Rajinikanth – led Jailer, Sunny Deol – starrer Gadar 2, Akshay Kumar – starrer OMG 2 and Chiranjeevi’s Bhola Shankar – the four big releases of the weekend propelled the Indian box office to reach record breaking numbers this weekend.

On Monday, the Producers Guild of India (PGI) and Multiplex Association of India announced that the August 11-13 weekend frame was the busiest single weekend after the re-opening of theatres post the pandemic. Furthermore, just in three days, the ticket sales of the four movies combined was Rs. 390 crores plus, a ‘new all-time theatrical gross box office record for Indian cinema in its 100+ year’s history’. The statement mentioned, Indian theatres witnessed over 2.1 crore admissions, the biggest number of the past decade.

“It's absolutely historical,” Akshaye Rathi, film exhibitor. He adds, “What’s more important is the cumulative figure of the movies daily. That actually shows the consumption appetite of our country, if we serve them the right content. All those notions about people don't have money for theatres or the future of theatres being bleak, are busted. It is proven that the movies that were released earlier were substandard and were not worthy of people's time and money.”

Movie industry tracker Ramesh Bala says, "The entire country's theatres have come alive, because of Gadar 2 and Jailer. The content has spread from North to South. Both the movies have their territories and they are dominating in their belts respectively."

OMG 2’s producer Ashwin Varde admits “it is a great feeling to be a part” of the feat. “We have seen audiences storming the cinemas in a big way,” he says. Gadar 2’s producer, Shariq Patel, CEO, Zee Studios admits they are all “ecstatic”. “The biggest glimmer of joy is how smaller tiers; single screens and the crowd are thronging for these movies. It shows the potential of box office is much larger than what we anticipate, if we provide content that resonates with the majority of people.”

It won’t be an understatement that the industry is rejoicing. Shibashish Sarkar, President, PGI, shares the exuberance of the industry: “Celebration or excitement in the industry is coming from the situation that after almost 3 years of underwhelming exhibition business, this is something that can be seen as an indicator of a turn around. 2019 was one of the highest earning years for Indian cinema and even globally. However, the next two years were a struggle owing to the pandemic. Since the last one and a half years, we have been seeing sporadic success. The industry cannot run or perform with 5-8 successes over a year. This brings a significant boast to the moral of different segment of overall media.”

Gadar 2 and OMG 2’s box office clash was widely reported, a few even claiming that it would eat each other’s business. “Clashes are an overrated concept. History is witness that when two good films have come together, both have worked. Dil-Ghayal, Lagaan-Gadar and there are so many others. Films work because of the content; not because they’re clashing with each other,” says Ashwin.

Akshaye, on the other hand, believes clashes could be important for business. “Every single week can accommodate two films coming together. The only thing one needs to ensure is that the two films cater to different demographics. Gadar 2 was for single screen while OMG 2 is for more evolved audience. They complemented each other and in no way cannibalized each other's business,” Akshaye elaborates.

“That myth that single screen doesn't contribute to business, is also busted. We are seeing unprecedented revenues coming out of the single screens," claims Akshaye. Acknowledging the same, Ramesh shares an estimated division of collection between single screens and multiplexes: "South is predominantly single screens. So, I can say for Jailer it is 65% revenue from single screens and 35% from multiplex. Gadar 2 is 40% multiplex and 60% single screen, for OMG 2 - 45% single screens and 55% multiplex."

Shariq believes makers “have become very radical” and the “unprecedented footfalls” should be a reminder for makers.

“This has been an eye opener for me. We need to create more cinema that's entertaining and celebrating and not cerebral. Cinema has become very elitist. It was made by the elite for the elite. There wasn’t any cinema that attracts people from smaller towns. We looked down on that kind of cinema. But that is a celebration cinema. We need movies that connect with our Bharat,” claims Shariq.

“There is a certain level of confidence that the makers have got. The audience is ready for tentpole films. What is important is to see if the audience is ready to come back for medium-sized films. We need to have cautious exuberance and excitement,” Shibashish ends.