Frontloaded box-office glory cuts short theatrical lifespan

Recent big hits such as Singham Again, Animal, and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 may have clocked impressive numbers, but over 60% of their box office collections have come from the opening weekend or first week, with the movies unable to build substantially on what they make over the first few days.

- Lata Jha

Trade experts warn that numbers may be growing thanks to inflated ticket rates, but such frontloaded box office receipts reduce the lifespan of films in theatres, which, in turn, are struggling with content paucity overall.

For instance, the Diwali release Singham Again, which made ₹268.35 crore in its lifetime run, earned ₹125 crore over the opening weekend and ₹186.60 crore over its first week in theatres. Similarly, horror comedy Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 clocked in ₹283.80 crore over its lifetime run but earned ₹110.20 crore over the opening weekend itself and ₹168.86 crore over its first week in cinemas.

"This is a significant problem that has been around for a while. Films are running for a shorter duration at the box office, and theatres have to constantly find newer content to entice audiences," Rahul Puri, MD of Mukta Arts and Mukta A2 Cinemas, said.