Will Pushpa 2 End 2024 On A High?

The
Indian
film
industry
is
having
a
difficult
run
in
2024,
with
box
office
collections
from
January
to
October
dropping
7
per
cent
year-on-year
to
Rs
8,951
crore
(Rs
89.51
billion).

Yet,
a
sliver
of
optimism
emerges
from
Ormax
Media’s

India
Box
Office
Report:
October
2024,
which
suggests
that
the
tide
could
still
turn.

With
the
strong
opening
box
office
performances
by

Singham
Again
and

Bhool
Bhulaiyaa
3
in
November
and
the
eagerly
awaited

Pushpa
2:
The
Rule
set
for
release
in
December,
there’s
a
chance
the
industry
could
match,
if
not
surpass,
the
collections
of
2023.

Cinemas,
facing
dwindling
footfall,
have
tried
almost
everything
to
lure
audiences
back.

This
year
has
seen
a
surge
in
strategies
aimed
at
rekindling
the
theatrical
experience,
from
re-releasing
popular
films
to
offering
food
and
beverages
at
attractive
prices
to
moviegoers.

But
the
bigger
story
of
2024
lies
in
a
shift
within
the
industry
itself.

October
brought
with
it
a
critical
boost,
primarily
driven
by
the
Tamil
film
industry.

Domestic
collections
for
the
month
totalled
Rs
994
crore
(Rs
9.94
billion),
nearly
half
of
which
came
from
Tamil
films,
including
their
dubbed
versions.

Among
these,

Amaran,
starring
Sivakarthikeyan,
was
a
standout,
grossing
Rs
269
crore
(Rs
2.69
billion)
and
earning
its
place
among
the
top
10
releases
of
the
year.

Following
close
behind
was

Vettaiyan,
featuring
Rajinikanth,
Amitabh
Bachchan
and
Fahadh
Faasil,
which
collected
Rs
173
crore
(Rs
1.73
billion).

October
2024’s
top
three
films
were
dominated
by
Tamil
and
Telugu
productions
(including
Dulquer
Salmaan’s

Lucky
Bhaskar).

Hollywood’s

Venom:
The
Last
Dance
took
the
fourth
place.

Rajkummar
Rao
and
Triptii
Dimri
in

Vicky
Vidya
Ka
Woh
Wala
Video
rounded
out
the
top
five.

The
numbers
evoke
a
sense
of
déjà
vu,
harking
back
to
October
2023,
when
Tamil-language
films
also
carried
the
month.
That
year’s
blockbuster

Leo
accounted
for
half
of
the
Rs
812
crore
(Rs
8.12
billion)
collected
domestically
in
October,
a
pattern
now
echoed
in
2024’s
data.

Across
the
broader
landscape
of
2024,
the
balance
of
linguistic
contributions
to
box
office
revenue
has
shifted.
Hindi
films,
long
considered
the
industry’s
backbone,
saw
their
share
drop
to
34
per
cent
of
domestic
collections
in
the
January-October
period,
down
from
41
per
cent
in
the
same
period
last
year.

Tamil
cinema,
on
the
other
hand,
has
gained
ground:
Its
share
rose
from
15
per
cent
in
the
January-September
period
to
18
per
cent
by
the
end
of
October,
according
to
the
report.