The first quarter of 2015 is coming to an end and no film released in the first three months of 2015 has made money
The Hindi film industry is going through a slump. None of the big budget bonanzas are making money at the box-office. Maybe it is time to rethink budgetting. Akshay Kumar's Baby, Sonam Kapoor's Dolly Ki Doli and Ranbir Kapoor-Jacqueline Fernandez's Roy have just about managed to cover expenses.
The films that have fared are small films, where actors have taken big salary cuts to keep the budget in check. Varun Dhawan starrer Badlapur that released on February 20, became the first Bollywood film to fare well at the box-office in 2015. The revenge crime drama directed by Sriram Raghavan was made at a modest budget of around Rs25 crore and at the end of 4th week collections, the film had collected Rs50.17 crore. Dum Laga Ke Haisha starring Ayushmann Khurrana and newcomer Bhumi Pednekar managed to garner a lot of critical acclaim but business-wise the collections at the end of third week stand at 23.85 crore. Anushka Sharma's production debut NH10 earned Rs13.30 crore on the first weekend and the figures will increase in the coming weeks.
World Cup fever, followed by the burden of a big budget and poor content are the top three reasons for the dry spell in the first quarter of 2015.
Last year, the industry was better off in the first quarter of the year where the first box-office success was Gunday, which released in February 14, followed by the critically acclaimed Highway on February 21. Queen, that released on March 7, however, managed to shatter all previous records to become the biggest hit in the first quarter followed by Ragini MMS that hit the screens on March 21. Experts give us their take on this.
Trade talk
Taran Adarsh
Businesswise, there has definitely been a decline and the monies are much lesser compared to the first quarter of 2014. PK released in December and dominated the first two weeks in January but besides that no film has managed to do as well. Content-wise too, Queen that released last year did phenomenally well along with other succcesses like Gunday, Highway and Ragini MMS. Besides Badlapur and now Dum Laga Ke Haisha, content wise too, there has been a decline. NH10 is doing pretty well but then it will be a wait-and-watch situation for the film as it is still in the first week. I think we need to be more consistent with hits because right now the ratio is 10 flops to two hits. Also, the ongoing World Cup where India is doing well along with exams is taking a toll on the revenues. Hopefully, the summers will bring better revenues in the next quarter.
Komal Nahta
Obviously, the one big release hasn't been there because of the World Cup. Also, there were no hits because no film deserved to do well. They were all such bad films. People have just taken the audience for granted and this time, more than ever it has been proven that content is king. Films that have done well this year are films that haven't has any great star value. Dum Laga Ke Haisha had Ayushmann Khurrana who came back after a spate of flops and NH10 too just had Anushka Sharma. The first quarter of 2015 should be a wake-up call for writers and directors. Approximately of the Rs500 crores invested, we would have lost about 100 crore which is a very bad ratio. Even after this, the situation will only improve May onwards when big films will hit the screens.
Atul Mohan
Unlike first quarter of 2014, the first quarter of 2015 has been bad so far for the film industry. Its not that the films haven't managed to score decent to good collections but what is ailing the industry is the pricing or the landing cost of the films. Except for Badlapur and Dum Laga Ke Haisha, we don't have any certified hits in the first quarter. Baby, Dolly Ki Doli and Roy were break-even films with profits coming from other avenues. The list of bad performing films or disastersincludes many films. Bad content, bad economics, World Cup, bad slotting, exams (we have them every year), expensive cine-going experience compared to the quality of films served, are some of the major reasons the films have under-performed so far this year. Hoping for better times soon.
Final verdict
2014
January
Mr Joe B. Carvalho - Flop
Sholay 3D - Flop
Dedh Ishqiya - Flop
Yaariyan - Average
Karle Pyaar Karle - Flop
Miss Lovely - Flop
Paranthe Wali Gali - Flop
Strings Of Passion - Flop
Jai Ho - Flop
One by Two - Flop
February
Hasee Toh Phasee - Above Aaverage
Heartless - Flop
Ya Rab - Flop
Gunday - Semi-Hit
Kaho Na Kaho - Flop
Darr @ the Mall - Average
Dee Saturday Night - Average
Gulabi Gang - Flop
Highway - Average
Shaadi Ke Side Effects - Flop
March
Gulaab Gang - Flop
Queen - Hit
Total Siyappa - Flop
Bewakoofiyaan - Flop
Ankhon Dekhi - Flop
Gang of Ghosts - Flop
Lakshmi - Flop
Ragini MMS 2 - Semi-Hit
Dishkiyaoon - Flop
O Teri - Flop
Youngistaan - Flop
2015
January
International Hero - Flop
Mumbai Can Dance Saala - Flop
Take It Easy - Flop
Tevar - Flop
Alone - Above Average
Crazy Cukkad Family - Flop
Sharafat Gayi Tel Lene - Flop
Baby - Flop
Dolly Ki Doll - Flop
Hawaizaada - Flop
Khamoshiyan - Flop
Rahasya - Flop
February
Jai Jawaan Jai Kisaan - Flop
Shamitabh - Flop
MSG: The Messenger - Flop
Roy - Flop
Badlapur - Above Average
Ab Tak Chhappan 2 - Flop
Dum Laga Ke Haisha - Semi-Hit
March
Dirty Politics - Flop
Coffee Bloom - Flop
Badmashiyaa - Flop
Hey Bro - Flop
NH10 - Above Average
Collections of above average films released in first quarters of 2014 and 2015
2014 ( Lifetime)
Gunday – Rs76.02
Queen – Rs58.98
Highway – Rs27.33
Ragini MMS 2 – Rs46.47
2015 (as of March 15)
Badlapur – Rs50.17 cr
Dum Laga Ke Haisha – Rs23.85 cr
NH10 – Rs13.30 cr
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