Reply With QuoteHANUMAN 250 CR WW
3T's padam festival release illenkil TN box office avastha shokham aanu...Originally Posted by K S Hrithwik
HANUMAN 250 CR WW
Himesh
@HimeshMankad
#Shaitaan scores a SOLID number on day 2 with estimates in the range of Rs 18.25 to 19.25 crore. #AjayDevgn starrer will hit the Rs 50 crore mark in its opening weekend
Friday: Rs 15.10 crore
Saturday: Rs 18.75 crore (Estimates)
Total: Rs 33.85 crore
Bollywood stares at Rs 250 cr loss with Bade Miyan Chote Miyan and Maidaan bombing; worst week in Hindi films history spotlights stars charging over Rs 100 cr as fees
In 2023, Shah Rukh Khan's comeback vehicle Pathaan scripted history by clocking over Rs 5oo cr nett in Hindi, ending the post-pandemic dry spell Bollywood was gripped with and single handedly contributed more than 60 percent of the first quarter business of the year. In 2024, the collection of the first three months is at Rs 700 cr-- the total collections of over a dozen Hindi films put together. If it was a fair first quarter, the industry is looking at something grimmer: A disastrous second.
Between January and March, Bollywood saw the release of Hrithik Roshan-Deepika Padukone led Fighter, which was its only event film of the first quarter. In April, when it was banking to get a major start for the second quarter with two big Eid releases-- Bade Miyan Chote Miyan headlined by Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff and Ajay Devgn's Maidaan, the industry got a major setback as both films crashed.
Budget vs Recovery:
While Ali Abbas Zafar directed actioner is folding its business around Rs 60 cr, Amit Sharma's acclaimed outing is staring at a finish under Rs 45 cr. "It was the worst week in the history of Bollywood, where it lost Rs 250 cr on a single Friday," a trade critic on the condition of anonymity shared.
"Maidaan's budget was Rs 250 cr, while Bade Miyan Chote Miyan was mounted at Rs 350 cr. The makers of BMCM are hoping for a rebate from the UK government to scale down the losses, but the overall number would still be in that range-- with Bade Miyan Chote Miyan having a bigger share of loss," the source explained.
Raj Bansal, Rajasthan-based senior distributor and exhibitor said the debacle of April releases has pushed the industry further back, as the first quarter itself was "disappointing" with Fighter, clocking Rs 212 cr all India, being the only "decent" film.
"See, 2023 was the golden year of Hindi cinema, we had four Rs 500 cr films (Pathaan, Gadar 2, Jawan and Animal). We could never imagine we could come so fast out of the pandemic era. But unfortunately, this seems to be the worst year for Hindi films if we take away the COVID times. The second quarter opened terribly, with both films failing at the box office. I was hoping Maidaan to do better, but it got acclaim, not box office," he added.
Industry chatter
According to sources, the conversation in the industry is about course correction with regards to budget, star fees, and even promotional materials. A source shared how the industry had sensed that Bade Miyan Chote Miyan was a "bad film" so it didn't become a hit while Maidaan had a lack of interest from the audience, probably because it was in the making for five years and was constantly delayed.
"The trailer didn't do justice to the content, which was much better. In the post COVID world, the trailer does the trick, if it doesn't click, the film doesn't work. Bade Miyan Chote Miyan was a bad film, where the music didn't work, they couldn't hold people' attention with their campaign and even the trailer didn't work.
"A genre like Maidaan has stopped doing well in the post pandemic world, whereas in Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, the production house didn't have the reputation of mounting a big film, they tried but failed. The failure was kind of expected, but certainly not of this scale," the source shared.What the first quarter has also taught the industry is the need for more "grounded" films, especially in action. The more desi the content, the more relatable the film. Both Fighter, an aerial actioner and Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, a tech-based actioner, are an example.
Komal Nahta, trade analyst, explained, "If the films are not good, definitely they will fail or stop at the average point. Some people say 'oh but kuch naya tha'. Now not all things new work, even if it is new, it needs to be within the parameter of acceptance among the audience. If you make something fantastical, it can't work on ground level."
Star fees and image
What has also been a factor is the box office performance of Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff, with subpar films leaving the audience not interested in watching their films with the pre-pandemic excitement.
While Akshay has featured in 1o films post pandemic, out of which only two have been successful, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan was the third consecutive disaster for Tiger Shroff. What makes the matter worse, is the fee they reportedly charge.
"Akshay Kumar charges Rs100 cr plus, and the entire business of Bade Miyan Chote Miyan will stop at Rs 60 cr. So, what is he charging Rs 100 cr for? Tiger Shroff charged some Rs 35-40 cr for this film. For what?! The first day collections of Maidaan were Rs 4.5 cr!" thundered Komal Nahta.
The trade analyst said it doesn't make sense for the stars to be charging such astronomical figures, because "you are not ensuring that the public comes to cinemas on the strength of your name."
"After the second day, it is the merit of the film, but for the first two days you should ensure Rs 20-30 cr opening. Nobody is thinking about the industry at large. Stars are thinking about their bank balance, producers are thinking the films somehow just work, industry gayi khadde mein who cares. I am very, very sad with this. It is truly a sad state of affairs," Nahta says.
Genre overdose?
While Maidaan was a sports biopic that was delayed for five years, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan was, at least on paper, a fool-proof actioner-- a genre that revived Bollywood. But Bansal argues action as a genre can't be looked at in isolation.
In the context of Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, the film was being backed by Vashu Bhagnani's Pooja Entertainment, whose "last 10 films have failed" at the box office, Bansal said. "They look more like proposals than films, so I was not expecting much," he said.
Bihar-based film exhibitor Vishek Chauhan explained that Bade Miyan Chote Miyan arrived in cinema halls looking like a dated Hollywood film, which the industry stopped making ten years ago. "You open Netflix or Prime Video and you may find several such films. Personalised action films work very well, like your Gadar 2 and Jawan, which are at the end a father-son story or even Animal, though it is darker and dramatic. But one has to reinvent even within this genre, especially today."
Bansal backed the theory and said one needs a "total package" with music, content, emotions. "Pathaan, Jawan, Gadar 2 did very well but that's because they were more wholesome films," he said, pointing out the underwhelming Fighter collections as an example.
"Fighter was an expensive film, we were hoping that it will do better, but it was decent. If you look at the history of aviation films in India, none of the films made on the Air Force have done well, including Kangana Ranaut's Tejas. We have a very limited scope of emotions and music with films made on the Air Force, and they are also very expensive."
The ones that worked... almost
Himesh Mankad said last year in the first quarter, Bollywood clocked around Rs 820 crore, out of which Rs 515 crore came from Pathaan. This year, the business in the first quarter has been Rs 700 cr, which is a drop of 15 percent. But this signals an equal contribution from all films, unlike last year which was dominated by Pathaan.
Films like Shahid Kapoor-Kriti Sanon starrer Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya (Rs 80 cr), Crew (Rs 81 cr), Yami Gautam starrer Article 370 (Rs 82 cr) and Ajay Devgn-led supernatural thriller Shaitaan (Rs 149 cr) have been the first quarter films which managed to put decent numbers.
"This year the range has been Rs 70-80 or Rs 100 cr plus. It is a better position if we compare the growth with films: a star film like Selfiee did Rs 15 cr in 2023, this year that figure was matched by Laapataa Ladies. Sure, the big ones are missing but it is a fair result," Mankad shared.
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