Bollywood 2024: When Hindi cinema failed to deliver at box office and Telugu pan-Indian films ruled

New Delhi: With its formulaic stories and action dramas biting the dust at the box office, the dream factory of Bollywood failed to deliver on the expectations of the audiences who turned to Telugu blockbusters like Pushpa 2 and Kalki 2898 AD for larger-than-life stories.

For the Hindi film industry, which banked mostly on nostalgia of re-releases like Laila Majnu, Tumbbad, Veer Zaara and many others to bring viewers to theatres, the one big success was Stree 2, a horror comedy that made Rs 597 crore nett.

Except for Stree 2, no other Hindi film reached near the Rs 500 crore mark at the box office in 2024.

Pushpa 2, starring Allu Arjun in the titular role and released on December 5, has earned over Rs 700 crore in Hindi alone at the box office whereas its worldwide gross is more than Rs 1,700 crore, according to figures shared by its producers.

In a novel promotional strategy, Arjun travelled all the way to Patna for the trailer launch of the movie, an indication that the makers were projecting it as a pan-India movie and not a Telugu film. Pushpa 1, released in 2021, had done surprisingly good business in the Hindi belt.

Malayalam superstar Mohanlal said the success of films like Pushpa 2 are important for the Indian film industry.

"To make an entertainer and bring out a big success is not an easy thing. It requires a lot of patience and many other factors. It is a magic recipe and nobody knows the formula. 'Pushpa' and films like that are turning the wheel of the Indian film industry," the actor told PTI.

Like Pushpa 2, Nag Ashwin's futuristic retelling of Mahabharata in Kalki, starring Telugu superstar Prabhas with prominent roles by Amitabh Bachchan and Deepika Padukone, made over Rs 290 crore just in Hindi language in June this year, according to trade website Sacnilk.

It is in stark contrast to 2023 when Bollywood registered four blockbusters in Pathaan and Jawan, which raked in over Rs 1,000 crore each at the worldwide box office, as well as Sunny Deol's Gadar 2 and Ranbir Kapoor's Animal.

"I would not call it a bad year for Bollywood but yes if you compare to last year, we had four films crossing Rs 400 crore at the box office. This year has not been that great except for Stree 2 and Pushpa 2, which is a Telugu release.

"Box office can be unpredictable and there are phases. But there are lessons to be learned, we need to make films that cater to pan-India audiences. Bollywood will, hopefully, bounce back in a big way next year," trade analyst Taran Adarsh told PTI.  

According to Amit Sharma, MD, Miraj Entertainment Ltd, 2024 was "disastrous" for Hindi cinema.

"The business is down by at least 30 per cent compared to 2023 where we had Pathaan, Gadar 2, Jawan, Animal, Dunki, Fukrey and Dream Girl 2... When it comes to Bollywood in 2024, you can't really speak about anything apart from Stree 2 and to an extent Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 and Singham and films like Laapata Ladies and Shaitaan. But commercially there is no comparison between 2024 and 2023," he told PTI.

Horror-comedy seemed to be the most successful genre in Bollywood as not just Stree 2 but Kartik Aaryan's Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 and Maddock Films' Munjya also did decent business at the box office.

But the Hindi cinema's big bet on action movies, starting the year with Fighter failed to yield good results.

Directed by Siddharth Anand of Pathaan fame, Fighter, starring Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone, couldn't replicate the success of the 2023 Shah Rukh Khan starrer.

The movie, made on a big budget, reportedly to be around Rs 250 crore, and featuring high octane action sequences, underperformed at the box office, earning Rs 212 crore in nett at the Indian box office, according to Sacnilk.

Ajay Devgn-starrer Singham Again, the latest entry in filmmaker Rohit Shetty's cop universe, amassed just Rs 247 crore nett, did decent business but fell short of being  a blockbuster.

The fact that the movie clashed with Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 in Diwali this year may have also impacted the business of the two movies. The films registered great opening day numbers but ran out of steam in just two weeks.

Other major disappointments at the ticket window were Yodha starring Sidharth Malhotra, Akshay Kumar's "Bade Miyan Chote Miyan", Devgn's Maidaan and Aaryan's Chandu Champion and Alia Bhatt-starrer Jigra.

The dry run of Akshay's films at the box office continued after "Bade Miyan Chote Miyan" with both Sarfira and Khel Khel Mein not doing too well.

It was a good year for medium budget films like Shaitaan, Munjya and Crew did profitable business at the box office.

Shaitaan, a horror film starring Devgn and R Madhavan, emerged as a surprise hit with a nett collection of Rs 148 crore.

Crew, a heist comedy starring Kareena Kapoor Khan, Tabu and Kriti Sanon, earned Rs 89 crore in net collection, almost double of its budget.

Amidst the lacklustre run of Hindi films at the ticket window, exhibitors relied on several old classics to fill the theatres.

Shah Rukh Khan's "Karan Arjun", "Kal Ho Naa Ho", "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge" and "Chak De! India" returned to the big screen.

Anurag Kashyap's 2012 hit Gangs of Wasseypur, Salman Khan's Maine Pyar Kiya, Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein, featuring Madhavan and Dia Mirza, as well as Rockstar, Jab We Met, Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani also made a comeback to theatres.

Audiences particularly embraced Imtiaz Ali-produced Laila Majnu, starring Avinash Tiwary and Triptii Dimri, and actor-producer Sohum Shah's period mythological thriller Tumbbad as the two films performed better at the box office as compared to their initial run at the box office.

In a recent interview with PTI, actor Manoj Bajpayee admitted that Hindi cinema is going through a lull phase.

"It is definitely forcing filmmakers to think differently. And there is nothing wrong with it. I think it is a churning, it's a lull period. I'm hopeful that it will go back to its natural self very soon. I don't see it as a problem because creative people always find a way," he said.

Bajpayee believes that rising cost of cinema tickets is one of the reasons why people are not flocking to theatres to watch Hindi films en masse.

"The person who is going to the theatres, he is a mass guy and he can't afford the ticket of a multiplex. Our mass audience can't go to the multiplex but even if they are able to go there, they want to see Pathaan, Jawan or Animal.

"The single screens are running packed and their audience see their hero in Allu Arjun. He is giving them the kind of film that should be enjoyed in theatres," he added.