



Why Bollywood blockbusters are earning more than ever—despite fewer viewers
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. With the action blockbuster Dhurandhar officially crossing the ₹870 crore mark, it has cemented its place in history as the first original Hindi language film to breach the ₹800 crore threshold. This milestone confirms a seismic shift in the industry: Bollywood hits are generating significantly higher revenues today than in the pre-pandemic era.
Alongside Dhurandhar, period drama Chhaava, horror comedy Stree 2 and Shah Rukh Khan’s Jawan have helped launch the ₹600-crore club over the past three years. Earlier milestones were set by Pathaan, Gadar 2 and Animal, which emerged as the first Hindi films to cross ₹500 crore. In fact, nine of the top 10 highest-grossing Bollywood titles of all time have been released only in the post-covid period.
While inflated ticket rates have played a role, trade experts say polarization has become far starker than before. Audiences may be coming to cinemas for fewer films, but when they find larger-than-life content compelling, they are turning up in huge numbers—and often repeatedly. Before the pandemic, the highest-grossing Hindi film, Dangal, had managed a domestic box office collection of ₹387.38 crore.
According to media consulting firm Ormax, average ticket prices stood at ₹161 in 2025, compared with ₹106 in 2019. While India’s gross box office has risen to ₹13,395 crore from ₹10,948 crore over the same period, footfalls have fallen from 103 crore to 83.2 crore. “What’s fundamentally changed is audience selectivity and the event film phenomenon.
Pre-covid, theatrical releases were competing primarily with each other. Today, they’re competing with OTT and streaming libraries offering thousands of titles at home. This has concentrated footfalls
. Read on livemint.com