The first nine months of 2024 has emerged as the weakest for the box office in the last three years as general elections, a prolonged heatwave, cricket tournaments like the IPL and the T20 World Cup, drew audiences away from theatres.
The box office saw earnings of around Rs 4,100 crore between January and September 2024, according to latest data, which industry experts and analysts say is almost 36% lower than the same period last year.
Shraddha-Kapoor-starrer Stree 2 crossed Rs 600 crore at the domestic box office on Monday, an exception in an otherwise weak year, film exhibitors and distributors admitted.
A look at the post-pandemic period of 2022 and 2023 shows that the first nine months of the last two calendar years saw domestic box office collections surpass Rs 6,000 crore in earnings, as pent-up demand and revenge consumption came as a boon for cinemas coming out of the Covid-19-induced lockdowns and shutdowns.
The current year, in contrast, has seen audiences remain far more discerning in terms of their film choices, staying away from movies headlined by big stars (Akshay-Kumar and Tiger Shroff’s Bade Miyan Chote Miyan and Ajay Devgn-starrer Maidaan). This is trend that has been pronounced throughout the last three years, say experts, as movies led by big Bollywood and regional stars have tanked at the box office in general, though a few genres clicked, such as action entertainers in Hindi, English and regional languages.
“There has been fatigue in Indian content. That is true. But you also have to bear in mind that there were no big releases in the April-June (2024) quarter, which is a big one for cinemas, due to elections and cricket. Business was affected as result,” says Amit Sharma, MD, Miraj Cinemas, which has 200 screens across 62 theatres in 42 cities within India.
Barring a few hits such as Kalki 2898 AD, Stree 2, Manjummel Boys (Malayalam), Hanu-Man (Telugu), Fighter, Shaitaan and The Greatest of All Time (Tamil), 2024 did not see a big movie trend emerge, admits Kunal Sawhney, COO, Cineline India, which runs the MovieMax chain of cinemas in Mumbai and other metros.
“2022 was the year of regional action entertainers, where you had Pushpa, RRR and KGF 2 shatter box office records. 2023 saw a mix of Hollywood such as Barbie and Oppenheimer, action entertainers such as Jawaan, Pathan, Jailor and Animal and dramas such as Gadar 2 and OMG 2 do well at the box office. This year was scattered, with no consistent hits or movie trends emerge,” Sawhney said.
Film exhibitors are counting on the October-December period of 2024, when big releases are lined up during the festive season. This includes Devara Part 1 (in October), Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 and Singham Returns in November and Vicky-Kaushal-starrer Chaava and Pushpa 2 in December.