After a long hiatus, it seems box-office may have finally been able to attract footfalls, thanks to a mixed bag of films ranging from Barbie, Oppenheimer, Rocky aur Raani ki Prem Kahaani, Pathaan. With the festive season beginning from Onam,that is, August 20th, the industry is hopeful of a bigger and better festive box-office collection on the back of some of the most anticipated releases including Red Chillies Entertainment’s Jawan, Yash Raj Films’ Tiger 3, Dharma Productions’ Yodha, among others.“This year so far we have seen a combination of mass and story-lead films. This has led to a rebound with audiences returning to theatres,” R Balki, film-maker, told BrandWagon Online.
The size of the Indian film industry grew to over Rs 1,72,00 crore in FY2022, as per a recent report by Statista. Despite indicative of a trajectory of recovery, the industry was still reeling from the blow of the pandemic, in addition to competing with a swiftly expanding video OTT culture.
The journey so far
To be sure, like many other countries, the Indian film industry irrespective of language has felt the blow of Covid-19, which saw exhibition theatres being shut for two long years and even when doors opened there was initial hesitation among moviegoers. Moviegoers in India returned in droves to cinema halls and movie theatres in 2022 with the overall footfall tallying 892 million, as per market research firm Statista. While it was a significant increase from 2020 when cinema attendance dropped drastically due to the pandemic, the footfall remained below pre-pandemic levels. This was particularly attributed to the underperformance of Hindi films in 2022, the report stated.
To be sure, in the last year, the industry has witnessed a slate of mixed releases which includes PS1 (Ponniyin Selvan 1), among others. The cumulative box office collection between this January-June stood at Rs 4,868 crore, approximately 15% lower when compared to the same period in the previous year. In its report, the research agency has projected that at this rate, total collection for 2023 is expected to close at Rs 9,736 crore, approximately eight percent lower than the annual 2022 box office of Rs 10,637 crore. “Given the way box-office is moving one thing is clear that we cannot predict the future. It all depends on what catches audiences’ fancy and this could be nostalgia, action, among others. But one thing is clear that going to theatres has become a habit which is a good sign. Now this needs to be a sustainable habit. At the moment, one cannot derive a conclusive projection as to how the rest of the year will be,” Vikram Malhotra, founder and CEO, Abundantia Entertainment, said.
The year started with a bang on the back of the release of Shah Rukh Khan starrer Pathaan which quickly became the top grossing movie for 2023 till June at Rs 646 crore. Yash Raj Films’ Pathaan was the top film of the first half of 2023, accounting for over 13% of overall collections till June, 2023, the report added.
Second in line is the controversial Adipurush, which drew movie-goers to theatres for all the wrong reasons. Fast X was the only Hollywood movie to make it to the top 10 list.
Turning the tide
Interestingly, the industry believes that recent releases including Barbie, Oppenheimer, OMG 2, Gadar 2, is one of the key reason for box-office success. The weekend of August 11-13, 2023, drew more than 2.10 crore moviegoers to theatres across the country, breaking a record which was held for the last 10 years with a combined gross box office collection of more than Rs 290 crore over the same weekend, according to a joint announcement by the Multiplex Association of India and Producers Guild India. “ July has been an exceptional month from the point of view box-office collection. This has set the stage for the next six-eight months as we are all waiting for the next set of blockbuster releases. However, if the strike in Hollywood continues, the exhibition industry may face the burnt of it,” Kamal Gianchandani, CEO, PVR Pictures, said.
Despite PVR INOX clocking a net loss of Rs 44.1 crore for the ended June 2023, its revenue from operation rose 31.7% to Rs 1,2666 crore, when compared to the same period last year. The company’s average ticket price also increase by 2.9% to Rs 246 in Q1, FY24. Furthermore, spends per head rose 9.2% to Rs 130.
Back with a Bang!
Despite a lower projection by Ormax Media, the industry opines that 2023 will end with a bang. Industry experts attribute the good run to a strong slate of line-up movies including Jawan, Tiger 3, Yodha, Fukrey 3, among others. “The Indian box-office is back to its pre-pandemic levels. Hindi films are thriving and regional films are doing well. Oppenheimer and Barbie did really well. However, a lot of non-Hollywood content is in the pipeline so the strike would not affect as much,” Taran Adarsh, trade analyst explained.
Movie ticket prices in India resurged last year with the average cost for a ticket amounting to Rs 119, as per Statista. It is believed that this was a significant recovery from the previous year when ticket prices dipped to Rs 87. Average ticket prices rose across languages in 2022 and were 12% higher than pre-pandemic levels, with the main contributors being Hollywood and Hind films. Film-makers feel that over-dose of content on over-the-top (OTT) platforms in yet another reason behind movie-goers returning to theatres. As much as viewers love to watch varied content on their TV screens, it is only that theatres offer a larger-than-life experience. “Two years have been a long time which viewers have spent watching content on OTT and now there is an overdose of it. As a result, we can see audiences returning to theatres,” R Balki, added.