With just one blockbuster, Tanu Weds Manu Returns, in the first six months, it’s been a low-key 2015 for the Bollywood box office. Films with quality content turned out to be the winners, as proven by the success of entertainers such as Dum Laga Ke Haisha, Piku and ABCD 2, but hopes are high for the second half of the year, especially with Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan’s new films releasing then, trade experts say.
The initial months witnessed a slump in viewership as compared to last year, due to the cricket mania caused by the World Cup and Indian Premier League. Films such as Arjun Kapoor and Sonkashi Sinha’s Tevar, superstar Amitabh Bachchan and southern star Dhanush’s Shamitabh, Arjun Rampal and Jacqueline Fernandes’s Roy — though highly promoted — didn’t work well at the box office.
Akshay Kumar’s Baby, which earned close to Rs900 million (Dh52.1 million), was the first hit film of the year and then came offbeat movies such as Badlapur (Rs500 million), Dum Laga Ke Haisha (an estimated Rs270 million) and NH10 (Rs306 million).
“The first four months were very bad, barring one or two films here and there. If we compare the first four months of 2015 to last year, then this year was worse,” trade analyst Taran Adarsh said.
The box office graph saw a positive trend starting from May.
“In May, we had Gabbar is Back, Piku and Tanu Weds Manu Returns. But Bombay Velvet was a big debacle. There were three hits in May. Then in June, ABCD 2 did really well. From May, the film industry is facing a better time,” he added.
If among the male actors it was Akshay Kumar who shone with films Gabbar is Back and Baby, among the female actors it was Bollywood’s ‘Queen’ Kangana Ranaut who struck gold with her dual roles in Tanu Weds Manu Returns, which has so far made close to Rs1.5 billion.
Trade analyst Rajesh Thadani says, “We must now look forward to the second half as all the big films are going to come around this time only. Nothing much has really worked except for Tanu Weds Manu Returns and one or two other small films, but the volume hasn’t been as big as it was expected. So, it was quite a disappointing first half,” he said.
Thadani added that content-based films have worked well despite having no A-listers.
Stressing on the importance of good content, Devang Sampat, business head - strategy, Cinepolis, said: “The phase we are in, ‘Content is the king’ is not an understatement. The audience has finally warmed up to a storyline. Anything trashy is not acceptable.
“This is a good sign as everybody in the value chain then focuses on working on good scripts, budgets and star cast. Patrons are willing to experiment and explore the terrain of unusual story telling and ideas.”
All eyes are now on the remaining months, which offers hope with big budget films like Salman Khan’s Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, Shah Rukh Khan film Dilwale and Kumar’s much-awaited Singh is Bling, which may even cross the Rs2 billion mark.
“There are better expectations from the second half as we have a few films which are expected to get a huge response. So, the year’s tally can become better. Not only commercial cinema, but films with good content will also work in the second half,” Thadani said.
Sampat added: “At least three of them — Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Prem Ratan Dhan Payo and Dilwale — are definitely looking like [Rs2.5 billion] plus projects at the box office. The best is yet to come for this year.”
Adarsh pointed out that this is in tune with the annual trend, where the second half is more dominating with releases slated for festivals such as Eid, Christmas and Diwali, which often spell profits for movie industry.
