Bollywood closes first quarter with 30% rise in collections from last year

Moneycontrol News

The first quarter of the calendar year has ended on a happy note for the Hindi film industry. Bollywood has showed close to 30% jump in collections against the same period last year.

Unlike other sectors, Bollywood follows the January to December calendar and the first quarter between January and March has only brought in good news for the industry.

“We were expecting box office to collect close to Rs 700 crore in the first three months. It however exceeded our expectations to ring in close to Rs 900 crore, bringing in not just a cheer but also a hope to carry on with the kind of growth trajectory that got reflected in the numbers of the first quarter,” said film trade analyst Atul Mohan.

The industry had made Rs 550 crore in the same period last year with films like Raees, Kaabil, Jolly LLB 2 and Badrinath ki Dulhaniya.

The torchbearer credit for the growth in the first quarter this year goes to Padmaavat. The extra ‘a’, the courtroom drama, the 'Ghoomar' song or the bisexual Khilji, whatever it was — the Padmaavat saga got the industry Rs 284.68 crore. “The film stands a chance to make another Rs 50 lakh given that it has made close to Rs 50 lakh in the ninth week too,” said an expert from the industry.

Interestingly, next on the list is not one of those films that has a huge star cast or anything extraordinary to bring in bags full of money to the box office. But shushing popular ideas about small-budget films, Luv Ranjan’s Sonu ke Titu ki Sweety is still running strong in its sixth week and has contributed Rs 107.81 crore to the box office.

Up next is Raid. All set to enter the Rs 100 crore club, the film made Rs 96.97 crore till the end of the quarter.

Raking in more money has been another underdog film of the quarter, Baaghi 2. For all those who thought Tiger Shroff is only a skilled dancer and has little chance of making it big in the industry, there's news. This new kid on the block is inching towards his first 100-crore film as its standing at Rs 84.75 crore at the end of the first quarter.

Tiger Zinda Hai too contributed generously in making the first quarter numbers swell. The Salman Khan-Katrina Kaif blockbuster released on December 22 and continued to draw audiences till January, adding close to Rs 85 crore to the box office’s January earning.

Other films contributing to the numbers include Padman (Rs 80 crore), Aiyaary, Pari, Hichki, Hate Story IV and Mukkabaaz.