What better way to start the year than with a blockbuster? Shah Rukh Khan returned in theatres in late January with
Pathaan, ready to devastate the box office. The spy thriller, which saw the actor return to the big screen after a four-year break, reportedly grossed over Rs 500 crore, becoming Hindi cinema's biggest hit. With it, the film business and trade circuit felt that the 2022 debacle was over. Three months into the year, though, things have changed.
According to veteran trade analyst Amod Mehra, the Khan-starrer is the single bright point in the first quarter. 'Its success was heartening, and it gave everyone hope that things would improve. But, succeeding films were a flop. So it's back to square one,' Mehra says. In February, two major Hindi films were released: Kartik Aaryan's Shehzada and Akshay Kumar-Emraan Hashmi's Selfie. The former was met with high anticipation because it was Aaryan's first theatrical release after the surprise blockbuster Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 last year. It was also a remake of Allu Arjun's Telugu film, Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo (2020).
Girish Johar, a producer and film industry analyst, ties the failure of Shehzada and Selfiee on poor material. 'Shehzada was a carbon duplicate with no additional elements. Despite having huge stars and being backed by a prominent company [Dharma Productions], Selfiee was hopelessly out of date. It was immediately rejected by the public. "Compared to pre-pandemic days, Q1 business was down 30%," Johar says. Selfiee reportedly finished its run at Rs 14 crore, compared to Shehzada's lifetime domestic collections of Rs 30 crore.
Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar, Ranbir Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor's March release, fared better at theatres. Despite grossing around Rs 120 crore, Luv Ranjan's rom-com isn't considered a hit due to its exorbitant production costs. Instead, Johar declares Rani Mukerji's Mrs Chatterjee versus Norway a "winner," with the small-budget film expected to gross Rs 25 crore.
Ajay Devgn, who previously delivered a blockbuster with Drishyam 2 (2022), rounded out the first quarter of this year with Bholaa, which grossed Rs 44.28 crore (net) over its four-day weekend. Nevertheless, Telugu star Nani's Dasara, which was released on the same day across India, has raked in a cool Rs 55 crore across all languages.
According to Johar, the two cannot be compared. "Dasara is a film with a reasonable budget, unlike Bholaa, which was released in 2D, 3D, and IMAX, and has a significantly higher landing cost." Also, as an adaptation of the Tamil film Kaithi (2019), Bholaa hasn't drawn a large following in South India."
Looking forward
Manoj Desai, executive director of Maratha Mandir and G7 Cineplex, will be betting on
Salman Khan's Eid offering Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan, Ajay Devgn's Maidaan, and Shah Rukh Khan's Jawan, which arrives in June, in the coming months. 'The public wants entertainment,' he says. They don't want to waste their time in theatres. An excellent picture will always be successful.'
