How Bollywood reeling from a poor first quarter of ‘24 is desperate for a blockbuster
Akshay Kumar’s losing streak at the box-office continued with Bade Miyan Chote Miyan misfiring. Ajay Devgn offered a ray hope with Shaitaan, a horror-thriller film that defied genre odds to click at the box-office, but he struggled to repeat the feat with the period football drama Maidaan, which failed to kick up any enthusiasm. Even Siddharth Anand’s Fighter, with Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone no less, was nowhere close to replicating the success of the filmmaker’s earlier action films Pathaan and War.
Where the big-ticket action spectacles fizzled, the smaller fare surprised and delivered. Two female-fronted filmsâArticle 370, an action thriller with a political and legal bent, and Crew, a heist comedyâearned Rs 76 crore and Rs 66 crore, respectively, proving that audiences are game for narratives that deviate from tropes. The romantic comedy Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya, featuring Kriti Sanon and Shahid Kapoor, had a respectable run too, collecting Rs 82 crore.
The trouble for exhibitors is that the appeal of these abovementioned films was in selected pockets and for a limited spell. To add to the woes, IPL and Lok Sabha elections have meant that producers and studios are holding on to their releases, resulting in a summer when cinema-going audiences have hardly any Hindi pickings to choose from. May will see Hollywood get a free rein with films like The Fall Guy, Furiosa and The Garfield Movie looking to get footfalls.
There’s no Shah Rukh Khan to the rescue; after having three releases last year, the actor has none scheduled in 2024. Salman Khan and Aamir Khan, who have had a tough theatrical run post pandemic, too look like they will be missing in action this year. Ranbir Kapoor too has no film lined up, neither does Ranveer Singh. Which leaves one to wonder who will be the knight in shining armour to save Bollywood. Could it be Varun Dhawan, who makes a case for being an action hero with Baby John, or Kartik Aaryan’s Chandu Champion? Both films are eyeing June releases.
At the moment, it looks like it will be the South industry which is likely to make a dent. Allu Arjun’s Pushpa is seen as a favourite to upstage the first one in terms of numbers. Before that, Prabhas teams up with Deepika Padukone and Amitabh Bachchan for the sci-fi spectacle Kalki 2898 AD. NTR Jr looks to capitalise on RRR and expand his footprint in Hindi territories with Devara later this year while Kamal Haasan looks to repeat the success of Indian with Part 2.
Hopefully for Bollywood, the blues will end soon.
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