Costly multiplex tickets and refreshments and release of only a handful of tentpole movies continue to hurt Bollywood business, with the first half of calendar 2025 expected to see a meagre 10-20% increase in revenue over the same period a year ago, trade experts said.
But for the few big-ticket releases, the Hindi film business would have fallen short of the box-office collection in the first half of calendar 2024, they added.
Among those that aided box-office momentum this year include Vicky Kaushal’s Chhaava, which leads the pack with ₹600.10 crore, followed by Ajay Devgn’s Raid 2 ( ₹176.93 crore), Housefull 5 ( ₹162.69 crore), Bhool Chuk Maaf ( ₹72.58 crore), Kesari Chapter 2 ( ₹93.28 crore), and Salman Khan’s Sikandar ( ₹103.45 crore). Still, trade insiders flag weak returns for big-star titles like Sikandar, Housefull 5 and Kesari, pointing to an urgent need for a steadier stream of theatrical hits.
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The gross box office collections of Hindi films in the first six months of 2024 stood at around ₹1, 700 crore, trade experts said. Business was impacted by the Lok Sabha elections and the IPL (Indian Premier League) as producers deferred multiple releases.
“Things are marginally better than last year but the first half is usually impacted by the fact that most producers prefer to release big films in the second half when there are more holidays and festivals,” Rahul Puri, managing director, Mukta Arts and Mukta A2 Cinemas said. While that often leads to a slew of big titles bunched up together, unlike the West that sees summer as a lucrative period for theatre-going, Indian film studios naturally gravitate towards festivals like Diwali, Independence Day and Christmas, all of which fall in the second half, Puri added.
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To be sure though, while box-office earnings may appear stable due to higher ticket prices, Bollywood still isn’t faring well as far as the number of released films finding draw, goes. According to media consulting firm Ormax, 2024 had registered 88.3 crore (883 million) footfalls, reflecting a 6% decline from 2023. Footfalls in 2024 were lower than the last two years, and continue to remain lower than pre-pandemic levels.
While 13 Hindi films had crossed the ₹50-crore mark in domestic box-office collections in the first half of 2019, the figure stands at eight in 2025.
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“The business continues to remain skewed towards the big winners that are riding the wave. But you can’t call this a revival unless the average improves,” film producer Shariq Patel said. Further, multiple films have benefited from buy-one get-one offers and ₹99 discounted ticket rate initiatives, carried out over the past few months.
Independent exhibitor Vishek Chauhan agreed that the business would have fallen short if not for the handful of hits like Raid 2, Chhaava and Housefull. Unlike pre-covid when medium and small-budget films were finding favour in cinemas along with big franchises and tentpole titles, it is clear that the theatrical landscape is now dominated by franchises and everything else has moved to home viewing.
“The big concern, however, is that the pipeline is still staggered and films aren’t getting launched or released with the same consistency as pre-covid. Also, movies still aren’t taking big openings. Lifetime earnings are a function of several things, but a good start shows people are at least interested in giving the film a shot,” Chauhan added.
