Lok Sabha polls weigh heavily on box office as collections remain below Rs 500 cr for first time since Feb 2023
box office in April, amid delay in releases and underperformance of Bollywood films, experts said, adding that the scenario will remain unchanged or worsen in May. According to Ormax Media, gross domestic box office (BO) collections for April stood at Rs 457 crore — below the Rs 500-crore mark for the first time since February 2023.
A year ago, in April, the gross box office mop-up was at ₹618 crore, led by the performance of Tamil film Ponniyin Selvan II.
This year, despite Eid, Ugadi and Tamil New Year holidays falling in April, only one film managed to cross Rs 100 crore at the box office, according to the report. Malayalam action-comedy Aavesham was the top grosser, garnering Rs 101 crore.
Two more Malayalam films, Manjummel Boys and Aadujeevitham — The Goat Life, earned more than Rs 100 crore at the box office so far this year. However, the second-highest grosser in April, Hindi action thriller Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, only managed Rs 73 crore, followed by sports drama Maidaan, at Rs 61 crore.
Miraj Entertainment managing director Amit Sharma said, "Elections have kept film releases away post-Eid."
«Due to this, April has been one of the worst months so far,» said Sharma of Miraj. He also pointed to subpar performances of the two Hindi releases in April and indicated that a dearth of big openings may lead to further deterioration at the box office in May.
PVR Inox executive director Sanjeev Bijli expects a surge in moviegoers after the election. «What will change is the robust pipeline. People (will be)
