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2023 First Half Box Office Report Card: Bollywood scores Rs 1450 crore; SRK tops the list with Pathaan
The first half of 2023 has ended with Two All Time Blockbusters, One Super Hit, Four Average Grossers, One Below Average, three flops, and eight disasters. Here's the report card
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The Kerala Story and Zara Hatke Zara Bachke are the two surprise packages
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Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan, and Ajay Devgn disappointed
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Ranbir Kapoor and Kartik Aaryan tasted success with TJMM & SPKK
The first half of 2023 has come to an end with the release of Kartik Aaryan and Kiara Advani-led Satyaprem Ki Katha, which has turned out to be a successful ventury. In the post covid world, the industry has managed to climb some steps up the ladder as compared to an extremely disappointing 2022, especially due to the roar of the King, Shah Rukh Khan in Pathaan. The best month in the first half of 2023 was January as Pathaan emerged as an all-time blockbuster with collections in the North of Rs 515 crore.
While Pathaan proved to be an ATBB, Selfiee & Shehzada were disappointments
The Pathaan fever continued to last in February as well and the casualties of this wave were the Kartik Aaryan and Kriti Sanon led Shehzada and Selfiee starring Akshay Kumar and Emraan Hashmi. The two February releases proved to be box-office disappointments with collections of Rs 31 crore and Rs 17.50 crore respectively. The lull of February finally got some light in March with the release of Ranbir Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor’s love story, Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar, which turned out to be a success with lifetime collections of Rs 130 crore.
Ideally, a rom-com at this number in the post-pandemic world called for a hit tag, but the budget went haywire due to the delays leading to an average verdict on the theatrical front. Rani Mukerji returned with Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway and the film was one of the rare small-scale successes with lifetime collections of Rs 23 crore earning an average verdict. Bholaa followed Mrs. Chatterjee vs Norway, but the Ajay Devgn starrer couldn’t live onto the expectations. The film opened to decent numbers, but the remake factor coupled with the not-so-good word of mouth led to the film closing at Rs 81 crore in India. The film is a theatrical flop. Salman Khan returned to his Eid slot with Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan in April, but the film was a major disappointment with lifetime collections of merely Rs 101 crore.
Eid and Salman Khan have been a formidable combo, but the film ended up as a flop due to the below-par content. The surprise package of the year so far has been the Adah Sharma-led The Kerala Story as the film proved to be a Big Blockbuster with collections of Rs 215 crore. The Kerala Story was followed by the Vidyut Jammwal starrer IB 71, and the film did some respectable numbers with a lifetime total of Rs 22 crore, though, it wasn’t good enough to be termed a success due to the higher costs. It’s a below-average affair. The film trended at lower levels, and a 25 crore plus lifetime would have resulted in an average verdict.
Vicky Kaushal and Sara Ali Khan surprised with Zara Hatke Zara Bachke
Vicky Kaushal and Sara Ali Khan’s small-town story, Zara Hatke Zara Bachke was another surprise in the first half of 2023 as the film emerged as a Super Hit with a lifetime collection of a little under Rs 85 crore. The opening weekend of the film got some boast due to Buy One Get One Free offer, but the content got appreciation giving the film long legs at the box office. It also broke several myths, giving hope of survival for the small-town cinema. While the surprise Super Hit was Zara Hatke Zara Bachke, Mid-June saw a massive disaster in the name of Adipurush led by Prabhas with Kriti Sanon and Saif Ali Khan. The Hindi version of the film scored Rs 127 crore at the box office after an opening weekend of 96 crore, facing complete rejection from the audience.
The first half ended on a decent note with the release of Kartik Aaryan and Kiara Advani led love story, Satyaprem Ki Katha. Much like Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar, the film is a success at the box office with lifetime collections expected to fall in the range of Rs 70 crore. It’s an intense love story, a genre that hasn’t flourished much in the post-pandemic world and hence, the collection is more of a positive sign for the film industry. There were some films like Bheed, Zwigato, Bad Boy, and Afwaah which sank without a trace. 1920 is another film that did some numbers at the box office in the dull phase and is a profitable venture for the stakeholders, though the theatrical number is more of a below average result.
The total scored by Bollywood in the first six months is Rs 1450 crore, thereby already reaching 70 percent of the total that the industry earned in 2022. Overall, the first half ended with One All Time Blockbuster, One Blockbuster, One Super Hit, Five Average Grossers, Two Below Average, 3 Flops, and 8 Disasters. The year has not seen as many releases as we used to in the pre-pandemic times, and the need of the hour is also to have frequent flow of releases.
Here's a box office report card of Bollywood in the first half of 2023
Kuttey: 4.50 crore - Disaster
Pathaan: Rs 515 crore – All Time Blockbuster
Shehzada: Rs 31 crore - Flop
Selfiee: Rs 18 crore – Disaster
Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar: Rs 130 crore – Average
Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway: Rs 22 crore - Average
Bholaa: Rs 82 crore – Flop
Gumraah: Rs 8.25 crore - Disaster
Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan: Rs 101 crore – Flop
The Kerala Story: Rs 215 crore – Blockbuster
IB 71: Rs 22 crore – Below Average
Zara Hatke Zara Bachke: Rs 83 crore – Super Hit
Adipurush: Rs 127 crore – Disaster
1920: Rs 12 crore – Below Average
Satyaprem Ki Katha: Rs 70 crore (expected) – Average
The second half of 2023 is expected to be a lot better with tentpole spectacles like Jawan, Tiger 3, Animal, and Dunki side-by-side with some popular franchise films like Oh My God 2, Gadar 2, Dream Girl 2, and Fukrey 3 among others. The industry would also hope for at least 2 other successes from films like Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, The Great Indian Rescue, Yoddha, and Sam Bahadur among others. Stay tuned to Pinkvilla for more.
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