Curtains down at Box Office & movie releases delayed; What does the future hold? Nothing but bright days

Following the government’s order to put restrictions on movie theaters in several states, the release calendar for Hindi Film Industry has unfortunately come into play again. What looked like a January dhamaka with big movies like Jersey, RRR, Radhe Shyam and Prithviraj will now end up being a boring month for the Hindi markets. And this dry run is expected to continue for at least 3 months, as normality is not foreseen until the end of March 2022 as far as the exhibition sector is concerned.

Although this is only the beginning, cinema halls are expected to shut down in other major markets such as Maharashtra and Rajasthan in the following days as well, which in turn will lead to the February calendar going up as well. Movies like Attack, Badhaai Do, Gangubai Kathiawadi, Jayeshbhai Jordaar were the major attractions in February, whereas Bachchan Pandey, Shamshera, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 and Batman were hailed to bring cheers in March. But as things stand today, the industry has gone three months back and that will result in a reshuffle of the release calendar again.

Will Laal Singh Chaddha and KGF 2 stick to their April 14 release dates if theaters reopen? Will it be a powerful Eid with Heropanti 2 and Runway 34? Or will these 4 movies make room for the lag from January to March if things are back to normal? These are some questions that only time will tell. So what does the future hold for us? Be sure that the year ahead will be a mess at the ticket office without clean runs and more clashes at the box office.

Several medium-sized ones can take it directly to the digital route, whereas the larger fish will hold back for a theatrical opening. It will be the survival of the fittest, as the one who fights to the last is the one who will succeed. The two producers, Yash Raj Films and Sajid Nadiadwala, have shown a strong heart throughout the pandemic by holding back their list of releases, and it is these two giants who are expected to continue their unconditional support for the theater medium with films like Prithviraj, Jayeshbhai Jordaar, Shamshera, Bachchan Pandey and Heropanti 2 to name a few, all of whom are ready for a theatrical opening when theaters reopen.

Apart from the industrial calendar, the Akshay Kumar calendar will also see a major renewal as the actor has as many as 6 films – Prithviraj, Bachchan Pandey, Cinderella, Raksha Bandhan, Ram Setu and Oh My God 2 – ready for cinema premiere this year. If the restrictions continue for a long time, Khiladi may also be forced to think about bringing one of Cinderella, Raksha Bandhan and Oh My God 2 to the digital world to clear the dates of his major releases. Although we hope that scenario does not arise as his film is intended for the bigger screen. But well, the delay is aside, the show must continue.

The biggest learning over the last few months has been that the theater medium is alive and kicking. Despite the rising cases, audiences stepped out to watch movies, and the influx only stopped when movie theaters were asked to shut down the shutters. Audiences are starving for entertainment on the big screen, and this is the perfect film to bring them back in large numbers. Be it Sooryavanshi, SpiderMan or Pushpa – the three films kept the hope of the box office alive after the second wave, while 83 ‘also, although it was a disappointment, eventually got almost 100 million. Rs through ticket sales. The line-up going forward has the big event films to bring the audience back, and as they say, the future is bright with RRR, Radhe Shyam, Prithviraj, Jayeshbhai Jordaar, Bachchan Pandey, KGF 2, Laal Singh Chaddha, Heropanti 2 and Runway 34 among second set for cinema premiere in a short time. So good, the film industry is waiting to welcome the audience again!

Also read | Box Office Report Card: Bollywood has Rs 510 million in 2021; Sooryavanshi & 83 contribute 62 percent to biz