The year 2023 could emerge as one of the best years for the Indian movie industry with gross box office collection (GBOC) in India estimated to cross pre-pandemic levels.

Initial reports indicate that the India GBOC crossed the ₹12,000-crore mark in 2023. A report by GroupM and Ormax Media had estimated the India GBOC at ₹10,948 crore in 2019. It touched the ₹10,637-crore mark in 2022 in the post-pandemic period.

In its ‘India Box Office Report’ for November, Ormax Media had estimated the GBOC at ₹10,252 crore from January to November 2023. In December, four movies earned more than ₹1,300 crore. This helped take the GBOC beyond ₹12,000 crore.

Indian cinema bounces back: A record-breaking 2023 at the box office  Indian cinema bounces back: A record-breaking 2023 at the box office  
500-cr club

The new benchmark for the industry is ₹500-crore GBOC .

Three actors from the Hindi movie industry dominated the box office, crossing ₹600 crore GBOC. Shah Rukh Khan’s Jawan and Pathaan crossed ₹740 crore and ₹645 crore, respectively, while Sunny Deol’s Gadar-2 crossed ₹620 crore. Ranbir Kapoor’s Animal, which released in December, crossed ₹640 crore.

Hindi, Telugu and Tamil language markets contributed a major share to the overall India GBOC.

The Prabhas-starrer Salaar: Part 1 (which was released on December 22) and Vijay-starrer Leo crossed ₹400 crore each during the year. Tamil superstar Rajinikanth’s Jailer crossed ₹390 crore.

Quarterly show

The first quarter of 2023 opened with Pathaan proving a blockbuster in January.

Regional language movies such as Varisu, Waltair Veerayya, Thunivu and Ved, and the Hindi movie Tu Juthi Mai Makkar also helped boost the box-office numbers during the quarter.

The second quarter was marked by the performance of movies such as The Kerala Story (Hindi), 2018 (Malayalam), and Ponniyin Selvan 2 (Tamil). Though the big-budget movies such as Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan, starring Salman Khan, and Adipurush, starring Prabhas, crossed the ₹100-crore mark, they failed to impress the audience. Comparatively, mid-budget movies such as Zara Hatke Zara Bachke and Satyaprem Ki Katha performed well during the quarter.

The third quarter of 2023 outshone the previous two quarters with blockbuster releases Jawan and Gadar-2 in Hindi, Jailer in Tamil and Oppenheimer in English. Other movies such as Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani, Oh My God 2, and Dream Girl 2 also contributed to box office collections.

The last quarter of 2023 saw releases such as Animal, Dunki and Sam Bahaddur (Hindi); Leo (Tamil); and Salaar (Telugu) raking in money.

Outlook

Packed with major releases like Fighter, Singham Again, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, and Welcome to the Jungle (Hindi); and Pushpa-2 and Devara (Telugu), 2024 promises to be another exciting year for the Indian box office. It remains to be seen whether these anticipated blockbusters can top the record-breaking collection of 2023.

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