Team FC
Pathaan (2023), the highest grossing film, makes up 13% of the overall share. In 2023, five of the top 10 films were Hindi; three were Tamil; two were Telugu. After years of moaning the death of Hindi cinema at the altar of pan-Indian films, are we seeing a reckoning?
Except The Kerala Story (2023), all the Hindi films are big budget tentpole films. The reliance of studios on these big budget films is a little complicated.
On the one hand, it seems to rake in the footfalls — though with films like Adipurush (2023), which has claimed its production budget was Rs. 600 crore, and Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan with its Rs. 225 crore budget, the footfall was not able to help the films break even.
Also striking is the success of Fast X (2023), which is the only Hollywood film on Ormax’s list. This is despite a spate of high-profile releases in the first six months of the year. The films from the Marvel cinematic universe, John Wick: Chapter 4 and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny did not make the cut.
Curiously, the share of South languages has fallen from 50% to 44% — largely because of the share of Kannada language cinema dropping precipitously. (Last year had both KGF: Chapter 2 and Kantara, both Kannada breakaway successes, achieving pan-Indian success.)
As we move into the second half of 2023, with big budget Telugu films like Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire starring Prabhas, and potential blockbusters like Jawan starring Shah Rukh Khan and Tiger 3 starring Salman Khan, the hope is that we are able to breach the ₹10,000 Cr mark — a sign of a healthy box office and thriving film industry.