Box Office India Trade Network

November 2014 has turned out to be one of the worst months in recent times. May 2014 may have done less business but the main releases in that month were HEROPANTI and THE XPOSE and November 2014 has just grosssed 14-15 crore nett more despite having releases like THE SHAUKEENS, KILL DIL, HAPPY ENDING and UNGLI. Barring Kill Dil, the others have not even covered their promotion costs.

CHAAR SAHIBZAADE is the only silver lining but then, its the Punjabi version that doing roaring business at India and abroad. The hindi version has trended well but collections are very low.

It could be just coincidence that all the major releases of the month were poor but with the sort of openings taken, it could also be that the public has little interest outside the big budget films at today's ticket rate prices which average over Rs 200 in the metros. And the releases were targeting metro multiplexes as none of them had content which would appeal in B and C centres. Only time will tell if the high ticket rates are a major concern.

An ACTION JACKSON and TEVAR may get away with it as they cater to a wider market but the first half of 2015 will see mostly films catering to the city multiplex audience. If results don't improve by a margin it will be time for a rethink by the major production studios in the sort of cinema being made and the huge promotion costs spent for an initial box office response which hardly ever materialises.