As we bid farewell to 2023, it becomes indisputable that this year has been a crescendo in the symphony of curated entertainment. The curtain falls on an extraordinary chapter where the Indian audience not only embraced the familiar silver screen but also ventured into uncharted territories of live entertainment, exploring the vast and diverse world of cinema.
Skyrocketing box-office collections According to a report by Ormax Media, Hindi films raked in 41 per cent of the money in 2023 between January and November; the collections saw an increase of seven per cent over the same period last year. In a staggering display of cinematic prowess, the box office receipts for the first nine months of 2023 skyrocketed to a monumental Rs 8,798 crore, setting up a historic milestone.
After a dull phase of nearly two years, Bollywood got back its mojo in 2023. Multiplexes witnessed increased footfalls as Hindi films such as ‘Pathaan’, ‘Gadar 2’, ‘Jawan’ and ‘Animal’, among others, have finally succeeded in attracting audiences to theatres.
Bollywood’s King Khan made a triumphant return to the silver screen after nearly five years. His latest release ‘Dunki’ crossed the Rs 200-crore milestone in India and has already earned a total of Rs 400-crore worldwide. The actor’s box-office supremacy yielded a mind-boggling total of Rs 2,600-crore in a single year.
‘Pathaan’, the superstar’s first release of 2023, grossed Rs 1,050.30-crore while ‘Jawan’ grossed Rs 1,148.32-crore and ‘Dunki’ has now crossed Rs 400-crore.This is more than 50 per cent of Bollywood’s total earnings in 2023, which amounted to Rs 4,400-crore.
SRK alone contributed over 50 pc to Bollywood’s total earnings
‘Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan’ didn’t click with the audience, while ‘Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani’ won hearts.
Major hits and misses ‘Animal’ did not just become one of the biggest blockbusters of the year but also marked Ranbir Kapoor’s comeback as a performer. The film earned a total collection of Rs 540.86 crore at the box office (still counting).
High-octane entertainers ‘Pathaan’ and ‘Jawaan’ were instant hits, followed by ‘Gadar 2’, a sequel to 2000 hit ‘Gadar: Ek Prem Katha’. In ‘Tiger 3’, Salman Khan returned as super spy Avinash Singh Rathore aka Tiger in the third part of his eponymous movie franchise
‘Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani’, : Karan Johar’s seventh full-fledged feature not only became one of the highest grossing films of the filmmaker’s career, but is also his most talked-about and progressive movie till date
As for the flops, Kangana Ranaut had another forgettable year as ‘Tejas’, which featured her as an Indian Air Force pilot, turned out to be a colossal disappointment. This was followed by ‘The Vaccine War’, ‘Bholaa’, ‘Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan’ and ‘Aadipurush’, which was the most controversial film of 2023.
The year 2023 proved lucky for Bollywood but amidst high expectations, there were also some big titles that failed to capitalise on the great theatrical boom of Hindi movies post pandemic, ultimately falling flat at the box office.
‘Gadar 2’ brought back India’s most loved family of Tara Singh, played by Sunny Deol.
The comeback year
Last year marked some remarkable comebacks in the Bollywood industry. Several celebrities, who were on a hiatus, have made impressive returns, which included Bollywwod badshah Shah Rukh Khan. Akshay Kumar made a comeback with two successful films — ‘OMG 2’ and ‘Mission Raniganj’.
The most impressive comeback of the year was by Deol brothers — Sunny and Bobby. While the elder Deol set the B-Town cash register ringing, the younger one had a 10-minute role in Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s ‘Animal’ and became the talk of the town.
