BIG SURPRISES, BIGGER SHOCKS: FIRST HALF OF INDIAN CINEMA’S 2022

We speak to industry experts about the box-office performance of films in the first six months — what stood out, the good and the bad
Rishabh Suri (HINDUSTAN TIMES; July 1, 2022)

We are halfway through 2022, and it’s time to analyse how the film industry has fared in the first six months, after braving two years of the pandemic. The year’s hits began with Alia Bhatt-starrer Gangubai Kathiawadi, as the Sanjay Leela Bhansali film set the cash registers ringing. Then came the surprise blockbuster, The Kashmir Files, by filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri. Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, RRR and KGF - Chapter 2 further brought back happy days for the industry. The heavily promoted family drama, JugJugg Jeeyo also connected with multiplex audience.

Agnihotri says the first half has been extraordinary. “Theatres have been revived. When every big filmmaker started saying that OTT is the way forward, I never agreed. We had great offers to sell the film (The Kashmir Files) directly to OTT, but we declined. This year proves that theatre is the future, not OTT,” he shares.

Meanwhile, Vishal Sawhney, director and CEO, Carnival Cinemas, feels that the box-office collection was majorly driven by regional content in the first half. “Hindi dubbed versions of south films are increasingly taking a substantial share of the box-office collection. Around 60-70% of the total business in terms of ticket sales was led by regional content. This proves script and content are the kings of cinemas,” he tells us.

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh calls the year a bag of surprises. “Gangubai was not a surprise, but BB2 was. It exceeded expectations with its business. KGF 2, dubbed in Hindi, was there, too,” he says.

THE MISSES

The first half of 2022 wasn’t all rosy though. Some much-anticipated films failed to live up to their hype, such as Prabhas-starrer Radhe Shyam and Akshay Kumar’s Samrat Prithviraj. Trade expert Atul Mohan points out other shockers — John Abraham’s Attack, Shahid Kapoor’s Jersey and Ranveer Singh’s Jayeshbhai Jordaar. Exhibitor Akshaye Rathi says these six months have come with learnings about “unusual behavioural patterns of the audience”.

He might have delivered a big hit (BB2), but filmmaker Anees Bazmee says the under-performance of any film is saddening. He also asserts that, today, a film is either a big hit or a flop — there’s no in-between. “Earlier, there would be superhits, semi-hits, average, and flop. The middle category is finished now. Ya toh log bahut pyaar denge, ya bilkul nahin denge,” he concludes.

BOX-OFFICE REPORT CARD: THE TOPPERS

KGF 2: 434.70cr

RRR: 274.31cr

THE KASHMIR FILES: 252.90cr

BHOOL BHULAIYAA 2: 184.32cr