Would 2018 be able to bring the light back in Bollywood’s Diwali releases?

There is no stopping Big B who on this birthday turns 76 and is all set to entertain audiences with another offering Thugs of Hindostan, releasing this Diwali. Picture: @TOHTheFilm

Festive holidays not only bring cheer to people but to the film industry as well. Experts are of the opinion that collections during festivals are higher as compared to any other time of the year.

However, this doesn’t stand true for all festivals. For a long time, Diwali has been out of the list of festivals that are lucrative for movie releases. And that’s because of the lacklustre performance of films released during Diwali holiday.

While Diwali has not been able to light up the box office since 2009, save a few exceptions, festivals like Eid and Christmas have become major holiday periods.

There are new entrants to the list of holidays that are lucrative for the film business. For instance Holi, which for a long time was not considered a bankable holiday due to the coinciding exam period.

However, Diwali wasn't so dull in the 90's and the early 2000's. In fact, producers would scramble to finish their projects to be just in time for Diwali.

If Salman Khan and Aamir Khan releases have been synonymous with Eid and Christmas holidays, then Shah Rukh Khan's films have been locked for Diwali. His hit films like Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Dil Toh Pagal Hai, and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai have lit up the Diwali holiday with romance and entertainment.

The festival of lights became Bollywood’s big-ticket festival thanks to Yash Chopra and his son, Aditya. Starting from the 1991 film Lamhe to Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan-starrer Mohabbatein, all were Diwali releases.

Other directors followed suit. For instance, Sooraj Barjatya offered family dramas filled with song-and-dance sequences enough to brighten up anyone’s Diwali.

Among the new-age directors, Farah Khan and Rohit Shetty have relied on Diwali holiday for their ventures. And, their gamble has paid off despite Diwali losing its shine. Their films like Om Shanti Om, Happy New Year, Golmaal Returns and Golmaal Again have all fared well at the box office.

Diwali has been the success formula since the 1950s. Very few Diwali openings have seen a dull day. But, now the festival isn’t what it used to be for the film industry.

The year 2006 had two Diwali releases – Don and Jan-e-Mann. While the former was a hit, the latter tanked at the box office. The next year saw a similar pattern when Om Shanti Om brought in big numbers but the debut film of Ranbir Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor, Saawariya left the industry feeling blue.

Bollywood treaded on a rough patch in 2009 when all three Diwali releases were unsuccessful.

In 2016, two big-ticket films saw Diwali opening – Karan Johar's directorial Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and Ajay Devgn’s Shivaay. But, both films were unable to do good business. Ae Dil Hai Mushkil barely managed to be declared a hit with collections of Rs 106 crore with a budget of Rs 98 crore. Shivaay, on the other hand, lost business as it earned Rs 84.83 crore with an investment of Rs 103 crore.

Producers now prefer long weekends over Diwali holiday as they believe it is no more the industry’s cash cow.

Other festivals including Eid and Christmas have superseded Diwali. Even public holidays like Republic Day and Independence Day are proving their mettle.

If the Khans of Bollywood dominate festival holidays like Eid, Diwali and Christmas, then Akshay Kumar is entertaining audiences on I-Day and Republic Day. Films like Rustom, Toilet Ek Prem Katha among others scored a total of Rs 100 crore.

Salman Khan has ruled the box office every Eid with films like Wanted (2009), Dabangg (2010), Bodyguard (2011), Ek Tha Tiger (2012), Kick (2014), Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015), Sultan (2016) and Tubelight (2017). In the last nine years, it was only in 2013 that there was a Shah Rukh Khan release – Chennai Express during Eid holiday.

Another holiday that gives an extra advantage to a film’s revenue is Christmas which has historically been strong for both Hollywood and Bollywood films. The Christmas break has mostly been blocked by Aamir Khan since 2007.

From Taare Zameen Par to his latest offering Dangal, all have rolled out in theatres in December. While his 2014 film PK that earned Rs 337 crore is the third highest grossing film of all time, Dangal stands second in the same list with collections worth Rs 374 crore.

However, this year Shah Rukh Khan has slated his film Zero for Christmas, which implies that it is set up for a strong run in abroad as well as the domestic market.

Diwali has been overshadowed by other festivals both in terms of film hits and performances.

But, in 2017, Diwali holiday came as a big surprise to the industry. The multi-starrer Golmaal Again got a grand total of Rs 200 crore.

Bollywood was not alone to make Diwali successful last year. Tamil film Mersal saw a release in around 4,650 screens across the globe and the film witnessed excellent occupancy in all three shows (morning, noon and evening).

The film got a flying start with collections going up to Rs 47.1 crore worldwide on opening day, which can also be attributed to the long weekend coinciding with Diwali.

In addition, Diwali did not light up the box office in India alone but also globally. Money grossed by Mersal validates this. In the overseas market,  Mersal had a strong beginning especially in the US, Malaysia and the UK with collections going up to Rs 3.11 crore, Rs 1.82 crore and Rs 1.25 crore, respectively for the first two days of its release.

This year too Diwali will see a mega release—Thugs of Hindostan and maybe after its release things will change for Diwali holiday for good.

After all, film trade analysts say holidays boost revenues by around Rs 10-15 crore and occupancy in theaters go as high as 80 percent or more during the holiday season.