Mid-budget movies punch above their weight at the box office
₹76.57 crore at the box office since release on 29 March, while Ajay Devgn’s horror thriller Shaitaan had earned ₹147.99 crore from 8 March. Political drama Article 370 has clocked in ₹82.37 crore since its release on 23 February.
These three films were made on budgets of ₹ 90 crore, ₹65-70 crore and ₹20 crore, respectively. According to estimates by Elara Capital Ltd, the fourth quarter of FY24 reported a decline of 25% in Hindi box office year-on-year.
But it is also one of few quarters in the post-covid era where contribution from small or medium-budget films moved upwards to 30-35%, compared to 12-15% generally seen post the pandemic. This growth has also come thanks to discounts or offers on tickets to a certain extent for selective small or medium-budget movies, Elara said.
Pointing out that after the pandemic, big-budget films dominated the box office with even bigger numbers than pre-covid times, Sanjeev Kumar Bijli, executive director, PVR INOX Ltd said that even several mid to small-scale films have had underwhelming performance at the box office, both in India and globally. But the successes of recent mid-budget films have underscored a pertinent point.
“The recent successes of small and mid-scale films such as Crew, Article 370, Shaitaan, 12th Fail and Madgaon Express underscore the enduring audience interest in quality content, irrespective of a film's scale," Bijli said, adding that the past year had also witnessed remarkable box office performance from smaller Hindi movies such as The Kerala Story, Zara Hatke Zara Bachke, and Satyaprem Ki Katha. Film producer, trade and exhibition expert Girish Johar said that these recent films have emerged as dark horses in an environment where such titles are not
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