One week in, Salman Khan’s Tiger Zinda Hai (TZH) has flown past the ₹100 crore mark amassing ₹ 206 crore net at the box office. It’s well on its way to become the year’s first ₹300-core film. TZH ’s first-day collections — ₹34 crore net — have been just shy of the year’s highest opening numbers courtesy Bahubali: The Conclusion at ₹40.73 crore net.
TZH — which is performing well in both single screen and multiplexes — might have greatly revived the box office’s drooping spirits but it’s come at an inopportune time as the last film of the year. Since 2014, the total box office earnings have been steadily declining and Khan’s blockbuster will at the most break even with last year’s revenue. “Overall it’s a poor year, there’s a 10 to 15% drop and this is not counting Bahubali because it’s technically a dubbed [Telugu] film,” says Shailesh Kapoor of Ormax Media, a firm specialising in trade insights. He adds that the corrections in the last quarter with Golmaal Again , Fukrey Returns and TZH acted as damage control. The worst though occurred during the first quarter with three big disappointments Kaabil (₹86.54 crore net), Raees (₹128.77 crore net) and Rangoon (₹20.87 crore net).
For the past few years, including in 2017, audiences have become very discerning in light of the pervasiveness of digital platforms where most films are immediately available for streaming once they’re out of theatres. “People are picking and choosing their films, they don’t want to spend on tickets,” says Kapoor. Take for instance, Hindi Medium and Newton , which despite being sleeper hits, have both been devoured on Amazon Prime. Even bigger titles such as Tubelight and Jab Jab Harry Met Sejal (though both were box office disasters) made their way to our TV screens and computers very quickly.
Cinematic trends have been well documented. In 2017, we saw the rise of the female protagonist. There was a steady stream of releases including,
Anaarkali of Aarah (₹1.07 crore net), Naam Shabana (₹36.05 crore), Begum Jaan (₹20.05 crore net), Noor (₹6.71 crore net), Simran (₹14.88 crore net), Haseena Parkar (₹6.60 crore net). However, most failed at the box office.
Bollywood’s tryst with small towns continued: Meri Pyaari Bindu (₹9.20 crore net), Behen Hogi Teri (₹2.22 crore net), Bareilly Ki Barfi (₹34.02 crore net) ,Babumoshai Bandookbaaz (₹9.78 crore net), Shubh Mangal Savdhan (₹41.98 crore net). Unfortunately, their impact wasn’t sufficient to drag 2017 over the finish line. Similarly, big-budgeted ambitious projects like Raabta (₹21.68 crore net), Rangoon (₹20.87 crore net), Jagga Jasoos (₹52.50 crore net), Tubelight (₹114.57 crore net) completely tanked.
Here’s the crux of the matter, what exactly did people turn out their pockets for? While there weren’t many of such films during the year, 2017 did see comedy and franchises ruling the roost. The highest moolah makers of the year have been film s such as Badrinath Ki Dulhania (₹114.11) crore net), Jolly LLB2 (₹107.77 crore net), Judwaa 2 (₹132 crore net) and Golmaal Again (₹205.49 crore net). “If the first film has been appreciated and there’s brand value in place, you know there’s a sense of comfort for the audience,” says Kapoor.
Despite 2017’s bleak outcome, Kapoor is hopeful for the New Year. “This year we didn’t have a big Aamir Khan film,” he says. “[The year] 2018 has a good representation of the stars and it could be possible to reverse the declining box office numbers.” The three Khans have blockbusters ahead: Shah Rukh has an untitled Anand Rai film; Aamir has Thugs of Hindostan ; Salman has Race 3 . Plus, there’s Rajkumar Hirani’s Sanjay Dutt biopic Sanju with Ranbir Kapoor and Akshay Kumar’s Padman , 2.0 , Gold and possibly Mogul . Let’s not forget Padmavati which is most likely to get those seats filled thanks to the drawn-out controversy stoking everyone’s curiosity.
Trends from 2017 seep into next year: the nationalism streak with Sui Dhaaga: Made in India; and the franchise fever with Baaghi 2 and Krrish 4 .
Biggest hits of the year
Golmaal Again, ₹ 205.49 crore net
Judwaa 2, ₹ 132.35 crore net
Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, ₹ 132.07 crore net
Badrinath Ki Dulhania, ₹ 114.11 crore net
Jolly LLB2, ₹ 107.77 crore net
Sleeper Hits
Hindi Medium, ₹ 63.06 crore net
Lipstick Under My Burkha, ₹ 16.52 crore net
Newton, ₹ 22.18 crore net
Bareilly Ki Barfi, ₹ 34.02 crore net
The Ghazi Attack, ₹ 20.14 crore net
Biggest let downs
Tubelight, ₹ 114.57 crore net
Jab Harry Met Sejal, ₹ 62 crore net
Baadshaho, ₹ 65.77 crore net
Jagga Jasoos, ₹ 52.60 crore net
Half Girlfriend, ₹ 52.29 crore net
