The X-factor at the India box office are the two new releases --- Deadpool & Wolverine as well as Dhanush-starrer Raayan, turning the tables for a dull movie business in 2024 so far.
While cricket and elections kept many moviegoers away from theatres, Marvel Studios and Dhanush together have rekindled the big screen magic.
"Deadpool & Wolverine has become the highest 'A' rated Hollywood film in terms of opening day box with Rs 21-22 crore box office which is highest ever for an 'A' rated film," said Kamal Gianchandani, head of Multiplex Association of India (MAI) and CEO of PVR Inox Pictures.
A rating means movies restricted to adult audiences, usually aged 18 and older.
The Hollywood venture is smashing records at the worldwide box office as it launched with collections to the tune of $438.3 million.
Gianchandani expects the movie's first weekend business in India to be around Rs 70 crore.
"A Rs 70 crore collection will be highest for a Hollywood A-rated film. Raayan, which is directed by Dhansuh, has done some Rs 45 crore in Tamil Nadu alone. Overall momentum started from Kalki's release (June 27), it became a big blockbuster," he said.
2024's biggest blockbuster Kalki brought some respite in the first quarter of FY25 but the big impact of its success will be seen in Q2.
"Kalki only had the first few days of Q1 so I reckon almost 70-75 percent of Kalki's admissions will be captured in July. And the traction for the movie has been high across markets and in both multiplexes and single screens," the PVR Inox Pictures' CEO said.
Like Kalki, Deadpool & Wolverine is also working across theatres and markets. The action flick is also being lapped up by both and male and female audiences in a big way, thanks to the humour quotient the film offers.
"Overall occupancy for Deadpool & Wolverine is around 40 percent for India as well as PVR Inox. Raayan has much higher occupancy so that would be 60 percent over the weekend and these are healthy occupancies," Gianchandani said.
Occupancy in Q1 of FY25 was 20.5 percent in PVR Inox cinemas, marginally higher than 22.3 percent during the same period a year ago. The multiplex chain recorded 3.04 crore footfalls in Q1, down 10.4 percent year-on-year. Overall, industry footfalls are down by 20-25 percent, according to analyst estimates.
The MAI head is counting on the superstars of Bollywood --- Shah Rukh Khan, Ranveer Singh and Ranbir Kapoor to bring back footfalls to its glory.
"We can expect FY26 to be the year when we go back to pre-Covid level. This (FY25) is a build up year after 2023 turned out to be a good year. We also have to keep in mind that most of our big actors like Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Ranbir Kapoor, Ranveer Singh don't have films this year. I think it is important for our business to have three big actors churn out films at least once in 12 months. They have lined up their films for next year so that is when we are expecting footfalls to go back to pre-Covid levels in FY26," Gianchandani said.
He added that audiences have received ticket prices well so, gross box office is at pre-Covid level.
The cumulative box office for January to June releases stands at Rs 5,015 crore, which is three percent higher than the same period in 2023, according to analysis by media consulting firm Ormax Media. "Much like last year, the second half of 2024 is expected to perform better than the first half, with a strong roster lined up in across languages like Pushpa 2: The Rule, Stree 2, Singham Again, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, The Greatest Of All Time, and Devara," the firm said.
Gianchandani also added that releases are very strong in Q2. "We hope the films keep performing as per expectations and exceed expectations. There is a very steady supply of films. But Q2 FY24 is a tough act to follow because we had Gadar 2, OMG 2, Oppenheimer and Barbie and then Jawan came in September. Q3 could repeat the magic we saw in Q2 last financial year."
He pointed out that the first three months were slow although there were movies like Munjya and a couple of other films which did well at the box office.
"Overall most people chose to stay away from theatres because of IPL (Indian Premier League) and elections. The overall quarter was soft. Q2 has started with a lot of momentum. We have a strong Q2 and Q3 looking at the lineup of films," Gianchandani said.
The company's revenue from sale of movie tickets fell 14.5 percent to Rs 593.5 crore from Rs 694.5 crore in Q1 FY24.
In Q1 FY25, there was a 13 percent year-on-year (YoY) drop in releases to 208 from 238. General elections in the months of April and May impacted the release calendar across all languages.
There was a sharp drop in blockbuster films, releases with more than Rs 100 crore gross box office collections (GBOC) in Q1 FY25 to three from seven, down 57 percent.
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