Bollywood ruled 2023! From our seasoned superstars raking in the moolah to impactful performances by the younger lot, Hindi cinema lovers got it all! Actor Shah Rukh Khan returned to the big screen with a bang, with not just one or two, but three power-packed performances. Actor Sunny Deol, on the other hand, marked his dhamakedar comeback with the sequel to his 2001 hit Gadar: Ek Prem Katha. Actors Ranbir Kapoor (Animal), Vicky Kaushal (Sam Bahadur) and Vikrant Massey (12th Fail) proved their mettle.

“What a year! Mooh tod jawaab to those who wrote off Bollywood,” says trade expert Atul Mohan.

The audience was served good content and film clashes on a platter this year. The Akshay Kumar-Pankaj Tripathi-starrer OMG 2 clashed with Deol’s Gadar 2; when everyone thought the latter would devour the former, it never came to pass. We also saw clashes between Kaushal and Kapoor, and Shah Rukh’s Dunki and actor Prabhas’ Salaar.

OMG 2 director Amit Rai says, “We saw masses and classes come out to watch films. Some thought cinema se maar-dhaad gayab ho gaya hai, but public ne woh bhi qubool kiya. Future mein, yeh saal sabse important year maana jaayega, in terms of footfall and collections.”

Films set in small towns like Zara Hatke Zara Bachke (Rs. 88 crore), 12th Fail (Rs. 50 crore) and Satyaprem Ki Katha (Rs. 75 crore), too worked their magic. Controversy was swirling around director Sudipto Sen’s The Kerala Story, but it went on to become one of the biggest successes, this year, as it breached the Rs. 200-crore club.

Sen says, “It’s good for the industry that small films worked.” For Rai, 12th Fail was a surprise: “Vikrant, the lead actor isn’t that big a star. Yet it worked and the return on investment is crazy.”

The industry also saw a few lows as some films didn’t quite hit the mark with their box-office collections. Actor Salman Khan’s Tiger 3, one of 2023’s most anticipated releases, with a budget of Rs. 300 crore, earned Rs. 466 crore. Ganapath, made on a budget of Rs. 200 crore, earned Rs. 13.38 crore, while Kuttey and Thank You For Coming, both produced with a budget of Rs. 45 crore, earned Rs. 4.65 crore and Rs. 9 crore, respectively.

Devang Sampat, CEO, Cinepolis India, says, “This is part and parcel of making films. After Covid-19, we saw a recovery of 90% in 2022 and it reached 110% in 2023. It’s a great sign.”