2024 was a tough year for Bollywood. Many new genres were explored, but only a few could triumph at the box office. There were unfortunately more flops than hits as biggies like Maidaan, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan failed to impress audience. Scroll below as we carry out a detailed comparison with Hindi films of 2023.
Hindi industry found its highest-grossing film!
2024 was a year filled with huge surprises. The horror-comedy genre took over and became the go-to choice of audiences. Shraddha Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao’s Stree 2 became the highest-grossing Hindi film, with domestic earnings of 627.50 crores. Although, it is to be noted that the title has now been snatched by Pushpa 2. Other small-budget films like Munjya, Laapataa Ladies and Article 370 were also successful.
Bollywood flops in 2024
Films led by Akshay Kumar, like Sarfira, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, and Khel Khel Mein, were all big box office disappointments. Even Alia Bhatt led Jigra was a flop alongside Ajay Devgn’s Maidaan, Vijay Sethupathi & Katrina Kaif’s Merry Christmas, among others.
As per a report by Ormax, Bollywood films (excluding Hindi-dubbed versions) witnessed a steep decline of 37% in 2024. Total box office collections earned were 3215 crores, which is over 1800 crores less than earnings of 5,085 crores made in 2023. In fact, the Hindi box office witnessed the worst decline among all languages in India.
Below are 4 possible reasons behind the steep decline of Bollywood box office in 2024:
Absence of Khans
Shah Rukh Khan fans were blessed with as many as three big releases in 2023, contributing to 1300 crores+ alone at the Bollywood box office. Unfortunately, SRK did not come up with any releases in 2024. Neither did Aamir Khan or Salman Khan. The absence of the Khans definitely put a huge dent as their releases not only attract massive footfalls but create some dhamaka at the ticket windows.
Big-budget films flopped
Rohit Shetty creating Avengers of the cop universe was a moment to look forward to. He spent an estimated budget of a whopping 340 crores on Singham Again. But it witnessed an underwhelming performance at the box office. Similarly, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, Maidaan, Fighter, and Baby John were duds.
The era of South films
It would be safe to say that this is the era of South films flourishing even at the Hindi box office. The biggest example is Pushpa 2, but even Devara, Kalki 2898 AD and HanuMan were successful in 2024. Audiences now have more faith in films from the South, which is posing a major threat to Bollywood biggies.
Ticket prices
High ticket prices have also led to a major dip in footfall. The average ticket pricing (ATP) of Hindi films in 2024 was around Rs 203, the second highest among all languages.
Hopefully, Bollywood films like Sikandar, Housefull 5, and War 2 will revive the Hindi box office this year.
