New Delhi: The 2024 Indian box office witnessed a mixed year, with regional cinema outperforming Bollywood and Hollywood in terms of growth and audience engagement. According to the Ormax Media Box Office Report, gross box office collections for Indian cinema stood at Rs 11,833 crore, marking a 3% decline from the record Rs 12,000 crore achieved in 2023.
Bollywood and Hollywood struggled
Hindi cinema experienced a challenging year, with gross collections declining by 13% to Rs 4,679 crore from Rs 5,380 crore in 2023, reported the Hindu businessline. Hindi films contributed only 40% to the overall box office in 2024, down from 44% the previous year.
31% of these collections came from dubbed versions of South Indian films, including the blockbuster Pushpa 2: The Rule, whose Hindi-dubbed version grossed Rs 889 crore. Excluding dubbed films, the decline in original Hindi-language films was a steep 37%.
“If only original Hindi-language films are considered, the decline in box office was a steep 37%,”the report noted.
Hollywood films also faced a steep 17% decline in the Indian market, with gross collections dropping from Rs 1,139 crore in 2023 to Rs 941 crore in 2024. Mufasa: The Lion King was the top Hollywood film, earning Rs 172 crore and securing the 11th spot in the overall box office rankings.
Pushpa 2 dominated
The Telugu action thriller emerged as the year’s highest-grossing film, amassing Rs 1,403 crore globally. Its Hindi-dubbed version set a record as the highest-grossing “Hindi” film of all time.
Other major hits included the sci-fi action film Kalki 2898 AD (Rs 747 crore) and the Hindi horror-comedy sequel Stree 2 (Rs 674 crore). Tamil action thriller The Greatest Of All Time, Telugu action drama Devara – Part 1 and Hindi horror-comedy Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 also performed well, grossing above Rs 300 crore each.
Regional cinema shined
Regional industries saw notable growth. Malayalam cinema doubled its market share from 5% in 2023 to 10% in 2024, crossing the Rs 1,000 crore milestone for the first time. Survival thriller Manjummel Boys led the charge, grossing Rs 164 crore globally.
Tamil and Telugu cinema maintained their strong positions with 15% and 20% market shares, respectively, while Gujarati cinema saw an impressive 66% growth, collecting Rs 84 crore.
Also read: ‘Heart Over Mind’: The Best Hindi Films of 2024
Despite robust box office earnings driven by higher ticket prices, footfalls in cinemas fell to 88.3 crore, a 6% drop from 2023 and 14% lower than pre-pandemic levels in 2019. The average ticket price rose to Rs 134, up 26% from Rs 106 in 2019.
