal, Dunki, and Tiger 3 alone can make more than ₹1200 crore with just these three films”. “Shah Rukh and Salman Khan’s films would definitely cross ₹500 crore and Animal also looks promising and would surely bank more than ₹300 crore. And baaki films like Fukrey 3, Sam Bahadur, Ganapath and Yodha would also do well,” he adds.

The year started with Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan with a worldwide gross collection of ₹1,050.30 crore. Then, we saw the revival of cinema in the recently released Sunny Deol starrer Gadar 2, which earned ₹522.84 crore till the date of print. The latest addition to these blockbusters is Jawan, breaking records of many, collecting more than ₹1000 crore till now. A major milestone for Hindi cinema in 2023 is that this year has already touched ₹2750 by September, surpassing last year’s total collections, and hoping to break 2019’s record, with major upcoming releases, including Dunki, Animal, and Tiger 3, giving a hope that 2023 might be the biggest for Hindi film industry.

Director Anees Bazmee agrees and says that cinema has its own place in everyone’s heart. “People were in a bad condition during Covid, aur logon ne OTT ko preference dena shuru kardia tha, but I knew this was temporary. People would return and that too with a bang, and wohi hua. The way things are moving, this year is going to be one of the biggest for cinema, I believe.”

Trade analyst and producer Girish Johar feels that while the industry may benefit after huge banner films do well, it is the mediocrity that needs to be eliminated. “2019 was the greatest for Hindi cinema. Even budgeted films were clicking ₹70-80 crore in that year. But suddenly, two years were the lowest when the pandemic hit. But now, in the initial months of 2023, we are getting the same numbers as 2019, which is a great recovery. However, the difference in the scenario is that the big ones are doing bigger, but the medium ones are not doing that well. So, the rejection is outright. If a film does not have a good start on day 1, then it dies on the same day, which was not the case earlier.”

Weighing in on the scenario, Director Anil Sharma says, “If we look at Pathaan, Gadar 2, Jawan, and many others, the films that keep the country together are being appreciated by the audience. People were separated from theatres and there was a shift in content in those two years, with a division between classy and massy films. But now, films are the sole source of entertainment for people and hence, they are returning to theatres for content. Yeh saal aur even agla saal kaafi bada hone wala hai, kyuki itne bade and ache releases arahe hain.”