However, the film which knocked the wind out of everyone was the Hindi dubbed version of a Kannada film โKGF โ Chapter 2โ. The extravagant action drama set the box-office ablaze and raked in more than Rs 400 crore net. No original Bollywood movie has ever clocked up more than this film. In fact, the highest grossing Bollywood film till now in 2022 is โThe Kashmir Filesโ which earned in the tune of Rs 250 crore.
This is not to say every South movie is wreaking havoc in Hindi circuits. Films such as โRadhe Shyamโ, โValimaiโ and many others unceremoniously bit the dust. But thereโs no denying the fact that Hindi audiences are increasingly getting enamoured by opulent, larger-than-life movies from the South largely because Bollywood is no longer serving up such content.
2) OTT has changed peopleโs cinematic taste and habits: During the COVID-19 pandemic, a large number of people took to OTT platforms and got exposed to a variety of content from different languages and industries. Hence, there is a marked change in their preferences. The people are sauntering into the cinema halls only to watch big-ticket extravaganzas or those films which are carrying extraordinary reports.
3) Box-office is swinging between extremes: With an exception of โJug Jugg Jeeyoโ, most of the Bollywood films have either been colossal hits or gigantic turkeys at the turnstiles. While โThe Kashmir Filesโ and โBhool Bhulaiyaa 2โ have been monumental blockbusters, films featuring A-list stars such as โJerseyโ, โHeropanti 2โ, โRunway 34โ, โSamrat Prithvirajโ, โJayeshbhai Jordaarโ โAttackโ, โAnekโ etc. torpedoed without a whimper. These films didnโt even take half-decent initials and were unmitigated non-starters.
The current trend evinces that when a film is accepted, it does rumbustious business for many weeks but when a film isnโt accepted, it becomes a dud from the word go. โJug Jugg Jeeyoโ is an exception as it is neither a disaster nor a hit. A rare average grosser of the year so far.
4) Standing of all A-list stars have taken a beating: The box-office standing almost all the A-list stars โ Akshay Kumar, Ranveer Singh, Shahid Kapoor, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff โ have taken a huge beating. While a couple of flops donโt determine a starโs stature, the fact that their films fetched shockingly dismal openings has certainly affected their standing.
This is not to say they are no longer big stars, but there is a vast chasm between their pre-pandemic and post-pandemic status at least in their pulling power. Other A-list stars such Salman, Ranbir Kapoor, Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan didnโt have a release during this period but looking at the trend, even they wouldnโt have been left completely unscathed.
5) Kartik Aaryan becomes a A-list star: While Kartik had given a few moderate successes in the past such as โSonu Ke Titu Ki Sweetyโ, โLuka Chuppiโ and โPyaar Ka Punchnama 2โ, he was not in the league of A-list stars. The credit either went entirely to the director or it was too moderate a success. โBhool Bhulaiyaa 2โ is his first massive grosser and has catapulted him to the top bracket. Yes, the director Anees Bazmee is a big name and it was the sequel of a popular movie but it has done a world of good for Kartikโs popularity especially in mass circuits.
The stupendous success of โBhool Bhulaiyaa 2โ โ it has hoovered up Rs 185 crore nett in India โ is also significant because the movies of almost all other A-list stars were falling like ninepins and the Bollywood was hemmed in by a sense of despondency. Till a few months ago, he was being lambasted as โunprofessionalโ โ he was expelled by Karan Johar and SRK from movies produced by them โ but is now being feted as โShehzadaโ.
CLASSIFICATIONS:
Blockbuster โ โKGF Chapter 2โ, โThe Kashmnir Filesโ
Superhit โ โBhool Bhulaiyaa 2โ, โRRRโ
Hit โ โGangubai Kathiawadiโ
Average โ โJug Jugg Jeeyoโ
Major duds โ โSamrat Prithvirajโ, โBachchhan Paandeyโ, โHeropanti 2โ, โJayeshbhai Jordaarโ, โDhaakadโ, โJerseyโ
