It goes without saying that 2020 was an awful year for the entire humankind and that includes the cinema world, too, which saw disastrous box-office business in a year that was all about shutdowns, lockdowns and stay-at-home.

To put things in perspective, as per industry estimates, the Hindi film industry’s total earnings in 2020 (from India) is just around ₹780-800 crore. Last year, the figure was a whopping ₹4,350 crore. In 2018, it was around ₹3,300 crore and 2017 saw the industry make ₹3,000 crore.

“I would want to forget 2020 as it was a nightmare in every possible manner. From trade point of view, there’s no shining highlight except maybe Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior. The entire world, including movies, came to a standstill. It will still take some time before things get back to normal again,” says trade analyst Taran Adarsh.

Among the very few money-spinners of 2020 are Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior (₹279.50 crore), Baaghi 3 (₹97 crore), Street Dancer 3D (₹75 crore), Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan (₹62.50 crore) and Malang (₹59 crore). “The first quarter started on a great note but since then, there have been too many downs than ups,” says exhibitor-distribitor Akshaye Rathi.

Now, insiders hope that 2021 will “make up for all the losses in some way”. While the first quarter will see biggies like ‘83 and Sooryavanshi among others, next year has a number of biggies, including the ones that shifted from 2020 such as Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai and Laal Singh Chaddha etc., lined up to hit the silver-screen.

“The next financial year looks terrific with pent-up demand, pent-up content and a vaccine rollout around the same time,” says Rathi, even as Adarsh hopes that “2021 kicks off things on a blockbuster note.”