Only 3 major hits for Bollywood in 1st half of 2023. The first half of the year continued from where we left in 2022 with most films biting the dust. Bollywood has failed to script a success story at the box office in the first six months of 2023 despite Pathaan emerging as all-time blockbuster status. What ails the industry as its earnings shrink and budgets swell.
The first big release of the year, Aasmaan Bhardwaj’s Kuttey gave the year a dull start (Rs 4.65Cr). But the trade rejoiced as Shah Rukh Khan returned to the theaters after a gap of four years with Pathaan. People swarmed into the cinema halls to watch SRK on the big screen, resulting in new box office records. The Siddharth Anand directorial became the highest-grossing Hindi film with a total collection of Rs 543.05 cr. It also became the fastest Hindi film to hit Rs 100 crore, Rs 200 crore, and Rs 300 crore nett box office.
Just when trade experts and film industry insiders were celebrating this uptick, Kartik Aaryan’s Shehzada tanked at the box office and could only add Rs 32.20Cr to the total earnings of the film industry. After Kartik, it was Akshay Kumar who disappointed his fans and they rejected his film Selfiee. It had a lifetime collection of Rs 16.85Cr. Though Ranbir Kapoor’s Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar (Rs 149.05Cr) and Rani Mukerji’s Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway (Rs 21.67Cr) saw a decent footfall, the films that followed didn’t give audience a reason to venture out of their homes.
Ajay Devgn, who delivered the hit Drishyam 2 last year, failed to work his magic with Bholaa (Rs 82.04Cr) and Salman Khan couldn’t take advantage of his fandom as his fans blatantly rejected Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan (Rs 110.53Cr). Smaller films like Zwigato, Bheed, Gumraah, and Afwaah barely sold any tickets.
The Kerala Story was the surprise of the first six months as it racked up huge numbers for what the actual film as worth and the collections were more organic than last years The Kashmir Files which was on similar lines. Both these films are very low-cost films with huge returns and are compared to biggest low-cost film ever Jai Santoshi Maa (1975) but the box office success of these films is a notch lower as the reach is less than that film.
Zara Hatke Zara Bachke was another big HIT and this film is actually the most important film the year as is basically the bread-and-butter type film for the industry and it can still work. The film shows the audience profile has changed from upper middle / middle class to lower middle/ middle class as nothing else in this zone has worked but generally those films were more like pre pandemic aiming at the upper middle / middle classes. This film scored strongly in A center of the Hindi belts pushing the box office over 80 crores net with the help of superhit music.
Actually, today even a FLOP tag is pretty respectable as its one disaster after another. TJMM had a lot going for it with a strong cast and good music but as the film had a story and milieu which was very urban the reach got limited and that reflects in collections. Satyaprem Ki Katha is another film which has done well for what its worth. The film did not have much going for it and its managed a decent run till date and should end up around that 70Cr nett mark or near. The AVERAGE mark is disappointing for TJMM but you take it for a Satyaprem Ki Katha. Last year there was support from the South with KGF and RRR but so far there has been nothing this year. Hollywood had some successful films with John Wick 4 being the surprise with collections of 50 crore nett. Fast X did a bigger number, but expectations were also much higher.
Durgesh Tiwary’s View: Despite too many flops and disasters I had expectations with below films to do well on the box-office.
1. Bholaa
2. Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan
3. Adipurush
4. Selfiee
5. Shehzada
Content wise Ajay Devgn starrer was best among all, but I am talking about these movies as they have biggest superstars and despite low contents also, they have good fan following. But after these movies’ stars have to also realize that only stardom will not going to help them now and as audience is preferring to watch a movie on OTT if reviews are not good. As per below points in sequence should be focused by star for a success movie:
1. Director
2. Story
3. Co-stars
4. Music Director
The film trade experts are looking forward to the rest of the year and are hoping that the upcoming releases will reverse the damage done by the ones that released during the first half of the year. The second half of 2023 appears to offer a diverse array of films across genres ranging romantic drama to action-packed blockbusters. These films are expected to entertain, engage and captivate audiences with their storytelling, performances and prowess. As with any cinematic experiences individual performances may vary but the lineups suggest a promising period for a film enthusiast with ranges of choices look forward to.
These movies are:
1. Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani
2. Gadar 2
3. OMG 2
4. Dream Girl 2
5. Jawan
6. Salaar
7. Ganapath
8. Tiger 3
9. Animal
10. Fukey 3
11. Yodha
12. Dunki
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