BUSINESS
The ongoing financial year will go down as one where movies from the past wielded their magic at the box office. Re-released in movie halls, these films, almost 80 in number, have raked in nearly `100 crore in box office collections in the first half of the year, according to cinema chains and trade experts that FE spoke to. Films such as Tumbbad, Laila Majnu, Rockstar and Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein, which were re-released in FY25, contributed to 13% of total admissions in September, Gaurav Sharma, chief financial officer of PVR Inox, the country’s largest cinema chain, told FE. “At an overall level, older movies contributed nearly 6% to total admissions in the September quarter and almost 3.5-4% of total box office collections for us in the period under review,” Sharma said. PVR-Inox says that the cinema chain is expected to keep the momentum going with re-releases in H2FY25. The picture is no different for other multiplex chains, industry experts and cinema owners said, as footfalls have grown between 10-15% in the first half of FY25, with older movies re-releasing in theatres. Conversations with exhibitors reveal that almost 50-60 movies from the past could make their way back to cinemas in the second half of the year given that retro is in fashion at the moment. “Re-releases have certainly come to the rescue of cinemas. One is the dearth of content in the first two quarters of FY25, which contributed to the trend. Second is that not all new releases headlined by big stars found takers in the first two quarters,” said Kunal Sawhney, COO, Cineline India , which runs the MovieMax chain of cinemas in Mumbai and other metros. The only exception were Shraddha Kapoor’s Stree 2, Tamil star Vijay’s The Greatest of All Time, Junior NTR’s Telugu hit Devara: Part 1 and Hollywood movie Deadpool & Wolverine, which surpassed the 100-crore-mark in box office collections respectively in the September quarter, a report released by media consulting firm Ormax said. August releases this year grossed1,291 crore at the domestic box office, making it the best month in 2024 for the Indian box office, according to Ormax. Stree 2’s box office sales contributed to more than half of August’s box office business. No other film that released in August, across languages, was able to gross `100 crore at the box office. The language share of Hindi films increased from 35% in July to 40% in August, as a result of Stree 2’s exceptional box office performance, Ormax added. Big movies to stage comeback While Dussehra releases such as Alia Bhatt’s Jigra and Rajinikanth’s Vettaiyan have not lit up the box office, exhibitors are counting on a spate of new releases through the rest of the October-December period, which some cinema owners say may reduce interest in re-releases. “With big movies scheduled for release in the second half of the year, starting with the festive quarter of October-December, cinema goers are likely to prioritise new films versus older releases,” Amit Sharma, MD, Miraj Cinemas, which has 223 screens across 68 theatres in 50 cities within India , said. Among the much-anticipated releases include Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 and Singham Returns in November and Vicky-Kaushal-starrer Chaava and Pushpa 2 in December. Follow us on Twitter , Instagram , LinkedIn, Facebook None
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