On 7th February 2025, a total of seven Bollywood movies were released/re-released in theatres. It included Loveyapa, Badass Ravikumar, Sanam Teri Kasam, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, Tumbbad, Padmaavat and Bareilly Ki Barfi. While some have created waves, the others hardly managed to stand by the shores. Notably, the re-release of Sanam Teri Kasam garnered the highest revenue, collecting Rs 5.14 crores in India net. It was followed by Badass Ravikumar, churning in Rs 3.52 crores.
The trend of re-releasing films has been quite rewarding for the industry post-pandemic. In 2024, it picked up momentum with Rockstar and Laila Manju, where the Imtiaz Ali fever swept over the nation. This mania continued with the re-release of Tumbbad, Veer-Zaara, Sholay, and Kal Ho Na Ho and has stuck around in 2025. Re-released films like Sanam Teri Kasam, Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani and Tumbbad are able to generate higher collections, while newer releases like Loveyapa, Deva and Badass Ravikumar are struggling to catch up with them. It begs the need to question whether re-releasing old films is taking the audience away from watching newer ones.
The Ormax Reports: Numbers, Stats & Facts
Last year, Ormax Media published an interesting report titled, ‘Sizing The Cinema: 2024,’ where they put forward data regarding the Indian population stepping out to watch movies in theatres. According to their research, a theatre-goer in India watched around six films in 2023 — the year was studded with star releases in larger-than-life spectacles like Pathaan, Jawan, Gadar 2, Animal and more. Undoubtedly, it turned out to be the best year of all time for the Indian box office and Hindi Cinema.
Compared to 2023, Hindi cinema witnessed a major decline in 2024, as per the Ormax yearly box office report. While the drop in collection from ₹5,380 crores in 2023 to ₹4,679 crores in 2024 still seems palatable in overview, 31% of Hindi cinema’s collection came from dubbed versions of South Indian films, which is an alarming figure. Alongside collection, there was a 6% decline in domestic footfall from 94.3 crores in 2023 to 88.3 crores, falling below the footfall of 2022, i.e. 89.2 crores. Regardless of the decrease in footfall, the collection continues to be higher in 2024 compared to 2022, owing to the significantly rising Average Ticket Price (ATP) in the last three years.
Therefore, a majority of the Indian demographic cannot watch every single film on the big screen. If the theatre-goers spend money on re-released films, they might not have the financial bandwidth to catch newer releases. In such testing times, it becomes necessary to assess how the industry is acting upon this growing tide.
Bollywood: Bewildered, Baffled & Bandaged
There is no denying the fact that Bollywood has been having a sudden dry spell, both in terms of content and collection. Despite a few sprinkles of glory like the success of Maddock Supernatural Universe and the celebration of smaller-budget films like Laapataa Ladies, Madgaon Express, Kill, Article 370 and more, the year 2024 was a setback for Bollywood because of more reasons than one:
Over Saturation & Abundant Options
The saturation of a few genres and themes has become too apparent and unnecessary in Bollywood. It can be observed in action films where the distinction has turned negligible considering storytelling, creativity and themes touched upon. There was an urgency among producers to follow and recreate the footsteps that garnered tremendous success in 2023. Unfortunately, the attempts in the form of Fighter, Yodha and Bade Miyan Chote Miyan could not meet the desired expectations. While the expected spectacles underperformed, experiments with the same genre in films like Article 370 and Kill were appreciated by the audience. However, other commendable efforts like Chandu Champion, Vedaa and Jigra went under the radar and failed to leave their mark.
It raises questions regarding what will work in theatres because the audience choices are becoming difficult to decipher. The increased avenues of streaming platforms and the variety of available content have made them quite selective regarding which films they decide to watch in theatres. As an artist, one might not want to consider this aspect. However, as a producer, one would like to navigate the atmosphere and plan whether to go for a theatrical run or directly release it on an OTT platform. So, as much as one would love to witness Amar Singh Chamkila by Imtiaz Ali or The Mehta Boys by Boman Irani on the big screen, one cannot guarantee whether the audience will show up.
Uneven & Conflicting Release Schedule
The out-of-place release schedule — where several months were either too clouded with multiple releases or witnessed an absolute dearth — was a constant feature last year. Months like August were packed with more than four major releases, and it was followed by September, where there was hardly one. The same thing happened subsequently, in February and March, and further in April and May.
It created several pockets of gaps where there was nothing new to showcase in theatres, and the audience was not coming to watch the existing ones again. While these gaps helped smaller films like Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya, Article 370, Laapataa Ladies and Munjya to enjoy a longer run, it forced many multiplexes to re-release old films to keep the audience engaged and theatres running. While the concept of re-releasing films is not new, it has been happening for years to celebrate classics and introduce them to the younger audience.
However, the films currently re-releasing in Bollywood are from the past decade and more or less screened to maintain the cash flow in the industry and substitute for the lack of curiosity or availability of newer releases. Even though they are readily available on streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and JioHotstar (formerly Disney+ Hotstar), factors like nostalgia, familiar assurance and fear of missing out have become key driving forces for people to dive into this experience.
Floodgate of Sequels & Remakes
The flooded nature of sequels and remakes seems overwhelming and robbing Bollywood of its unique voice and individual standing. If you look at the projects released in recent months, this pattern is clear as day with Singham Again, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, Baby John, Deva, Loveyapa, etc. It is hard to say if audiences are getting tired of it because Singham Again and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 turned out to be massive blockbusters while the rest seem to be disappearing in thin air. Between these films, there were other Bollywood releases like I Want To Talk, Azaad, Emergency, Fateh and Sky Force. Out of them all, only Sky Force has been able to pull off decent numbers; however, there are alleged reports regarding the involvement of block booking in the overall collection by Indian Express.
Honestly, the last film I was excited about and watched in a cinema hall was Jigra. Even the teaser and trailer of I Want To Talk had intrigued me, but I was out of town, and it had a limited release. The rest did not quite fascinate me for multiple reasons, such as the underwhelming marketing snippets of sequels, being privy to the original source material in case of remakes and the remaining ones I felt I could easily watch later on OTT, much like what I did with the two sequels last year. There seems to be a clear inconsistency and scarcity of fresh faces and voices on the big screen offered by Bollywood, especially when you compare it with the recent releases on OTT like Bandish Bandits, Black Warrant, Paatal Lok, The Mehta Boys, etc.
The Struggle of Perception
Yes, Bollywood is struggling, but not alone. This is a strange phase for all industries across states and borders where there is a collective chaos of audience reception and theatrical business post-pandemic. As many found solace in viewing content in the comfort of their houses, the unreal dependence on the internet is the new normal where there is always a problem of plenty.
Equally, the understanding of a film's success has drastically changed. Even if one collects 100 crores while covering the budget and providing profit, it might not be considered successful or remembered. It has sadly happened with films like Sam Bahadur, OMG 2, Article 370 and more. Today, the graph has gone up to a minimum of 300 to 400 crore, which is impossible to happen consistently and requires immense investment in the first place to create those spectacles, invariably resulting in huge losses and debacles as well.
Hence, it becomes a bit difficult to simplify and pinpoint a particular entity because it is harder to measure the true success and failure in the industry at this point. All one can do is look forward to the upcoming releases of Chhaava and Superboys of Malegaon, which have piqued my interest. The year has just begun, and I will be seated to observe how Bollywood assimilates and reacts to the present uncertain times.
Comments
Post a Comment