“Everything changes with time’s passage,” Terry Brooks, an American author once said. Brooks could not have been more correct especially when it comes to the current theatrical landscape in India. Box office collection, which clocked an all-time high of Rs 12,226 crore in 2023, exceeding the previous record of Rs 10,948 crore in 2019 and growing at 15% over 2022, as per Ormax Box Office Report 2023, has already shown signs of a decline in the first quarter of FY25. To be sure, PVR-INOX, one of the largest multiplex operators saw a decline in revenue from sales of tickets to Rs 593.5 crore in Q1, FY25 compared to Rs 694.5 crore during the same period in the preceding year. “ There is a massive change in viewer behaviour in terms of consumption of movies or media. Most of films that have done well are the ones that have created a kind of event. If there is not enough fear of missing out on a particular title, then people will decide not to visit halls. Add to this the advent of OTT and various mediums are creating a lot of problems for theatre owners. Apart from that people are not ready to take the hassle of ticket booking, taking the car through the traffic. Starting from big cities like Delhi, and Mumbai, or relatively small cities like Indore, and Jaipur among others, traffic plays a key role in demotivating people to go to movie theatres. hat’s why creating a FOMO becomes so important here,” Ashish Golwalkar, a senior media consultant, told BrandWagon Online.
The year of loss, so far
It is believed that events like the General Election in the months of April-May and besides cricket tourneys such as the IPL (Indian Premier League), and ICC T20 World Cup impacted the release calendar across all languages. Film experts opined that only a handful of distribution and movie production companies were to opened to idea of releasing a film in between such marquee events. “ A substantial chunk of viewership was taken away by these events. Whether it is the election, IPL, or T20 World Cup, I feel it was bound to impact because releases were scarce then. No one wanted to come during the election time with major funds and didn’t want to clash with IPL either. So, I guess somewhere the impact had to show,” Taran Adarsh, a film critic and trade analyst said.
It is believed the when compared with regional cinema, Hindi films struggled at the box office. For instance, regional movies like Maharaja, Aranmanai 4 (Tamil), Nach Ga Ghuma (Marathi), Aavesham, Varshangalkku Sheesham and Turbo(Malayalam) seem to have gained viewers’ attention. “The Hindi content faced challenges in Q1 FY25, particularly in the face of competition from large-scale events. However, the regional content, especially from Tamil, Marathi, and Malayalam cinema, performed robustly, offering a strong alternative and attracting audiences despite the lack of blockbuster Hindi films. This balance helped to stabilise overall viewership,” Devang Sampat, MD, Cinepolis said.
Amidst this situation, several theatre chains have taken various steps to bring audiences into theatres. For instance, PVR-INOX introduced buy one get one (BOGO) for viewers. The multiplex operator also introduced PVR Passport a monthly subscription programme for movie lovers. Another key player Cinepolis India also implemented several strategic measures to counter the decline in footfall. “Titles like Rockstar and Zindegi Na Milegi Dobara were brought back to attract audiences. Initiatives such as Wow Wednesday, Buy 2 Get 1, and 25% off on digital channels were introduced to entice moviegoers. During the General Election, Cinepolis ran a campaign to promote good behaviour and reward patrons who fulfilled their civic duties,” Sampat added.
All eyes on the remaining quarters
Starting from Stree 2, Khel Khel Mein, The Greatest of All Time, and Emergency among others, it is believed that several movie releases can birng back audiences back to theatres, however it terms box-office collection, there is an apprehension that this year will not be able to surpace the box offce earnings of last year.“In the previous year, India’s box office collections reached an all-time high of Rs 1,2226 crore in 2023. Films like Jawan, Pathan, Animal, and Gadar-2 all four films individually, went past Rs 600 crore, respectively. The only clarity by August we have is it’s very difficult to break that number. However, films like Stree 2 which will release now has a good chance of earning more than Rs 30 crore on the first day despite the absence of any such big stars. I don’t think Pushpa 2 is will be released anytime as the debate is still on-going. Taking all these factors into consideration, it seems difficult that the industry will break last year’s record,” Sanket Kulkarni, head, of business development (Theatrical), Ormax Media said.
Festivals bring happiness
It is considered that festival season has always been one of the revenue-pulling phases when it comes to box office collections. Starting from Salman Khan’s trademark film releases in Eid to Shah Rukh Khan’s box office supremacy in Diwali, the industry has witnessed films performing well in the festive season. But contrary to this trend, this year has no Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan film release schedule. Nonetheless, Amir Khan’s Sitare Zameen Par is slated to be released this Christmas, yet the question which still arises is, will the industry miss two of their favourite Khans on the big screen this year? “When people are getting used to those numbers and suddenly there’s a vacuum, naturally people miss it. We are missing it this year, but hopefully, it will be compensated next year. Expectations are enormous from the festive season. Yes, we are going through a dull phase right now, but I genuinely believe there’s always a ray of light at the end. We are coming across a lot of roadblocks and potholes, but I’m sure it will be smooth sailing after that point,” Adarsh added.