Theatres face slow start to 2025 with few major releases

Theatre owners anticipate a lukewarm start to the year, with the initial slate from Bollywood bereft of any mainstream commercial entertainers and big-star films.

- Lata Jha

Theatre owners anticipate a lukewarm start to the year, with the initial slate from Bollywood bereft of any mainstream commercial entertainers and big-star films. The pipeline is led by Kangana Ranaut's Emergency, period drama Azaad, and Shahid Kapoor-starrer Deva in January that will give way to war epic Chhaava and Karan Johar's Dhadak 2 in February. With several parts of north India already struggling with the cold, cinemas fear a lull with no immediate respite. To be sure, this could add to box office woes. Despite an all-time blockbuster like Pushpa 2: The Rule, trade experts estimate Hindi film revenue in 2024 to be at least 30-40% lower than 2023, and the overall Indian movie box office, across languages, likely flat or 10-15% lower than the previous year.

While the Hindi version of Allu Arjun-starrer Pushpa 2: The Rule has crossed the ₹800 crore mark, Chauhan said there's nothing new or exciting on offer. While