While there have been a precious few blockbusters so far, they expressed hope that the second half of this year will see the film industry bounce back.
Box office: Thodi khushi zyada gham sums up first half of 2022, say analysts
Mumbai - 21 Jul 2022 12:37 IST
Updated : 14:34 IST
Ankita Kanabar
Ever since the pandemic reared its ugly head in India, cinema has been bearing the brunt. With the situation largely improving in 2022, filmmakers had high hopes about the industry bouncing back. But seven months in, one can conclude that it’s more to do with the quality of movies thrown in at the audiences than any other factor. Here’s a look at how the first half of 2022 was at the movies, with insights from trade experts and the trends that have emerged.
Two extremes
The behemoths RRR and KGF Chapter 2 were released back-to-back and minted more than Rs1,000 crore at the box office. On the other hand, films such as Runway 34, Jersey and other moderate-budget movies were rejected outright by cinemagoers.
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Trade analyst Taran Adarsh said, “It’s not been too good; it’s a mixed bag actually. It’s been thodi khushi zyada gham. KGF 2, RRR, Gangubai Kathiawadi and The Kashmir Files films did well but apart from that, there’s been a line-up of flops which isn’t very good for the industry.”
Using a cricket analogy to describe the erratic state of affairs, film exhibitor Akshaye Rathi said it has been either sixers or dead wickets. "Some films have done unprecedented business but then there are films we thought had so much potential and didn’t do as well as we wanted them to. So, the audience is either lapping up content or straight away rejecting it. I saw Jersey and Runway 34 in retrospect and thought they deserved to do so much better than what they did.”
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Rathi added that these are strange patterns which perhaps will resolve themselves soon. “Hotels are running jam-packed and the aviation sector has seen an obnoxious boom where every seat on every flight seems to be full. Restaurants are doing roaring business. Right now the advent of pent-up demand in weird ways is being seen everywhere and we need at least six more months for things to slightly simmer down and see patterns that are slightly normal in the long term,” he said.
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The fate of 'small' films
Before the pandemic, OTT platforms were fairly obscure and the audiences went to theatres to watch actor-powered, content-driven, modestly budgeted movies in theatres due to positive word-of-mouth publicity. They have now taken to OTT platforms like never before. So, will relatively smaller movies see the box-office success that they did in the pre-pandemic era?
Rathi said, “Back in the day, films like Article 15 (2019) did some amount of business. But, to be honest, I don’t think things will be like they were before the pandemic because consumption patterns have changed. Having said that, the kind of whitewash that happens right now won’t happen. A considerable amount of business will start happening for mid-segment films. But for big-ticket films, a bigger contribution from theatres will start happening so for films like Adipurush and Brahmastra, a big chunk will come from theatres, aided by satellite and OTT.
"To bring people in massive numbers to theatres, we are heading towards a pattern that has been witnessed in Hollywood for a long time – where the tentpole blockbusters do roaring business and other segment movies do average at the box office but earn most of their revenue from other platforms," the exhibitor stated.
The Kashmir Files, an exception
Ironically, one of the biggest hits this year is The Kashmir Files, a small-budget film, in terms of its ROI (return on investment). Adarsh stated that if someone had asked him six months ago if The Kashmir Files would end up being a blockbuster, he never would have guessed it.
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"You never know which film does what business. There are so many films that failed in one go and so many starring big names and that’s become a problem in the industry. But we can only be optimistic and hope that the second half of the year is better.”
Has Hindi cinema lost its way?
According to Manoj Desai, executive director of G7 multiplex and Maratha Mandir cinema, there can be no doubt that Hindi cinema has been eclipsed by the South.
“If you see, largely South films dubbed in Hindi have worked in theatres. Till the time Bollywood [the Hindi film industry] makes good films, these movies will work. We are not able to make the kind of films [that strike a chord with the masses] like before. Films like RRR, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 or KGF 2 worked because they had perfect music, editing, screenplay and acting. That used to happen earlier in movies of Prakash Mehra and Manmohan Desai and those are the kinds of full-package films working now,” he said.
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Tier-two, tier-three cities on the radar
Interestingly, tier-two and tier-three cities account for a large chunk of business, which is why it’s pivotal to appeal to these sectors. “People in cities choose to go to restaurants, a park or a movie or a club. An audience that has fewer sources of recreation obviously goes out and watches a movie. We need to make content that will appeal to these sectors because those films are bringing in Rs200-300 crore plus numbers,” said Rathi.
High hopes
Some big films are slated to be released in the second half of the year starting with Shamshera, which will arrive in theatres on 22 July. Brahmastra Part One: Shiva and Ram Setu are also highly anticipated and industry insiders are upbeat about things.
Rathi is hopeful about Shamshera because the film sees Ranbir Kapoor in a space where he belongs, "had he made better choices".
"And Shamshera is a great stepping stone for Brahmastra. Raksha Bandhan, Laal Singh Chaddha, Ram Setu and Thank God also look promising. Vikram Vedha is coming in September. One film that I think will be a dark horse and is not on anyone’s radar at the moment is Sooraj Barjatya’s Uunchai. I believe it has a very inspiring tale. Early next year, you have films like Adipurush and Pathaan, so it looks like a great time in that sense.”