The of 2020 had people abuzz with excitement as Bollywood films were expected to break all previous box office records. With new international markets emerging, Indian filmmakers anticipated a massive increase in their profits, envisioning a golden age of cinema. Unfortunately, the reality is far from these projections. In the initial months of 2020, the movie industry was beset by an array of troubles – ranging from the current Yes Bank financial crisis to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In this report, we examine the repercussions of these catastrophes on the Bollywood box office and attempt to assess the full extent of damage to the industry.
In the first quarter of 2020, Bollywood saw tremendoussuccess at the box office, having collected approximately Rs. 778 cr. The biggest contribution to the total was from Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior, starring Ajay Devgn, and the still successful but slightly lower Baaghi 3. Unfortunately, due to the unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic, the nation has been in lockdown, resulting in the delay of a few major releases such as Sooryavanshi, which was expected to generate an additional Rs. 170 cr in the last week of March. Moreover, due to theatre closures, the highly anticipated Baaghi 3 had its collections cut short by Rs. 40 cr, while Angrezi Medium had a steeper decline of Rs. 30 cr to a meager Rs. 9.36 cr.
Bringing to the first quarter, Amod Mehra remarks that considering the turbulence of the year, it was a quite dire beginning. Nonetheless, he is fast to reconfirm that movies cannot be neglected altogether, while simultaneously observing that compared to the preceding years, the initial three months of 2020 featured scarcely any launches. “If you take into account the preceding years, there were films which had prominent superstars like Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar and so on, however, the first quarter of 2020 saw releases of lesser renowned celebrities, therefore, the box office revenue would naturally vary.“
Trade Analyst Girish Johar doesn’t mince words when talking about the first quarter of 2020 when he says, “The first quarter has gone for a toss that is evident. As for the second quarter, basis on what the government declares, things will take time to get back on track. In fact, things like getting artist dates, locations, set ups in place will take at least two to three weeks, after the government relaxes the embargo.”
I had alsosuffered losses in the range of 400-500 crores in the first quarter of 2020, mainly because of the Covid-19 pandemic, but an equal reason was the poor quality of content released. It is not like a great movie was released but the viewers failed to watch it. Rather, the lackluster quality of films released was the root cause for this downturn; for example, although ‘Baaghi 3′ had a great start, its second week collections drastically plummeted due to its content and the pandemic. Similarly, even ‘ABCD 3D’ did relatively well but its earnings too saw a dip, elucidates Johar when explaining what went wrong during the first quarter of the year.
Echoing a similar view films trade analyst Taran Adarsh too states that the first quarter of 2020 was rather dull, “The first three months of 2020 have been dull, though there were a few films like Tanhaji, Street Dancer 3D and some other films like Thappad that did do business, the first quarter was low key. As for Baaghi 3 while the film did well, its box office run was marred by the Coronavirus pandemic, so yes that as well affected overall business.”
Talking about the future Mehra reserves his comments saying, “Further talking about what is to come Mehra continues, “Right now I cannot say what the future holds, I cannot play God. All we can do is wait and watch and hope that the box office figures pick up.” On the other hand Girish Johar has a reserved yet optimistic outlook when he says, “Right now nothing is happening; only writers and director are at work developing stories for future films so eventually we will see an increase in collections in the coming months”.
After a thorough examination of what is to come, Taran Adarsh conveyed a careful optimism when he expressed that, “When cinemas reopen, it will be at a slow pace, since individuals are likely to remain apprehensive of crowded environments. Movie–viewing, particularly at theatres, must be regained by the spectators. Consequently, the initial weeks may be slow, however it is likely to gain momentum.“
Year Wise First Quarter Report of Bollywood films at the India box office
2020 – Rs. 778 cr.
2019 – Rs. 1090 cr.
2018 – Rs. 923.12 cr.
2017 – Rs. 650 cr.
NOTE – All figures are approximate
