For the first time in the history of Indian film releases, more than Rs. 500 crores each have come in consecutive months. This has never happened before and what makes this feat special is the fact that it is all happening post-pandemic. In March it was The Kashmir Files and RRR [Hindi] that did the trick, followed by KGF – Chapter 2 [Hindi], along with continued collections for RRR [Hindi]. And so, Rs. 559.41 crores came at theaters from Hindi films in April; a sum greater than February’s total at Rs. 537.52 crores – making us believe that these newcomers are here to stay!
KGF – Chapter 2 [Hindi] arrived as a well-deserved rage on April 14th and impressed with an all-time best opening weekend collection of Rs. 53.95 crores. Since then, it has collected Rs. 360.31 crores and still counting! In contrast, another dubbed South release from this month that went on to find continuous success was RRR. The Hindi version of the film was already successful in its first week (March 25th) when it opened and later in April, it managed to collect another Rs. 129.24 crore more thereby accumulating a vast sum for the month’s total box office returns across theatres nationwide!
In addition to The Kashmir Files, other popular Hindi films were released such as Attack-Part 1. Additionally, these films grossed significantly less than this latest release ($16, 13 and $17, 20 respectively). Moreover new Hindi releases such as Heropanti 2 and Runway 34 fared similarly at $12.50 and $8.75 for each respective film over a three-day period in April.
Yet considering the fact that enough revenue was generated in the sum of $559 million dollars for the month of April shows how excited audiences are about large scale entertainment; it doesn’t seem like they mind either (unlikely) foreign or translated productions since they come ready made with cinematic value just waiting to be enjoyed ($Kapoor & Sons – BEYOND THE CLOUDS got great reviews). As time passes, Indian cinema will soon start pulling their weight however Hollywood blockbusters are not going anywhere anytime soon ($Fast & Furious series still holds reign supreme in box office all over India).
Yes, there are those who argue that while Ticket Prices have increased and so has the population living in India; Footfalls too may not be as big of what they were before. But let’s remember that everything else is changing besides just Ticket Prices. The most important thing when you compare footfalls to other factors such as money made through Tickets sold or Return on Investment (ROI) for a particular movie is how much Money was actually made with all these various aspects taken into account.
There will always be exceptions- like Gadar: Ek Prem Katha, Dangal, Baahubali 2: The Conclusion or KGF: Chapter 2 which reach Huge profit margins- however usually Movies reaching 200 Crores take part in the Rs. 300 Crore Club because People want to see movies that make them feel good about themselves again and forget about their everyday struggles.
Let’s take a look at the monthly records now. While it is good to see over Rs. 500 crores each coming from Hindi releases in two back-to-back months, it will be interesting to see whether a hat-trick of such major haul will be evidenced in May as well. Well, if not from Hindi then at least multi-language release Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness should result in major collections all over again, hence keeping theatres engaged. Then there are Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, Jayeshbhai Jordaar, Dhaakad and Anek coming in which seem promising as well for Indian cinema. For the sake of this industry, one just hopes that between these films – including additional revenues earned by KGF: Chapter 2 (Hindi) and Heropanti 2; even though these would still need some more time – a score of Rs. 500 crores can achieved once again.
Collections of Hindi releases in April
KGF: Chapter 2 [Hindi] – Rs. 360.31 crores
RRR [Hindi] – Rs. 129.24 crores
The Kashmir Files – Rs. 15.28 crores
Jersey – Rs. 17.20 crores
Attack – Part 1 – Rs. 16.13 crores
Heropanti 2 – Rs. 12.50 crores [2 days]
Runway 34 – Rs. 8.75 crores [2 days]
