Box Office Bets on Festive Hits as Silver Screen Fails to Amaze

According to industry insiders, box-office collections in India in the first eight months of 2024 would be lower than in the same time last year due to film underperformance and a lack of blockbuster releases in the first half of the year during the Lok Sabha elections and cricketing events.

According to Ormax Media figures, the cumulative box office for January-August 2024 was ₹6,868 crore, a 7.5% decrease from the year before.

The top five grossing films were Kalki 2898 AD, Stree 2, Fighter, Hanu-Man, and Shaitaan. Pathaan, Gadar 2, Jailer, Adipurush, and The Kerala Story were the driving forces behind collections during the same period last year.

According to industry observers, while the first half of the year was slow, the second half might be robust, especially with highly anticipated blockbusters like Pushpa 2 and Singham 3 set to be released around the Christmas season.

"The Hindi box-office collections in 2024 will be lower than 2023 because we had three films that did ₹500 crore last year." Having said that, the industry has had a decent year, despite several big films underperforming and a paucity of releases in the first half owing to elections and cricket," said trade analyst Taran Adarsh. He expects 2025 to be a banner year for the sector.

While August registered the greatest box-office collections in 2024 at ₹1,291 crore due to Stree 2's outstanding success, it was still 20% lower than ₹1,610 crore in August 2023.

With a gross box-office revenue of ₹680 crore, Stree 2 is set to surpass Jawan as the highest-grossing Hindi film of all time. Jawan's lifetime collection is estimated at ₹734 crore across languages. Kalki 2898 AD is the biggest grossing film in 2024, earning ₹774 crore thus far.

Stree 2 was the only film to make above ₹100 crore in August, capitalizing on the longer weekend over Independence Day week, which is often a favorable release window for films. Driven by Stree 2, Hindi films made approximately 40% of overall collections in August, up from 35% in July, according to Ormax statistics. Telugu and Malayalam films, which were successful earlier this year, have subsequently declined, it noted.

Karan Taurani, senior vice president at Elara Capital, believes the second half of 2024 will be significantly better than the same period last year due to the release of major franchise films such as Pushpa 2: The Rule, Singham 3, Bhool Bhulaiya 3, and Baby John, as well as an impressive Hollywood slate including Venom: The Last Dance, Joker: Folie a Deux, Blitz, Gladiator 2, and The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.