Bollywood almost 40% below pre-covid box office as Hindi films miss the mark

livemint.com:

NEW DELHI : Bollywood continues to languish despite cinemas operating at full capacity for more than a year now after the lifting of pandemic-induced curbs with film business in the Hindi-speaking market nearly 40% less than the pre-covid levels. The first half of 2023, which clocked in about ₹1,900 crore in the Hindi belt, according to three trade experts, has seen only one notable Bollywood hit in Pathaan besides occasional hits like The Kerala Story, Zara Hatke Zara Bachke and dubbed versions of regional hits like Ponniyin Selvan-II. Moreover, Hindi film releases have remained mostly inconsistent during the period with several weeks seeing no new movies.

Further, trade experts say the big miss stems from the underperformance of mid-budget titles since the genre has completely moved to OTT. However, there is more hope from the second half where Shah Rukh Khan’s Jawan will compete with Ranbir Kapoor-starrer Animal, Prabhas’ Salaar and Salman Khan’s Tiger 3, among others. The second half of the year is usually more lucrative with several festivals and holiday weekends scheduled.

“The first half of the year began on a positive note for the multiplex business, as it witnessed record-breaking revenues with the release of Pathaan in January. However, following this initial success, box office collections faced a slowdown. This dip in revenue was expected to some extent, as the market often experiences fluctuations in audience turnout and box office numbers after a highly anticipated release.