What is ailing Bollywood?

The Indian film industry, especially the Hindi movie segment, is witnessing turbulent times. In the first half of the year, there haven’t been many blockbuster hits. Among the Hindi movies, Shah Rukh Khan’s “Pathaan” was the top grosser so far, but no other movie has been able to match that performance. In fact, in June, Hollywood movies “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie” came to the rescue of multiplex chains. According to a recent report released by specialised insights consulting firm Ormax Media, the cumulative India box office collections for January-June are estimated at Rs 4868 crore in terms of gross collections. This amount is 15 per cent lower than the same period in 2022. The report noted, “At this rate, 2023 is expected to end at ₹9,736 Cr, which will be 8% lower than the annual 2022 box office of ₹10,637 Cr.” Thus, a lot is riding on the content line-up in the second half of the year. In this podcast, Shailesh Kapoor, Founder CEO of Ormax Media, expressed hope that the strong content line-up may help the box office collections reach 2022 levels. When asked about what is ailing Bollywood, Kapoor said that certain films, such as “Pathaan,” have performed well, but they are largely franchise films or spectacle films built for the big screen. However, he added that the “in-between films,” which have more social or realistic premises, are struggling as consumers can now watch such content on OTT platforms. He also pointed to a change in audience preferences post the pandemic and is hopeful that by 2024, filmmakers will be more in-tune with audience preferences. No wonder, Ormax Media is seeing a surge in demand for its content testing services before the commercial release of the content. Tune in to listen to this podcast to know more. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/business-line/message