Bollywood films have been failing at the box office in recent months, with regional language films and Hollywood blockbusters easily attracting more viewers. South Indian films and their Hindi dubs for K.G.F: Chapter 2 (Rs. 412.80 crore) and RRR (Rs. 270.66 crore) as well as the Hollywood film Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness (Rs. 79.50 crore) have snatched the limelight from Bollywood releases like Jersey (Rs. 19.03 crore), Heropanti 2 (Rs. 23.85 crore), and Runway 34 (Rs (Rs. 23.25 crore).
Following a string of box office failures, Bollywood is banking on Yash Raj Films’ newest comedy Jayeshbhai Jordaar, which was released on May 13. The Ranveer Singh-starrer, on the other hand, has failed to build hype and will compete with Mahesh Babu’s big-ticket Telugu film Sarkaru Vaari Paata, which is estimated to gross over Rs. 150 crores at the box office.
The first day collections of Sarkaru Vaari Paata have been calculated at Rs. 59.6 crore by media consulting firm Ormax, while those of another Tamil film Don, which was released Friday, have been put at Rs. 12.2 crore. On the other hand, trade analysts predict that Jayeshbhai Jordaar would gross just Rs. 6-7 crore on opening day.
“Bollywood has had it much too easy for far too long, but in the post-Covid era, theatrical watching must be justified by a picture that demands the cinema experience.” People no longer show up for random events. “The Hindi film business needs to know that it’s up against the best of the best, whether it’s Hollywood or south Indian cinema,” said independent exhibitor Vishek Chauhan.
The fact that the two huge Eid releases, Tiger Shroff’s Heropanti 2 and Ajay Devgn’s Runway 34, have had their shows postponed due to low attendance in recent weeks, according to Chauhan, proves that viewers are not interested in subpar Hindi movies.
Sreedhar Pillai, an independent trade analyst, predicted that the southern film industry would have another great week at the box office, with Mahesh Babu’s Sarkaru Vaari Paata, which is the perfect blend of action and drama, making for an entertaining summer holiday offering, and action-comedy Don, starring Sivakarthikeyan, who is considered one of the top three saleable heroes in the Tamil industry. Even in traditionally Hindi-dominated areas like the United States, south Indian and notably Telugu films have taken over, with Sarkaru Vaari Paata’s advance ticket sales approaching $1 million. “Another difficulty is that, whereas southern films are progressively attracting audiences in the north, most Hindi films remain confined to metro areas.”
