Bollywood seems to be struggling again, big time. While hits like Pathaan, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, Jawan and Gadar 2 got the cash registers ringing after a long lull. The last few months have seen several films, including Ganapath: A Hero is Born, Yaariyan 2, Ghoomer, Sukhee, The Great Indian Family and Tejas, fail to rake in the moolah. Medium and small-budget films are being rejected by audiences on day one, which is “alarming”.

Trade analyst Girish Johar says, “Only the big-banner commercial films are bringing in the money. The rejection rate of small films is very alarming.”

Shilpa Shetty Kundra-starrer Sukhee earned only Rs. 30 lakh on day one and fell thereon. Actor Kangana Ranaut’s Tejas collected Rs. 1.25 crore initially and dipped severely on day three.

Trade expert Atul Mohan says, “If you don’t score good in the first weekend, the film is dead. The trends have changed after the pandemic and the opening matters. When people see the promotions and watch a trailer, they decide if they want to watch the film or not.”

Tiger Shroff’s Ganapath: A Hero is Born fell flat on its opening day, earning only Rs. 2.50 crore in India, making it the actor’s lowest opening. The Akshay Kumar-starrer Mission Raniganj also failed to bring people to the theatres. “They were straightaway rejected by the audience,” says Mohan, citing lack of promotion as the reason behind the lack of numbers.

“If the producers are not spending much on their project, why will the audience pay to watch it? Either makers were overconfident, thinking that word of mouth would help the film do decent business or they didn’t believe in their product,” he adds.

Having said that, many believe that content is king and only if a story has merit, the audience would head to the theatres. Calling the audience “very ruthless”, trade analyst Taran Adarsh says, “The recent instances of films tanking back-to-back have been on the rise. Tejas was rejected outright, while 12th Fail is doing better by the day, with word of mouth. So, unless the film’s content is extraordinary, it will not be watched after the first weekend. People now judge the film quickly on the basis of the quality of posters, teasers, trailers, etc. I noticed the same trend in the ’70s and ’80s as well.”