The first half of the year has been a mixed bag with films that got appreciation doing phenomenally well while the rejected ones doing phenomenally bad. The huge problem has been that most films have been dead on arrival with a double digit opening now being actually becoming a task when before it was expected for most cast films.

The general picture for cinemas has been boosted by a couple of films from the South and a few Hollywood films so overall the picture is not so bad. But when it comes to the original Hindi content, the story is not good and obviously the industry is aware. But this is the story across all film industries in India and contrary to the media theory, we might actually be in a better position than the other film industries as the problem here is the content that is presented as cinema which is not the case with other film industries in India.

The biggest blockbuster came from the South in the form of KGF - CHAPTER 2 and the difference with this film was that the story format may have been as other South films but the shot taking and look of the film was very contemporary. The film, content wise, was not as strong as BAAHUBALI 2: THE CONCLUSION but for the male mass audience this film may have had more than the Prabhas-starrer as collections in many of the smaller centres were as strong as BAAHUBALI 2: THE CONCLUSION if not better.

As far as original Hindi films are concerned, the biggest film was THE KASHMIR FILES, though this film got a lot of support from various sections including political to push it to a huge final box office number. Even if the support was not there, it would have still have managed to do well. The other blockbuster was BHOOL BHULAIYAA 2 which was like a lifesaver for the industry and showed a regular commercial entertainer can still work when good. GANGUBAI KATHIAWADI emerged a HIT film while JUGJUGG JEEYO also did well in certain centres and was an average fare overall. 

The South had another blockbuster with RRR but there were so many other South dubbed films in the first six months and they all bit the dust. Hollywood had winners with the Marvel films DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS and THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER while JURASSIC WORLD: DOMINION did pretty well. THE BATMAN and TOP GUN: MAVERICK did respectable business considering the situation. 

At present a flop theatrical tag is not actually that bad of a result as its just one disaster after another one. BADHAAI DO and ROCKTERY: THE NAMBI EFFECT (Hindi) are in this bracket.

The classifications for the first six months of 2022 is as follows.

KGF - Chapter 2 (South)

The Kashmir Files

RRR (South)

Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2

Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness (Hollywood)

Gangubai Kathiawadi

Thor: Love And Thunder (Hollywood)

Jurassic World: Dominion (Hollywood)

JugJugg Jeeyo

The Batman (Hollywood)

Top Gun: Maverick (Hollywood)

Badhaai Do

Rocketry: The Nambi Effect (South)