RARE FEAT FOR BOLLYWOOD BOX OFFICE
The first three months of 2017 saw ` 100cr+ hits every month, a rare scenario for Bollywood, but critics want better content
More than 70 per cent footfall, good returns and movie mania at its peak — the first quarter of this year looked good for Bollywood, and trade experts have given a thumbsup to the hit line-up.
In January, Raees (starring Shah Rukh Khan) made
` 131.65 crore, while in February, Jolly LLB 2 (starring Akshay Kumar) made ` 107.4 crore. March had Badrinath Ki Dulhania (starring Alia Bhatt and Varun Dhawan) enter the club with ` 110 crore. This is a pattern that has been rarely observed in the past few years.
Trade analyst Atul Mohan says, “Most of the films have had 70 -80 per cent occupancy in the theatres. Only a few, such as OK Jaanu and Rangoon, didn’t have the kind of return that could pull them through. It’s a very rare scenario to have a 100 crore movie every month from the beginning of the year. This is a very good sign... We’re in the second quarter and we have a great line-up coming up.”
Bollywood trade analyst Taran Adarsh says, “Footfall has increased from last year. If you look at the number of hits in the first three months, it has been better than any year [for the same period].”
The films have minted money, but industry observers feel that the content has not been as great as expected. “I think that unless the quality of the films gets better, people aren’t going to spend money. They’re increasingly being driven away from the movies because everyone in the film industry is thinking only about the commercial aspect and is doing on-the-table calculations,” says film critic Omar Qureshi.
Producer Pritish Nandy feels that in order to do well at the box office, filmmakers often drop the idea of offering path-breaking stories. “We didn’t have path-breaking as well as commercially huge films in the first quarter,” he says. “You can’t judge movies on quarter-to-quarter basis.” This [first quarter] is a very good sign... We’re in the second quarter and we have a great line-up coming up ATUL MOHAN, ANALYST