Bollywood’s Box Office Blues: Why Hits Are Hard To Come By

Following a lacklustre first quarter at the box office, big questions on the future of Bollywood and the declining impact of stardom are staring us in the eye. When massive, star-studded releases like Bade Miyan Chote Miyan and Maidaan, with a sure-shot success formula - popular genre, festive release and over-the-top promotion, failed to pull audiences to theatres, it raised the question of why hits in Bollywood have been hard to come by in recent times.

The Hindi film industry, based out of Mumbai, recorded the best year ever in 2023 with Pathaan, Jawan, Gadar 2 and Animal driving a business of over ₹11,000 crore domestically. However, the success now seems like a one-off incident. With ‘pan-India’ films breaking one box office record after another, fans of Bollywood are finding it hard to advocate for the industry that continues to grapple with big-budget projects falling flat. To add to this the discussions around the lack of original content, over-the-top promotion of average films and declining stardom have plagued the industry. Why is there a dearth of hits in the recent past? Why are Hindi movies failing to find an audience post-pandemic? Experts answer.

Why are big stars not able to pull audiences to theatres?

Salman Khan starrer Tiger 3 (2023) minted 282.79 crores at the domestic box office. To put this in perspective, the previous instalment of the YRF-backed franchise - Tiger Zinda Hai raked in ₹339.16 crore. This year’s first big release - Hrithik Roshan-Deepika Padukone’s Fighter minted ₹ 212.73 Cr at the box office. Akshay Kumar-Tiger Shroff’s action flick Bade Miyan Chote Miyan struggled to pass even the ₹100 crore mark with only ₹ 65.33 Cr in domestic collection. Ajay Devgn’s sports drama Maidaan finished at an even less impressive ₹51.4 crore. These are the same stars and studios that were earlier responsible for delivering the biggest hits of the year, not just in Hindi but across languages. The back-to-back disappointment by ‘star-led’ projects has raised the question of whether stardom as a factor is not impactful anymore.

In a recent interview with Bollywood Thikana, veteran actor Prem Chopra provided a contrast between the careers of Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan. Both were superstars of their time who reigned supreme at the box office and audience’s hearts, but only one was able to sustain the status. Giving due credit to Amitabh Bachchan, Chopra said “Amitabh was different. He was a superstar for so many years, but he moved on to character roles at the right time. I am sometimes surprised, at this age, he is busier than he was before.” Maybe this pivot from doing the same old formulated roles to character-driven performance is what the superstars of today need.

In an exclusive conversation with Republic World, trade entertainment industry tracker Ramesh Bala blamed ‘too much access’ as a reason for the perceived declining stardom. “The audience is not compelled to go to the theatres to watch the actors. They can see them in brand endorsements, on Instagram or on tours,” said the analyst. Drawing a parallel from South Indian stars, Bala said, “South stars don’t make themselves available. They don't take part in dance tours, or store openings. So, if the audience has to watch Ajith, they will have to go to theatres.” This, he asserted, drives a big opening to a film which eventually translates to a better box office collection. 

Do stars need to take a pay cut?

A film’s hit or flop is inadvertently dependent on its budget. While a ₹100 crore collection would be staggering for 12th Fail, it would not even cover the salary of one actor in Fighter. This shifts focus on the film’s budget. Big banner projects invest more in movies, thus they need to make more money to break even and even more to be deemed as a hit at the box office. Star’s salary, as well as, their ancillary costs such as the remuneration of their team, adds to the producer’s pocket, increasing the film budget multifold. Lately, actor-turned-producer Kriti Sanon, filmmaker Farah Khan, and actor Manoj Bajpayee have spoken about the same.

Ramesh Bala tells us, “Over the period of time, star salaries are going up.” He argued that the first actors would fix their fees with the anticipation of how much the film could make at the box office, but now they even calculate the streaming rights of the movie on OTT and add it to their salaries. His solution to the problem is profit sharing. He asserted that profit sharing is a common norm in Hollywood because “studios control the actors” in the West but “actors control producers” in India. He also attributed ‘star-worship’ as a reason for producers to bow down to all reasonable and unreasonable demands made by the actors. Bala cited the example of other corporate industries where an employee would never be in a position to ask for a “100% hike in salary”, but a star can easily ask for double their remuneration from the last movie. A profit-sharing model would not just put less stress on the producer but will compel the actors to invest their all in the film.

Not stars, content is king

For years now, industries have stated that they pick and choose the movies they star in on the basis of content. They argue that the audience is driven only by content and no other factors. This, finally, can be seen coming to fruition. The rise of sleeper hits like 12th Fail, Article 370, and Lapataa Ladies have stressed the importance of content being greater than star-driven machines which offer stale content in grander, more lavish settings each time. Speaking to PTI, trade analyst Taran Adarsh said, “You don't like having biryani every day. Similarly, you need a change in the genre also, not just the actors. You can't really have the same stuff being rolled out to the audience and expect them to lap it up big time.”

Sameer Nair of Applause Entertainment, who is also one of the producers for Do Aur Do Pyaar, told PTI, “Audiences don't come for genres, they come for the story, characters and the relationship drama.” Talking specifically about the action-genre fatigue, which is said to be the case of Fighter, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, Tiger 3 and Yoddha, he said, “Every viewer watching an action film knows all the tropes: there will be helicopters, big bazookas etc.”

Ramesh Bala tells us, “On paper, a movie can be great, but it is the content that has to click.” He argued that all scripts make for box office viable films but the audience has to resonate with the content of the movies for it to be really successful. He also argued, “There is always an element of what connects to the audience. Sometimes, if nothing is unique, if you just have mass action pieces shot in Jordan, it becomes too formulated. Something has to be new. There is no compelling reason to go to the theatres.” 

Vanity - Is it weighing down on a film’s budget?

A posse of helpers trotting around the actors while they carry on with their daily activities is what makes a celebrity entourage. It is said that the bigger the star, the bigger their entourage. A 2018 report by Film Companion stated that Priyanka Chopra has 25 people as her showrunners. Eventually, as the star salary increases, the pay scale of the ancillaries sees an increase as well.

Recently, Kriti Sanon argued that some things are necessary for an actor and the artist would not be able to do without it. She shared, “But if you are in a film where you need to make a certain kind of body for that particular role, then obviously from the actor a lot of effort goes into achieving that. The expenses then, rightly so, the producer takes care of. So, you need to understand what is needed and what is luxury. The producers have to take a call.” Additionally, Kriti also argued that a team for make-up, costume and stylist is important for artists and sometimes they get their assistants because of the hefty amount of work.

In an interaction with Twin Encounter, Farah Khan did not shy away from calling out actors and actresses for feeling the need to always travel with at least eight to nine people at their service. Her concern over the practice stemmed from the fact that its financial impact weighed heavily on the budget while not contributing to the film in any capacity. She said, "The change I would like to bring about is that the entourage cost has become too much. An actress comes with nine people, an actor comes with eight people. That is a waste of resources. That cost is nowhere to be seen in the film. That needs to be controlled a bit."

The cost of the actor’s hairstylist, trainers, personal nutritionist, makeup artists, PRs and sometimes their assistants are all traditionally borne by the producer. This puts an additional stress on the film’s budget. Therefore, even if a movie performs decently at the box office, these extraorbiant overheads raise the budget multifold making it unable to break even.

Will the second half of 2024 be a game-changer for Bollywood? 

In a conversation with PTI, Bihar-based exhibitor Vishek Chauhan, shed light on the grim situation of the industry. He said, “Bollywood producers are afraid of the box office. The situation is grim because of the poor performance of films this year, including the two disastrous Eid releases ... Despite having stars, budgets, and festive dates, movies have tanked.”

All eyes are now on movies like Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, Kalki 2898 AD, Singham Again, Baby John, Jigra and Metro..In Dino to see if Bollywood can replicate the success of 2023.