Business of movies | 2022 at the box office

Hindi dubbed versions of south films KGF: Chapter 2 (Rs 434.70 crore), RRR (Rs 274.31 crore) and Kantara (Rs 85 crore) became big commercial hits in 2022. (Image: IMDB)

As 2022 comes to a close, Hollywood’s Avatar: The Way of Water and Bollywood’s Drishyam 2 have emerged as the shining spots for the film business. Between the two films, over Rs 525 crore has already come in and there is more on the way, going by footfalls.

Let’s talk about Avatar: The Way of Water first. The film did blockbuster business in the first week, with a little less than Rs 200 crore coming in, and then in the second week, the film brought in a little under Rs 100 crore in ticket sales across India.

That’s tremendous for any movie, regardless of language and whether it released pre- or post-pandemic, and here the James Cameron-directed sci-fi action drama has done that in style. The film also began its third week well, with collections coming in throughout the country. The result: the film has crossed the Rs 300 crore milestone.

Avatar 2 is only the second Hollywood film to do that in India, after Avengers: End Game. The Marvel film had scored Rs 364 crore back in 2019, and this is the lifetime ticket sales that Avatar: The Way of Water would be chasing as well. Things are likely to go well for the film, with Pathaan as the only big release coming up.

Meanwhile, Drishyam 2 is making the most of the lean period, with few other Hindi releases lately (none arrived this Friday). This could help the film add another Rs 5-10 crore to its lifetime earnings.

Ticket sales for Drishyam 2 had gone past Rs 232 crore at the start of its seventh week in theatres. Next milestone: Touch the Rs 235 crore mark by its 50th day in theatres and then hanging in there to collect more.

Directed by Abhishek Pathak, Drishyam 2 has now emerged as only the third Bollywood blockbuster of 2022 after The Kashmir Files (Rs 253 crore) and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 (Rs 186 crore). While former was an unconventional offbeat affair by Vivek Agnihotri, the latter by ace director Anees Bazmee had Kartik Aaryan was a comedy horror.

The other two Bollywood films to make over Rs 100 crore in 2022 are Brahmastra (Rs 264 crore) and Gangubai Kathiawadi (Rs 129.10 crore). Hindi dubbed versions of south films that became massive commercial hits in 2022 include KGF: Chapter 2 (Rs 434.70 crore), RRR (Rs 274.31 crore) and Kantara (Rs 85 crore), bringing some relief to cinema hall owners.

One now just hopes that Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan kickstarts the season of biggies for Bollywood and 2023 turns out to be a very big year indeed for the industry.

Lifetime total of biggest Hindi releases in 2022: 

KGF: Chapter 2 (Hindi) - Rs 434.70 crore

RRR (Hindi) - Rs 274.31 crore

Brahmastra - Rs 264 crore

The Kashmir Files - Rs 253 crore

Drishyam 2 - Rs 240 crores+ (expected)

Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 - Rs 186 crore

Gangubai Kathiawadi - Rs 129.10 crore

JugJugg Jeeyo - Rs 85.25 crore

Kantara (Hindi) - Rs 85 crore

Note: All collections as per production and distribution sources