Bollywood finally sees a rebound in 2023 after two dud years

After a dull phase of nearly two years, it seems Bollywood got back its mojo in 2023. Multiplexes are witnessing increased footfalls as Hindi films such as Pathaan, Gadar 2, Jawan and Animal, among others, have finally succeeded in attracting audiences to theatres. “Our Q2 (July-September) was exceptional because we had two exceptional movies (Pathaan and Gadar 2) that grossed more than Rs 500 crore each. There was a tailwind of Oppenheimer, Barbie and other Hollywood biggies, too,” says Ajay Bijli, Managing Director of PVR INOX.

The performance is evident in the figures. The gross collections of all movies in India has increased over four times to Rs 10,541.42 crore in 2023 (as of December 13) compared to Rs 2,568.5 crore in 2022, per film trade portal Sacnilk.

With Shah Rukh Khan’s Dunki and Prabhas’s Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire scheduled to release in the last week of December, Sriram Raghavan’s Merry Christmas and Siddharth Anand’s Fighter, Dibakar Banerjee’s LSD 2 and Sidharth Malhotra’s Yodha in the next few months, the momentum is expected to continue well into the New Year. December alone, according to Sacnilk estimates, would net Rs 1,000 crore in box office collections and break the record for the highest monthly earnings in Hindi movie history.

Ticket booking platform BookMyShow says that December is shaping up to be an exciting month for cinephiles as the final set of movie releases for 2023 adds to the anticipation of rising footfalls at cinemas. “With a diverse mix of films this month, audience enthusiasm and anticipation are riding high for December,” says Ashish Saksena, COO-Cinemas, BookMyShow.

According to market research firm Elara Capital, December’s performance is crucial for Q3FY24. “We expect [cinema hall] occupancy to rise to 27-28 per cent in December, and [good] performance can boost it further.” In the third quarter, Elara Capital estimates Hindi box office revenue growth of 18 per cent year-on-year. With the upcoming releases, multiplex operators expect a blockbuster quarter. “With the kind of movie flow we’re seeing now and the confidence level of the film fraternity, it’s looking positive. The content pipeline is very good, and we should be able to sustain this growth,” says Bijli.

@PLidhoo