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Box Office Report Card 2023: Hindi Film Industry Collects Rs 4418 crore with 54 releases – Blockbuster Year
All in all, it has been a great year wherein tentpole action films like Pathaan, Gadar 2, Jawan, and Animal dominated the box office, but the industry also tasted success across genres. Details
2023 has come to an end and one can safely term it to be the year of comeback for the Hindi Film Industry. With all the noise of cinema coming to an end, the audience showed up in big numbers throughout the year and ensured that 2023 turns out to be the biggest revenue generator for the film fraternity. The shift of momentum started with the Siddharth Anand-directed Pathaan, a vehicle driven by Shah Rukh Khan with Deepika Padukone and John Abraham. The film broke all records at the box office and shut the mouths of all the detractors announcing not just the return of Shah Rukh Khan but also the Hindi Film Industry. It earned a lifetime collection of Rs 515 crore to emerge the #1 film of all time in the Hindi language.
Pathaan was followed by a lul phase at Box Office
The euphoric success of Pathaan was followed by a relatively lul period, with flops and disasters like Shehzada, Selfiee and Bholaa. Salman Khan too had an Eid release in the form of Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan and the film ended up as a failure – both on the revenue and content front. The industry got some oxygen in the middle with middling successes like Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar and Mrs. Chatterjee vs Norway, which clocked Rs 130 crore and Rs 22 crore at the Indian Box Office.
While one was a rom-com directed by Luv Ranjan with Ranbir Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor, the other was a female-led drama spearheaded by Rani Mukerji. The summer period got hotter with the release of The Kerala Story, which proved to be a surprise blockbuster scoring Rs 215 crore at t he Indian Box Office. The window also saw some below-average grossers, which did numbers beyond expectations like IB 71 and 1920. While the Vidyut Jammwal starrer hit Rs 22 crore, the horror franchise ended its run at collections of Rs 12 crore, going beyond the pre-release expectations.
The change of tide happened again in June wherein the Vicky Kaushal and Sara Ali Khan led Zara Hatke Zara Bachke emerged a sleeper hit with nett collections of Rs 85 crore. The makers gave the audience some incentives in the form of BOGO, and that worked in generating word of mouth for the film and helped it sustain in the long run. Adipurush came and sank at Rs 127 crore after recording a good opening of Rs 32 crore at the box office in Hindi. The Kartik Aaryan and Kiara Advani film, Satyaprem Ki Katha also did decent business and emerged as a success story with a lifetime box office of Rs 75 crore.
Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahani emerged a hit basis phenomenal overseas business
Then came the Karan Johar-directed Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani with Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt, which clocked a lifetime number of Rs 145 crore in India and secured a hit verdict at the box office, with large contribution coming in from the international belts. Just when one was in search of a big blockbuster came the Sunny Deol-led Gadar 2 during the Independence Day period. The film decimated all records and marked the comeback of who is considered to be one of the biggest mass icons of Hindi Cinema – Sunny Deol. The film topped the records of Pathaan and emerged #1 film of all time.
Akshay Kumar also made a comeback post back-to-back failures with OMG 2. The social dramedy co-starring Pankaj Tripathi and Yami Gautam scored a lifetime of Rs 146 crore, to get the super hit verdict. Ayushmann Khurrana too scored a hit with Dream Girl 2 hitting a century at the box office. The month of September marked the return of the King – SRK – as his actioner with Atlee, Jawan, went on a theatrical rampage with a lifetime collection of Rs 560 crore, breaking all records and earning the crown of top spot at the box office.
Shah Rukh Khan dominated 2023 with Pathaan and Jawan
The box office performance of Jawan also resulted in 2023 being the year of SRK, as no actor apart from Raj Kapoor has delivered back-to-back all-time grossers in a single calendar year. Jawan was followed by another hit in the comic world, Fukrey 3 but that eventually led to a lul period with flops and disasters like Mission Raniganj, Ganapath, and Tejas arriving in October.
November marked the return of Salman Khan as Tiger and the film ended up being a hit affair with a lifetime box office of Rs 261 crore in Hindi. While the film didn’t fare as well as the pre-release expectations, it did enough to earn itself a hit tag and set up Salman Khan for the decade ahead. What followed Tiger was some low-budget failures, but the peak on December 1 with Animal and Sam Bahadur. While the Ranbir Kapoor-led film is headed to close with lifetime collections of Rs 495 crore, the Vicky Kaushal-led biopic is a hit with the box office of Rs 95 crore. The two films found love and appreciation from the audience.
The year ended with another Shah Rukh Khan film, this one with the biggest director of Hindi Cinema, Rajkumar Hirani. The film is headed towards a finish in the vicinity of Rs 210 crore, which is lower than what was expected. While the film isn’t a flop/unsuccessful film, which is a good space, the exact verdict is still awaited.
Salaar, Leo and PS 2 do decent business in Hindi
There were multiple dubbed releases too in 2023 which did reasonable business at the box office. The biggest in the dubbed space was Salaar, which is headed towards a decent lifetime total of Rs 150 crore, followed by the Thalapathy Vijay-led Leo, which hit Rs 29 crore in Hindi, which is the biggest dubbed film from Tamil Cinema after 2.0. There was the Mani Ratnam-directed PS 2, which earned Rs 18 crore, whereas Vairsu earned Rs 10 crore at the start of 2023. A series of other films released in Hindi – right from Ghost to Tiger Nageshwar Rao, Thunivu, Mark Anthony, King of Kotha, Bhagwant Kesari, Agent, and Spy – which sank without a trace at the box office. Leo and Jailer did those numbers without a release in National Multiplex chains due to OTT window and a pure release could have pushed the films to double what they did now. Salaar was released with big expectations, as it came from the director of KGF, and the final results are not upto the expectations, though decent as a standalone film.
All in all, it has been a great year for the Hindi Film Industry, where in tentpole action films like Pathaan, Gadar 2, Jawan, and Animal dominated the box office charts, but the industry at the macro level tasted success across genres. Be it romantic successes in the form of Zara Hatke Zara Bachke, Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani, Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar, and Satyaprem Ki Katha, or a social dramedy like OMG 2 or capers like Fukrey 3 and Dream Girl 2 and finally, a talkie heavy biopic like Sam Bahadur – the numbers have come in across the genres, which is a great sign of revival.
2023 - The year of malpractices too
The year however had some wrong practices in the form of corporate bookings and self-buyings, which we hope stops in 2024 as eventually it’s the content that does the talking and not the numbers. The makers are making a fool of themselves by opting for such means, as everyone knows the truth and it’s time for one and all to accept the result given by the audience rather than trying to manufacture something that just doesn’t exist. ORGANIC has been the buzzword of 2023 and that’s for a reason as there have been multiple attempts to tamper with the sanctity of the box office in 2023. Back in the day, one could get away with malpractices and perception building, but that’s just not possible in today’s time and age. The motto for 2024 should be - Stop Corporate, Go Organic, and Save The Hindi Film Industry.
Here's a look at the 2023 Box Office Verdict
Kuttey: 4.50 crore – Flop
Varisu (Hindi): Rs 8.00 crore – Below Average
Pathaan: Rs 515 crore – All Time Blockbuster
Gandhi Godse: Rs 2.50 crore – Disaster
Faraaz: Rs 15 lakh - Disaster
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
Bheed: Rs 2.00 crore – Disaster
Zwigato: Rs 1.00 crore - Flop
Bholaa: Rs 82 crore – Flop
Gumraah: Rs 8.25 crore - Flop
Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan: Rs 101 crore – Flop
Bad Boy: Rs 30 Lakh - Disaster
PS 2 (Hindi): Rs 18 crore – Average
Afwaah: Rs 5 Lakh - Disaster
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 – Flop
Satyaprem Ki Katha - Rs 75 crore - Semi Hit
1920: Rs 12 crore – Below Average
Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani: Rs 145 crore - Hit
Gadar 2: Rs 515 crore – All Time Blockbuster
OMG 2: Rs 146 crore – Super Hit
Jailer (Hindi): Rs 12 crore – Below Average
Ghoomer: Rs 5.00 crore – Flop
Dream Girl 2: Rs 100 crore – Hit
Jawan: Rs 560 crore – All Time Blockbuster
The Great Indian Family: Rs 6 crore – Flop
Fukrey 3: Rs 90 crore – Hit
Vaccine War: Rs 8 crore – Disaster
Dono: Rs 70 Lakh - Disaster
Mission Raniganj: Rs 35 crore - Disaster
Thank You For Coming: Rs 7 crore - Flop
Dhak Dhak: Rs 5 Lakh - Disaster
Ganapath: Rs 12.00 crore – Disaster
Leo (Hindi): Rs 29 crore – Semi Hit
Yariyaan 2: Rs 2.25 crore - Disaster
12th Fail: Rs 55 crore – Super Hit
Sajni Shinde Ka Viral Video: Rs 40 Lakh – Disaster
Tejas: Rs 4.25 crore – Disaster
Aankh Micholi: Rs 50 Lakh - Disaster
The Lady Killer: Rs 1 Lakh – Disaster
UT 69: Rs 15 Lakh - Disaster
Tiger 3: Rs 261 crore - Hit
Khichdi 2: Rs 7 crore - Flop
Farrey: Rs 3.50 crore - Flop
Starfish: Rs 50 Lakh - Disaster
Animal: Rs 495 crore – Expected – All Time Blockbuster
Sam Bahadur: Rs 95 crore – Expected - Hit
Dunki: Rs 210 crore – Expected – Awaited
Salaar (Hindi): Rs 150 crore – Expected - Awaited
Total: Rs 4418 crore (54 Films)
Note: Data compiled from our sources.
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