As 2023 comes to an end, in this Bollywood Hungama Special Feature, we take a look at sixteen interesting trends of the box office and the Bollywood film industry in 2023.
1. RIP Boycott Bollywood
After Sushant Singh Rajput had an untimely death, rumours were spread that the Hindi film was a big, bad place. Soon, #BoycotBollywood was trended by vested interests. These tweets would increase during the release of major films. When some of these movies failed, the ‘Boycott gang’ took credit. During the release of Pathaan in January, this gang tried its best to bring down the film. Sadly, for the trolls, the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer was such a huge blockbuster that these agenda-driven people didn’t know where to hide their faces. In one stroke, this useless movement died a quick, swift death. In fact, the movement has already been forgotten.
2. Shah Rukh Khan is here to stay
Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan and Jawan were historic blockbusters, proving that he’s still a big star. Though Dunki underperformed, it didn't change anything. The King Khan is here to stay and rule.
3. Salman Khan is one big blockbuster away from jumping back to Dabangg-level
Salman Khan’s stardom got a boost with Wanted (2009) and Dabangg (2010). Of late, his films have underperformed. Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan created a rage and if it had enjoyed a positive word of mouth, it would have easily entered the Rs. 200 crore club. The fact that it crossed the Rs. 100 crore mark, despite a bad response, proves Salman’s star power. Also, Tiger 3 opened at Rs. 44.50 crore despite releasing on the day of Diwali day, again highlighting his stardom. Sadly, this film also didn’t get an all-round positive response. Hence, the day he gives an unanimously loved film, all records will be in danger.
4. A tough year for Akshay Kumar
Akshay Kumar delivered well-made films like Selfiee and Mission Raniganj and sadly, both opened at less than Rs. 3 crores. OMG 2 was a big hit, but it featured him in a supporting role. In 2024, he is expected to bounce back with Bade Miyan Chote Miyan and Welcome To The Jungle.
5. Ranbir Kapoor is a superstar
The blockbuster collections of Animal clearly indicate that Ranbir Kapoor is the youngest superstar. With this film, he made a place among the masses and hence, his upcoming films will surely benefit.
6. BOGO is now a part of the ecosystem
The Buy-One-Get-One (BOGO) ticket-free offer came into the limelight when it was implemented for Zara Hatke Zara Bachke. Though it was available for only limited users, it became a big talking point. The same offer was also implemented for underperforming films, that too by various distributors. As expected, it didn’t help those films much. Some in the industry have cautioned that BOGO is not a good idea, but their plea has fallen on deaf ears.
7. The notion that urban-centric films won't work is over
It was believed that after the pandemic, only big-scale films would work in cinemas. The success of Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway, Zara Hatke Zara Bachke, Satyaprem Ki Katha, OMG 2, 12th Fail, Sam Bahadur etc. proved this belief wrong.
8. It's okay to unveil trailer a week before the release
Earlier, the norm was to release the trailer a month or so in advance. The trailers of Jawan and Animal were released a week before their release. Pathaan’s trailer was launched less than 2 weeks before its arrival on the big screen. Yet, these films generated a buzz and opened with a bang.
9. Clash can be a good idea
Some industry experts have always requested that clashes should be avoided. But when two films are released together, it generates a lot of excitement and grabs eyeballs, not just due to screen-sharing fights but even otherwise. In turn, this helps in enhancing the hype for those films, leading to a good opening. OMG 2 and Sam Bahadur clashed with biggies like Gadar 2 and Animal respectively and yet, not only had a fine opening but also put up a respectable lifetime total. There were reports of moviegoers opting for these films when they didn’t get tickets of the biggies. Of course, the content also appealed to the audience. But had these films released solo, maybe, the collections might not have been as huge.
10. Token releases will become a norm
In October, Taapsee Pannu made her displeasure clear when her production Dhak Dhak was released with limited promotion by Viacom18 Studios since the latter was releasing it in cinemas to fulfil the post-theatrical Netflix deal. A few weeks later, the industry and moviegoers were left shocked when Arjun Kapoor-Bhumi Pednekar starrer The Lady Killer got a horrible release in far-flung cinemas with zero awareness. With platforms refusing to buy films for direct OTT release, the producers are now forced to put their films in cinemas. Often, they recover the full investment from digital rights and hence, they don’t prefer to promote the film much. In such a scenario, the track record of the actors suffers.
11. More actors to follow the ‘Shah Rukh Khan’ model of promotions
Shah Rukh Khan had three releases this year and not even once did he give interviews to the media. At success events of Pathaan and Jawan, no Q and A session was held with the press. For most actors, interviews are a tedious process as they are expected to repeat the same stuff again and again. It was also seen that extensive promotions and city tours don’t always help in a great opening. Hence, many actors will follow the ‘SRK’ model, and the trend has already started.
12. The South dominance narrative ended for now
The ‘Boycott Bollywood’ movement was also in sync with the belief that South films will start dominating the Hindi-speaking markets. But 2023 saw the release of nearly 35-40 South dubbed films. Almost all of them flopped. Jailer and Leo would have been big hits if they had not opted for a 4-week OTT deal and got an extensive release in the national chains. Salaar was the only exception. 2024 will be a better year as Allu Arjun, Jr NTR, Ram Charan, etc, will present their exciting films.
13. Bollywood is slowly making inroads into South
While South films have become a staple in the North, the Hindi films hardly collected much in the Southern states. Pathaan and Jawan, however, had huge collections in these territories. Animal collected more than Rs. 40 crores in the Telugu version, shocking the trade and industry.
Also Read: #2023Recap: 24 most EMBARRASSING scenes and dialogues in Bollywood films this year
More Pages: Selfiee Box Office Collection , Selfiee Movie Review
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