2024 has now seen another century at the box office, what with Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire entering the Rs. 100 Crores Club*. The film had a good first week when it scored a solid half century and now it has also gone past the Rs. 100 crores mark*, which is quite good because typically films don’t really double up their first week score. However, the Hollywood biggie has been consistently collecting and lack of any competition is helping its cause as well.

This can well be seen from the fact that right through the weekdays, the film was in excess of Rs. 40 lakhs, which is excellent when compared to Friday when Rs. 46 lakhs had come in. In fact, on Wednesday the film had zoomed to Rs. 85 lakhs* due to Maharashtra Day and Labour Day, and that further allowed the film to go past the Rs. 100 crores mark quickly. With its current total standing at Rs. 100.50 crores*, the film will comfortably go past the Rs. 105 crores mark and with some luck could even aim for Rs. 110 crores since May is pretty barren as well.

For the industry, the film has brought some respite since it’s only the third Rs. 100 Crores Club film after Fighter (which went past the Rs. 200 crores mark) and Shaitaan (which has recently edged past the Rs. 150 crores mark). One now waits to see which is the best film that will arrive and score a century at the box office.

*Estimates. Final numbers awaited

Note: All collections as per production and distribution sources

This could well be a first. Though in the past too there have been instances when films haven’t been released in theatres for a long period of time, once when there was a film strike around a decade and a half back, and then later when IPL (Indian Premiere League) started showing its might due to which films started shying away from arriving in theatres during that time period, the only instance when there was practically a complete blackout was during the pandemic.

However, in a first, even though just IPL is competition (which is not as big as it used to be), theatres will be having a completely barren look tomorrow. There is not a single film - read again, not a single film - releasing tomorrow. The industry rails have come to a screeching halt since the Eid releases and while there was a film or two that arrived every Friday even post that, currently there is just no film planned for arrival in theatres. The reason stated is that elections are keeping filmmakers away though honestly, this could actually have been a better time to arrive because after people cast their votes, they could have easily come to theatres, which anyways have their best occupancy post afternoon.

None of the holdover releases are doing any great shakes either with not even Rs. 1 crore coming for any of the films (individually) on a daily basis. Collections are reeling in just lakhs and collective numbers of Bollywood films are less than 2 crores on a daily basis against a capacity of Rs. 70-80 crores. That’s an average occupancy of 2.5% per screen, per show. From tomorrow, it’s only going to get worst.

Let that sink in!

After bringing Rs. 13.04 crores in the week gone by, Maidaan is now set to have its best week on week hold this week with over Rs. 7.50 crores more expected to come in. This has been made possible by some progress that the film managed to make over the weekend when collections jumped from Rs. 0.50 crores on Friday to Rs. 2.20 crores* on Sunday, which is more than double. As a result, the weekend score read Rs. 4.80 crores*.

Now with around Rs. 60 lakhs* more coming on Monday and then stability expected in rest of the weekdays, the third week numbers should close around Rs. 7 crores mark, which would be a reasonable drop from last week collections of Rs. 13.04 crores. That would mean a drop of just a little over 35%, which would be good hold.

That said, all of this is academic since even though from percentage perspective the drop is contained, what’s required is that absolute numbers are good too and this is where Maidaan needed (and deserved) to do so much better. For a biggie like this, such kind of numbers would have seemed better had they come in the fifth week but right now we are taking about third week and that too when the start of the film was really disheartening. It’s all about picking up the best of what’s coming the way of this well-made Ajay Devgn starrer and adding on to Rs. 44.69 crores* that it has collected so far. Soon enough it will go past the Rs. 50 crores mark and then also manage to add some more.

*Estimates. Final numbers awaited

Note: All collections as per production and distribution sources

It was a fair weekend for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire as a little over Rs. 2.50 crores* came in. Given the fact that there is no real competition around it and it's also a set film, at least a crore more could well have come in. However, a majority of audiences has already watched the film and the footfalls are now primarily coming in because there is no major alternative. Hence, they are basically trickling in some sort of numbers instead of a large crowd gathering for the film on a daily basis.

That said, the film has more than just done its job and is a big hit already. In the times when so many new movies are simply dead on arrival, this one at least managed to not just take an opening but also sustain well, hence promising to come close to double its first week score of Rs. 54 crores. It won't reach exactly Rs. 108 crores but then has a shot at concluding its theatrical run around Rs. 105 crores mark.

Before that, it's gearing up now for its major milestone of gaining an entry into the Rs. 100 Crores Club. Currently at Rs. 98.32 crores*, it's now less than Rs. 2 crores away from hitting the century, and that should happen by the next weekend. Then it will eventually go past the lifetime scores of other Hollywood biggies Jurassic World [Rs. 101 crores] and Thor: Love and Thunder [Rs. 101.70 crores] as well, though it will fall short of Furious 7 [Rs. 108 crores].

That said, it's a superhit nonetheless, especially in today's parlance, and that's an achievement in itself.

*Estimates. Final numbers awaited

Note: All collections as per production and distribution sources

Madgaon Express managed to bring footfalls all over again in the sixth weekend as close to Rs. 80 lakhs came in. There is nil competition around it and hence even with limited screens and shows, there are footfalls coming in. Apart from Shaitaan, it is one film which is actually enjoying long legs in theatres and will soon be completing 50 days as well.

The movie earned almost the same amount on all three days Friday, Saturday and Sunday with Rs. 0.26 lakhs, Rs. 0.26 lakhs and Rs. 0.24 lakhs coming in.

That’s what makes this week interesting because if the weekdays hold on well too then it would only enable the film to go much ahead of the Rs. 35 crores mark. Last week Rs. 2.21 crores more had come during the weekdays and something similar this week will work well for the film which currently stands at Rs. 34.37 crores.

Note: All collections as per production and distribution sources

2023 was a great year for several industries, especially Bollywood, Tamil and Telugu. Hindi cinema saw its best-ever year, with a gross box office of Rs. 5,380 crores and crossing the Rs. 5,000 crores mark for the first time. Telugu and Tamil industries also saw record earnings and footfalls last year. This year, the first four months for all these three industries have been pretty okay. On the other hand, Malayalam cinema didn't have its best performance in 2023. But in 2024, it's gone to another level, shocking as well surprising fans and industry in equal measures.

In the first four months of this year, Malayalam cinema gave several big grossers like Anweshippin Kandethum, Premalu, Bramayugam, Manjummel Boys, Aadujeevitham - The Goat Life, Varshangalkku Shesham and Aavesham.

Anweshippin Kandethum, made at a modest budget, was a huge hit. The romcom Premalu is now the fifth highest-grossing Malayalam film of all time. Thanks to its popularity, its sequel has been announced as well. Bramayugam, shot in black-and-white, was loved for its concept, spooky moments and performance of Mammootty. Prithviraj Sukumaran's Aadujeevitham - The Goat Life, in the making for many years, was a huge money-spinner. Varshangalkku Shesham and Aavesham, which were released last week, are also doing extremely well.

Lastly, Manjummel Boys generated a historic craze. It is the biggest Malayalam hit of all time and is the first Malayalam film to gross more than Rs. 200 crores worldwide. A chunk of its earnings also came from Tamil markets since Manjummel Boys has a strong Tamil connect. Exhibitors in centres like Chennai reported that the survival thriller ran house-full for several weeks. Ruban Mathiavan, of Chennai-based G K Cinemas, told The Times of India, “It has already earned equal to what films with Tamil superstars earn. Kamal Hassan and the Ilaiyaraaja song have been a huge factor in it,” he says.

In 2023, the total gross domestic collections of Malayalam films, as per Ormax, was Rs. 572 crores. It was less than the 2022 earnings of Rs. 633 crores. Even the footfalls slipped from 7.5 crores in 2022 to 6.7 crores in 2023.

But until mid-April 2024, the cumulative total of Malayalam films this year is already Rs. 405 crores! This information was revealed in Ormax's box office report of March 2024. It stated that Malayalam film collections in 2024 are already 71% of the entire Malayalam box office in 2023.

Moreover, the share of Malayalam films at the domestic box office was just 5% while that of Telugu and Tamil were 19% and 16% respectively. This year, in a rare instance, the Malayalam box office share is at 16%, which is more than the 9% share of Tamil films. Tamil, obviously, is a bigger industry and hence Malayalam films have achieved a historic feat.

It’s rare for an industry to deliver so many huge hits in a short period. And the fun has just started. Three promising films are up for release in May - Nivin Pauly-starrer Malayalee From India, Tovino Thomas-starrer Nadikar and Prithviraj Sukumaran-Basil Joseph starrer Guruvayoor Ambalanadayil, among others. At this rate, before mid-2024, the box office earnings of Malayalam films this year will cross the 2023 collections. There are high chances that the Rs. 712 crores figure of 2017 – the highest that Malayalam films collected in a year – will also be breached in the second half of 2024.

Even though there are close to 10 films currently playing, be it the latest releases, or the holdover ones, both from Bollywood as well as Hollywood, it is Maidaan which has managed maximum collections on Saturday. Not that it is much as the collections needed to be far-far bigger, and that too for last 10 days for the film to succeed, it's still some sort of a respite that it is at least finding an audience for itself, which is waking up to the word of mouth.

The Ajay Devgn starrer brought in Rs. 2.83 crores* on Saturday and that's more than Rs. 1 crore ahead of what the film had brought on Friday. This is a good jump from relative standpoint though when it comes to absolute numbers, it needs to keep collecting on the same lines not just on Sunday but from Monday onwards as well. If by some miracle it tops the Rs. 2 crores mark on Monday, then that would be some sort of a win because the film can't afford to get back in that Rs. 1-1.50 crores range again.

This is a film which has its merits and deserves to be a winner all the way. Hence, it's heartbreaking that the collections are nowhere close to what they should be. Still, it's hanging in there at least and has now netted Rs. 32.64 crores*. The way the film is currently going, it will cross Rs. 40 crores by the close of second week and post that it would be interesting to see if similar kind of collections keep coming in the third week as well, hence promising a run of sorts.

*Estimates. Final numbers awaited

Note: All collections as per production and distribution sources

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire has now crossed the Rs. 90 crores mark. The film brought in Rs. 80 lakhs more on Friday and that was a bit of an increment over Thursday when Rs. 78 lakhs had come in. This pretty much ensured that there would be growth on Saturday and this is what happened as Rs. 1 crore mark was crossed all over again. This would now happen again today, though a bigger jump would really benefit the Hollywood biggie, which has managed to regain quite a few screens for itself.

The film currently stands at Rs. 91.32 crores* and would come close to Rs. 93 crores mark by the close of weekend. If the film stays steady during the weekdays, which it should, it would give it a chance to go past the Rs. 95 crores mark by close of fourth week and from there on its last leg of reaching Rs. 100 Crores Club would begin.

Meanwhile, it's counterpart from the West, Kung Fu Panda 4 has managed to find a few shows going for itself as well. The film came with zero promotion and marketing and its credit to its franchise value and the entertaining content that it will go past Rs. 35 crores number soon. Currently, the film stands at Rs. 34.75 crores*, a good enough number considering the fact that it has opened at Rs. 2.18 crores with the first week closing at Rs. 15.30 crores. Its trajectory is on the same lines as Madgaon Express, which too is aiming for an eventual lifetime score of Rs. 35 crores.

*Estimates. Final numbers awaited

Note: All collections as per production and distribution sources

When last week's Eid releases didn't open well and then couldn't grow either, the writing was clear on the wall. Audiences are looking for something really-really special and when even biggies are not getting an initial either, then any other new release would need to be extraordinarily special to get audiences. It's understandable if the opening day numbers doesn't come but then the content has to fly in order to entice footfalls from Saturday onwards. After all, this has already happened with both 12th Fail and Madgaon Express, which ended up working.

In case of Do Aur Do Pyaar and Love Sex Aur Dhokha 2, one wasn't expecting a similar opening to begin with and it was all about arriving in theatres, getting some good reviews from critics and then have that select set of audiences appreciate it as well so that there could be a turnaround from Saturday onwards. That's why even though Do Aur Do Pyaar has still managed to open at Rs. 65 lakhs, Love Sex aur Dhokha 2 is much lower at Rs. 15 lakhs. Now, the real test would be from today on where these films will eventually go.

Both the films have ample space available to grow since Bade Miyan Chote Miyan and Maidaan are as it is low. Holdover releases too just have some sort of collections trickling in and none of those have managed to touch even Rs. 1 crore. However, the turnaround needs to be really fast from today itself. One just hopes that this happens indeed and there is some respite at least for some theatre owners.

Note: All collections as per production and distribution sources

Filmmaker Amit Ravindernath Sharma’s Maidaan, which stars Ajay Devgn in the lead, is based on the golden period of Indian football in the early 1950s and it focuses on the celebrated Indian football coach Syed Abdul Rahim. It became a rare movie to get high acclaim from critics and audience alike. However, this hasn’t proved to be enough as the movie has sunk at the box office by earning only Rs. 28.12 crores in its extended first week.

Let’s have a look at how Maidaan fared in week 1 as compared to other films of 2024. The Ajay Devgn starrer is at number 7 in the list of highest first week earneres. The list is dominated by Hrithik Roshan, Deepika Padukone and Anil Kapoor starrer action-drama Fighter, which made an impressive Rs. 139.50 crores in week 1. This film is followed by Shaitaan, which made Rs. 81.60 in its first week.

Maidaan had clashed with Bade Miyan Chote Miyan and the latter earned much more in its first week by amassing Rs. 46.17 crores. However, despite this, the film has turned out to be a major failure at the ticket window. Films like Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya and Article 370 are also ahead of Maidaan by minting Rs. 41.97 crores and Rs. 38.82 crores respectively in week 1.

Films with highest first week collections in week 1 at a glance:

Fighter – Rs. 139.50 cr

Shaitaan – Rs. 81.60 cr

Crew – Rs. 47.54 cr

Bade Miyan Chote Miyan – Rs. 46.17 cr

Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya – Rs. 41.97 cr

Article 370 – Rs. 38.82 cr

Maidaan – Rs. 28.12 cr

Also Read: Bade Miyan Chote Miyan Box Office: Film emerges as the 4th highest first week grosser of 2024

There were a lot of hopes from filmmaker Ali Abbas Zafar’s Bade Miyan Chote Miyan. Apart from it being a high-octane action film, it is also a rare movie to star two massy heroes together; something not seen much in today’s times. However, the movie’s box office journey in week one was disappointing to say the least as it only managed to earn Rs. 46.17 crores.

Let’s have a look at how BMCM has fared in its first week in comparison to the week one score of other big releases of 2024. The film with the highest first week collection is Siddharth Anand’s Fighter with Rs. 139.50 crores, followed by Shaitaan and Crew with Rs. 81.60 crores and Rs. 47.54 crores respectively. Following these two films is Bade Miyan Chote Miyan.

Interestingly, BMCM’s score in the first week is more than that of successful films like Article 370 (Rs. 38.82 crores) and Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya (Rs. 41.97 crores). However, one needs to note that the budget and scale of BMCM are much higher than these two films and it enjoyed an extended week of eight days since it had released on Thursday.

Films with highest first week collections in week 1 at a glance:

Fighter – Rs. 139.50 cr

Shaitaan – Rs. 81.60 cr

Crew – Rs. 47.54 cr

Bade Miyan Chote Miyan – Rs. 46.17 cr

Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya – Rs. 41.97 cr

Article 370 – Rs. 38.82 cr

Also Read: Post Covid – 9 releases, 6 FLOPS, and average lifetime of Rs. 78 crores. Trade experts decode Akshay Kumar’s post-pandemic blues and massive box office slump: “If any actor overexposes himself, toh woh nahin chalega”

It was a very low Monday for Bade Miyan Chote Miyan as only 2.25 crores came in. On its opening day, the film had brought in Rs. 16.07 crores but since that was Eid, a drop was always expected. However, on Friday the film stood at 6.50 crores. Though even this was low, one would have gauged the drop from this day and hence even a 50% drop would have meant collections around the Rs. 3.75 crores mark.

Hence, with Monday turning out to be even lower, it’s really surprising. There are all sorts of offers also going around the ticket prices, but the numbers have just not come. More than surprisingly, it’s also very disappointing because by no means are these numbers justifying the kind of scale and setting at which the film has been made. Moreover, in all earnestly, this isn’t the kind of a film with such disastrous content that collections just don’t come in. Yes, there are certain issues for sure but still, there is a lot of action in there and at least at the mass centres such kind of content does pay off to some extent at least.

Nonetheless, what has happened has happened and now all involved with the film can well expect to move on to their next. Currently, the film stands at Rs. 40.32 crores and it would stay under the Rs. 50 crores mark by the close of extended first week. Post that, even though there are quite a few open weeks ahead, it would be difficult to imagine where Bade Miyan Chote Miyan will eventually conclude its theatrical run.

This one deserved better.

Note: All collections as per production and distribution sources

The Amit Ravindernath Sharma directed Maidaan has recorded a freefall at the box office on Monday as the collections have come down crashing at an extremely low level. According to early estimates, Maidaan has collected in the range of Rs. 1.25 to 1.50 crores on its fifth day taking total collections to Rs. 23.50 crores.

The Ajay Devgn film is now a certified disaster much like Bade Miyan Chote Miyan and will end up making monumental losses for producers and the studio. The drop is rather shocking as the film was received well with positive reviews among audiences and critics alike. All eyes are now on Ajay Devgn's next, Auro Mein Kahan Dum Tha!

It's all over for Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff's Bade Miyan Chote Miyan as the collections have come down crashing on the make-or-break Monday test. According to early estimates, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan collected around Rs. 2.25 to 2.50 crores on the fifth day, taking the five-day total to Rs. 40 crores. These collections have come in after the dhamakedaar offer of tickets being priced at Rs. 127 in select cinemas.

The film has crash-landed across the board and is headed to emerge as one of the biggest disasters of Hindi Cinema. Made on a budget of over Rs. 350 crores, the losses will be staggering. While the numbers in multiplexes have come down crashing, what's surprising is hardly any support from the mass belts as an action film with action stars should have done better business on single screens. The collections are hardly impressive, and the lifetime business will be under Rs. 60 crores if present trends are anything to go by.

Starting with Wednesday paid previews and then four day extended weekend from Thursday to Sunday, Maidaan has crossed Rs. 22 crores mark and currently stands at 22.22 crores. The film was reasonably okay on paid preview shows when Rs. 2.25 crores came in. Though that too was much below expectations, it was still some sort of a start. However, it was collections that came on Eid that hit the hardest and numbers stayed at the Rs. 5 crores mark.

For a film with some of the best reviews that have been seen in last so many months, and that too fell all quarters, it was indeed a jolt and a shocking one at that. Furthermore, it was all the more disheartening when collections dropped massively on Saturday with just 2.80 crores coming in. Hence, all eyes were on whether the film would be able to recover from something like this. Honestly, from this point on everything was anyway going to be in an upward direction but then there have been a lot more unprecedented and shocking things that have happened in the past due to which one could never be too sure.

That’s the reason why there was some respite when collections doubled up on Saturday and stood at 5.65 crores. It was also the best day for the film and now the collections had added on top of the (full-fledged) opening day, which was at Rs 5 crores. With such a good jump coming in, one couldn’t have expected the story to be repeated on Sunday, and hence a nominal increase in footfalls was on the cards. This is what happened too as 6.52 crores came in, something that put the overall total past the Rs. 22 crores mark. What has to be seen is what happens from here since the overall numbers are still quite low, though momentum has started coming in. If that continues to be on the film’s side from today onwards as well then you never know, a miracle could be there on the cards for the Ajay Devgn starrer.

Note: All collections as per production and distribution sources

After its opening day when a little over Rs. 16 crores had come in, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan hung in there around Rs. 8 crores mark on Saturday and Sunday. There was an increment in collections on the cards since on Saturday the film had shown some growth. Moreover, with BOGO offer being introduced, some sort of benefit could have come in. However, Sunday growth was very limited.

Of course, given the kind of credentials that the film boasts of, the numbers are not doing justice to it at all. Apart from the fact that this one is a biggie, it’s also a decent enough entertainer (at the very least) and hence deserved to be collecting at least double of what it’s currently doing. At a bare minimum, a film like Bade Miyan Chote Miyan should be collecting at least Rs. 20 crores on its first Sunday and hence rest assured, there would be a detailed root cause analysis that would be done by all involved once the dust settles down.

This Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff starrer is certainly better than what the numbers would suggest, and the key hope is that the weekdays stay stable from here and closer to Friday numbers at least, so that some sort of resurgence is on the cards. So far, the Ali Abbas Zafar directed film has collected Rs. 38 crores and it would be aiming to go past the Rs. 50 crores mark maximum by tomorrow.

Note: All collections as per production and distribution sources

The Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff starrer Bade Miyan Chote Miyan has recorded a dismissal trend at the box office in its opening weekend. According to early estimates, the Ali Abbas Zafar film has collected in the range of Rs. 37.50 crores in its four-day extended opening weekend.

The film opened at Rs. 16.07 crore on Eid and the trajectory since then has been below the mark. BMCM dropped to Rs. 6.5 crores on Friday, followed by Rs. 7.5 crores and Rs. 8.5 crores respectively on Saturday and Sunday. The film is reportedly made on a budget of Rs. 300 crores plus. Bade Miyan Chote Miyan has faced outright rejection from the audiences and critics alike. There is already a fear in the industry for a crash on Monday and the hope is on film to stablize at a certain point and then record a trend, though that looks unlikely.

The Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff film Bade Miyan Chote Miyan failed to show a big jump in collections on Saturday. According to early estimates, the film saw a mere 10% gain on Saturday with collections in the range of Rs. 8.00 to 8.50 crores.

With this, the 3 day total of Bade Miyan Chote Miyan stands at Rs. 30 crore and the four-day weekend will be in the range of Rs. 38 crore. The trend is not upto the mark and there will be little coming in after the 4-day weekend period. The film is doing better in mass belts as compared to the metros but it's nothing like what it should be for a big-budget action film starring two action stars - Akshay Kumar & Tiger Shroff. The Monday collections will give us an idea of the lifetime collections.

The Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff film, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan has seen a major drop in collections on day 2. According to early estimates, the film has collected in the range of Rs. 6.50 crore to 7 crore on the second day, taking two-day total collections to Rs 22.75 crore.

The film has come down despite the benefit of Basi Eid, and this signals rejection from the audience. The budgets are on the higher side and this sort of drop in numbers on 2nd Day suggests all is not well at the box office.  The lifetime collections of Bade Miyan Chote Miyan will be under the Rs. 75 crore mark and this is a very poor result for an action film with two big stars like Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff. The director, Ali Abbas Zafar is also a brand name and hence these numbers are a shocker.

Bade Miyan Chote Miyan will be looking at an opening weekend of Rs. 35 to 37 crores, and it's the Monday test which will determine the lifetime.

The most awaited Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff film, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, has taken a slow start at the box office in India. According to early estimates, the action-packed entertainer has collected in the range of Rs. 15 to 16 crores on the opening day. The Ali Abbas Zafar directorial got some external support too, but even with that, the numbers are not up to the mark. Bade Miyan Chote Miyan opening day business benefitted from the Eid Holiday too and the number would have been around the Rs. 10 crore mark if not for the National Holiday.

The film has collected Rs. 7.75 crores across the Top 3 national chains – PVR, Inox, and Cinepolis - which has contributed around 50 percent to the total business. The single screens were expected to be strong, but the mass belts have not come on board in as big a number as it was expected. All eyes are now on the weekend trend.