DBT Bureau
Bengaluru, 6 July 2024
Finally, there is good news for Bollywood. A series of dull box office collections have put the Hindi film industry on a backfoot. However, things are slowly changing for the better.
With record-breaking collections from ‘Kalki 2898 AD’, & ‘Munjya’, brokerage firms are forecasting good times for movie theatres like PVR INOX.
“The film Industry had to brave a dull show in April and May—largely due to a weak content calendar, the heatwave in vast swathes of the country, general elections, and cricket (IPL). Our sense is this unengaging plot could soon take a turn given likely strong numbers for ‘Kalki 2898 AD’ and Munjya. The plot shall deepen as the content slate picks up over coming months,” Brokerage firm, Nuvama Institutional Equities wrote in a research note on PVR INOX.
Nag Ashwin’s ‘Kalki 2898 AD’ starring Prabhas, Deepika Padukone, Amitabh Bachchan, and Kamal Haasan has collected Rs 774 so far in the first nine days since its release on June 27.
“The film has already made headlines globally and secured a historic feat by becoming the first Indian film to surpass $2.6 million in pre-sales in the USA, wherein by advance bookings, it ranks among the top four highest-grossing premieres in Telugu and holds the record for the second-highest number of screenings. In Australia, the film has already sold over 5,000 tickets for its opening day, accumulating AUD150,199 (approximately Rs 8.3 million) in total sales—2D format 3,300-plus tickets and IMAX 1,000-plus tickets,” the report said.
After general elections, cricket, and heatwave, footfalls in cinema halls are likely to increase in the coming months. This optimism stems from the fact that many new releases are slated for this month, which may attract more cinemagoers to theatres.
“Other films such as ‘Sarfira’ and ‘Khel Khel Mein’ featuring Akshay Kumar are set for release on July 12th and August 15th, respectively. Regional cinema is also set to deliver compelling content, including Indian 2 starring Kamal Haasan, slated for release on July 12th,” the brokerage firm wrote.
Many releases from Hollywood are also likely to supplement footfalls in cinema halls.
“Hollywood content is also expected to see an uptick after the settlement of the writers’ strike last year with ‘Deadpool’ and ‘Wolverine’ starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman lined up for 26th July and ‘Transformers One’ starring Scarlett Johansson and Chris Hemsworth lined up for 20th September,” Nuvama Institutional Equities said.
