Jolly good Bollywood 2012

Eight films enter Rs 100-cr club compared to 5 films in 2011, domestic box-office show much more potential for cinema exhibition business

The year 2012 is by far the best year for the Hindi film industry, with eight films crossing Rs 100 crore net collection mark on the domestic box-office. The feat is worth mentioning, as so far there have been only 17 films in the history of Indian cinema, to enter the club. Last year, five movies had made it to the club.

In this year, films like Jab Tak Hai Jaan, Son of Sardar, Ek Tha Tiger, Rowdy Rathore, Barfi, Bol Bachchan, Housefull 2 and Agneepath have already crossed the mark, while trade experts believe that Salman Khan's upcoming Dabangg 2, will also make it to the club, ending the year on a happier note.

 

Vikram Malhotra, chief operating officer at Viacom18 Motion Pictures says, “2012 has been a tremendous year for the industry and not just because of the box-office numbers. The fact that more and more people are watching films in theatre and that they are also coming back after every 3-4 weeks, is something which gives us a positive outlook for the next five years. Another trend that's heartening to see is audiences are accepting multiple genres. So while at one point you conventional cinema's like Ek Tha Tiger and Son of Sardar are working, non-conventional films like Kahaani, Oh My God! and Gangs of Wasseypur are also working. These two are biggest reasons for me to have optimism for future.”

Interestingly, this was also the year when all the 3 Khans – Shah Rukh, Salman and Aamir – made their presence felt on the box-office. And then, there were small budget, high concept films too, which worked very well, like Kahaani, Raaz 3, Oh My God! and Ishaqzaade.

Agrees Siddharth Roy Kapoor, MD, Disney UTV Studios says, “Not just big commercial and main stream movies, now people are paying money to watch movies which were never considered commercial films. Success of films like Barfi, Vicky Donor, OMG! etc, show that the trend is going to continue and its very healthy for the industry that all kind of cinema is being watched and appreciated.”

Many trade experts said that the box-office potential has gone up. And it shows too. Last year, five films, Ready, Singham, Bodyguard, Ra.One and Don2, had made it to the Rs 100-crore club. The trend was started by Aamir Khan's Ghajini in 2008. In 2009, again Aamir Khan's 3 Idiots was the only film to cross the mark. Later in 2010, Salman Khan's Dabangg and Ajay Devgn's Golmal 3 made it to Rs 100-crore club.

However, senior film critic Vinod Mirani says, "Collecting Rs 100 crore does not mean commercial success for the film. With the number of screens [multiplexes] and high ticket prices, many films can cross that mark. But, that does not ensure the success of the film. Today after the cost of production, distribution, and marketing, many films like Son of Sardar and Bol Bachchan still lose money, rather than making any.”

But for the multiplexes, the year has been phenomenal. Pramod Arora, president and Group CEO of PVR, said: “I will not call this year an aberration, but, it has been something that the industry has never seen before. The kind of footfalls, EBITDA margins that all the operators have seen, is certainly unheard of. We are definitely looking forward for similar year to come again, but that will also depend on content. This year, there were different genres, and all top actors.”