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It’s been a fairly abysmal six months for Hindi cinema with two big hits – Pathaan and Kerala Files – and some middling successes like Zara Hatke Zara Bachke, Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar and Satyaprem Ki Katha.
Trade guru Taran Adarsh admits it has been a terrible year so far for Bollywood. “The first six months of 2023 have been disastrous. Barring Pathaan, The Kerala Story, Mrs Chatterjee versus Norway and Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar, a majority of big films failed at the box office. These films were backed by big stars and massive budgets, the reason why their failure sent shock waves. But all’s not lost. The coming weeks are packed with interesting films, from Ranveer to SRK, Salman and Ranbir. I genuinely hope things get better.”
Producer and trade analyst Girish Johar agrees with Taran. “Before the pandemic, which was in 2019, we clocked somewhere around Rs 2700 crore rupees in the Hindi market in the first six months. In 2022, we clocked around Rs 1800-1900 crore. So, we were a bit down, but it was a good recovery as the world came out of a pandemic. However, in 2023, I was expecting at least a 10 per cent jump vis-a-vis last year, which has not happened this year. We are the same in terms of what we clocked in 2022 in the first half, around 1900 crore only. Earlier, it was said that post-pandemic, only big films will work, which The Kerala Story, Zara Hatke Zara Bachke and Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway and also now 1920 Horrors Of The Heart have proved otherwise. They have shown that there still is life at the box office. People are willing to watch movies in the theatres. They do not only want tentpoles. They want to watch content-driven, good storytelling and good films also. I hope these films continue to flourish as they maintain the tempo of the box office.. going ahead the 2nd half of 2023 is very critical, and with big releases lined up, pretty confident that box office will be charged up.”
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Atul Mohan feels the first half of 2023 has been a slap in the face for the film industry. “The initial half-year at the cinemas proved to be disheartening as highly anticipated blockbuster films failed to captivate audiences. Films like Selfiee, Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan, Shehzada, Adipurush and Bholaa fell short of expectations. However, the industry received a much-needed boost when Shah Rukh Khan made his long-awaited return to the silver screen with Pathaan after a four-year absence. The film attracted hordes of viewers to cinema halls, breaking box office records and becoming the highest-grossing Hindi film with a remarkable collection of Rs 543.05 crores. Unfortunately, the subsequent big-ticket releases failed to live up to their anticipated success. Nonetheless, films like Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar and Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway shone bright amidst the disappointments.”
Atul notes how A-listers have disappointed this year. “Ajay Devgn, who had previously delivered the successful Drishyam 2 last year, couldn’t recreate that magic with Bholaa. Salman Khan managed to maintain his track record of crossing the 100 crore mark, but we expect more from him, as he has the potential to achieve even higher numbers. Smaller films faced challenges in selling tickets. Surprisingly, The Kerala Story and Zara Hatke Zara Bachke emerged as unexpected contributors to the overall box office collection. Previously, it was believed that only big-budget films would succeed in the post-pandemic era, but The Kerala Story, Zara Hatke Zara Bachke and Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway have proven otherwise. They have demonstrated that there is still an audience willing to watch movies in theatres, emphasizing the importance of content-driven films with compelling storytelling. Looking back at 2023, we witnessed the release of Pathaan, which became the highest-grossing film of all time, as well as The Kerala Story, the highest-grossing female-oriented film. Additionally, the success of Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar, Zara Hatke Zara Bachke and Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway clearly indicates that families are inclined to attend theatres when presented with exceptional content. While the box office performance in the first six months of 2022 and 2023 remains relatively similar, we have an impressive lineup for the next 26 weeks. With this strong slate, we anticipate healthier numbers compared to 2022, possibly even approaching pre-pandemic levels.”
Bihar’s film distributor Kishen Damani says, “The first half in Bollywood started with a bang with Pathaan breaking and creating many records. But after that, there was complete silence. The Kerala Story was a big relief for the ailing industry. Overall the Box office has been quite bad for all of us and especially the non-2k single-screen, which hardly got any content to play.”
Film exhibitor Akshaye Rathi, on the other hand, feels the first half was not so bad after all. “I would call it a mix bag. Although we had dismal failures, there were also films that were complete surprises. If you see the business that Pathaan did, I am not too sure it would have done the same business before the pandemic. The traction we saw for the film was totally unprecedented. I can’t remember any film before the pandemic that did that kind of business. Similarly, we had hits like The Kerala Story, Zara Hatke Zara Bachke and Satyaprem Ki Katha. We didn’t expect them to do the business that they did. We are hoping that a higher degree of consistency of consumption kicks in soon. That’s what we need. What we need to see is more mid-section hits like Zara Hatke… and Satyaprem…..Here’s hoping that would happen in the second half of the year. And, of course, the blockbusters like Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani are bound to fire.”
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