Half a decade has passed by since the pandemic struck in March 2020 and while practically all businesses have gone through an overhaul, some for good and many for bad, what can be safely said is that for the film industry at large, it has seen a remarkable and an unprecedented change. While the ticket rates are higher than ever before and the convenience to watch a film in theaters is at an all time high, sadly the footfalls have been inversely proportional. Instead of going up, they have gone down by a margin, hence resulting in a vicious circle.
The very fact that even good films like Raid 2, Sitaare Zameen Par and Jolly LLB 3 in the last few months have just managed to enter the 100 Crore Club when their content deserved 200 Crore Club at the very least is a testimony to that fact. This isn’t all as other very well made films like Jaat and Kesari – Chapter 2 have stopped in their 90s goes on to show that hitting a century is no more a child’s play.
Picture this – Till about 2019, a film entering even a 200 Crore Club seemed like a cakewalk. Akshay Kumar had his career best year when it came to hitting double centuries as Mission Mangal, Housefull 5 and Good Newz achieved this feat with ease as they all crossed the 200 crores mark, hence making him the only superstar in the modern day era to achieve this feat in a span of mere 4 months. In comparison, his Kesari seemed relatively smaller despite it crossing the 150 crores mark.
Salman Khan was hitting triple centuries at will (Tiger Zinda Hai, Sultan, Bajrangi Bhaijaan), Aamir Khan was unstoppable (Dangal, PK) and even Ranbir Kapoor (Sanju) and Ranveer Singh (Padmaavat) were not far behind. As for the 200 Crore Club superhits, they came in dozens.
However pandemic struck and audience behaviour took a turn with changing sentiments around viewing habits. “Let’s wait for the OTT release” became a pattern, especially when they got used to watching new releases at will for a couple of years post pandemic. With dozens of films waiting for their big screen arrival due to theaters being shut, most filmmakers and actors opted for the OTT route and this is when audiences tasted blood.
No wonder, when theaters started operating normally from 2022 onwards, there was a sea change seen in footfalls. Most of the films that were released were either dated due to production in the pre-pandemic era or had compromised storytelling due to shooting restrictions due to pandemic. No wonder, the audience mood dwindled as well. Things started becoming better in 2023 and this is where industry saw its best year as well with Shah Rukh Khan striking huge with 500 Crore Club blockbusters Pathaan and Jawan, whereas Sunny Deol and Ranbir Kapoor struck too with Gadar 2 and Animal.
All seemed well but then as it turned out, this was a flash in the pan. Such biggies made everyone believe that audiences are back and then this year when Chhaava did blockbuster business then it seemed that Bollywood will continue its golden run. However, this was an aberration because 2-3-4 such films in a year aren’t good enough for the industry to survive. What it needs is a constant run of 100 crores and 200 crores runners as well. It’s just that these are more difficult than ever to be scored due to changed dynamics, which means the optimistic view would be to celebrate what’s happening at the box office currently – albeit with great difficulty – and then hope, wish and pray that things get better.
Otherwise, when Salman Khan just about hits a century with Sikandar and Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan, then there is no good reason to explain what’s really happening. Agreed that these weren’t some of the better ones from him but then pre-pandemic they would still have crossed 150 crores at least, as was the case with Race 3. Same holds true for relatively smaller films starring younger heroes as well. Varun Dhawan’s JugJugg Jeeyo as well as Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari could have easily entered 100 Crore Club before 2020 while Sidharth Malhotra’s Param Sundari too could have achieved this feat. However their collections have ranged between 60-80 crores.
As for Kartik Aaryan, his Chandu Champion was a clear contender for much more than just a 100 Crore Club entry, though he more than made up for that with his Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 scoring a huge double century. That said, even he would have expected his romantic social Satyaprem Ki Katha to have covered a much larger distance had it been a pre-pandemic affair like Luka Chuppi and Pati Patni Aur Woh, both of which had found themselves in the late 90s. Ditto for Ranveer Singh whose Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahaani would have easily entered the 200 Crore Club.
Same is the case with the south as well. There is an occasional Pushpa 2, KGF: Chapter 2, RRR, Jailer, Coolie 2, Mahavatar Narsimha that end up doing well but at a larger scale, there is a struggle involved there as well. As for the ratio of flops when it comes to biggies, then they have suffered big time too (Thug Life, Indian 2, Game Changer and more).
Yes, at times there comes an industry blockbuster like Saiyaara which scores a triple century but then well, it’s more of a pleasant surprise rather than a recurrence. Also, when Housefull 5 ends up scoring 200 Crore Club then that’s no mean feat either because imagine this, how do you even sustain an audience for a murder mystery?
Till the audience pattern changes back to “theatre first” viewing rather than “let’s wait for OTT”, one can well adjust to this fact that it’s time to celebrate a film that scores 100 crores at least. As long as that happens, it’s lights on for the industry.
An occasional 200/300/500 Crore Club success can wait.
