From Himmatwala To Chennai Express – 2013’s Changing Box Office Trends

However this year mush has reigned so far. The actions films have come and gone mostly making a fiasco of itself. To begin with, one of the biggets failure this year was Sajid Khan’s masala action flick Himmatwala. While Khan had claimed that the film will easily reach the 100 crore club, it managed a sparse lifetime earning of 45 crores. Followed by Shootout At Wadala that the critics claimed was John Abraham’s most intriguing performance till date, the film though a hit earned 62 crores, but lacked the bombastic quality of a superhit which was expected of it. The year began with Abbas Mustan’s Race 2 which raked up a lifetime collections of 102 crores but still managed to be just a mildly above average film at the box office.

Contrary to these figures, the films from romance genre is doing really well at the box office way beyond the expectations pined on them. The success statements of romantic films began with Aashiqui 2 which was made on a budget of 12 crores and made a lifetime earning of 82 crores that has a profit percentage of 583%. The success of Aashiqui 2 and the romance formula as the trendsetter this year was re-established with Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani that has emerged as the year’s biggest grosser so far. The film after four weeks of its release is still earning at the domestic box office. Currently the film’s total collections rest at 186.90 crores. Working off on a novel love formula that Bollywood has been using since DDLJ times and even before that, YJHD recreated the typical Bollywood love potion and packed it with delectable music, which worked!

Even Anand L Rai’s Raanjhanaa that wasn’t a desirable watch in the beginning for the audiences initially came across as an endearing feat. Within a week of its release, the film has already earned an above average revenue from the domestic box office. The film’s total collections have accumulated to 34 crores so far.

There is a stark change in the box office trends this year. While the Bollywood palate appreciated action thrillers till last year, this year has been a love treat so far! Going by the wide array of films gearing up for release, it is hard to predict which will perform better than the other.

Keeping in mind the genre preference, market has the best impetus for Vikramaditya Motwane’s Lootera and Prabhudeva’s Ramaiya Vastavaiya. Lootera’s old world romance juxtaposed with Ramaiya Vastavaiya‘s contemporary love story, going by the air this year, these films have a better shot performing great at the box office as compared to films like Policegiri.

However, these trends can be expected to change with the release of Rohit Shetty directorial Chennai Express. Presence of Shah Rukh Khan in the lead role will also see the changing dynamics of his prototype image as the lover boy of Bollywood. Rohit Shetty’s work on his image will render some versatility to SRK who has been branded in the Superstar moulds. There is a high chance that the romance formula that has been working its way in Bollywood will see a change with Chennai Express.

The success of Chennai Express is crucial as it prepares the audiences for the films of similar tastes that will release later in August. Akshay Kumar’s Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai Dobaara and Ajay Devgn’s Satyagraha depend heavily on Chennai Express to prepare the market for non romance, hard-hitting, dramatic-action films.

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