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Tag: regional films

  • Hindi Diwali blockbusters propel November box office to Rs 914 crore

    Hindi Diwali blockbusters propel November box office to Rs 914 crore

    MUMBAI: Diwali brought more than just lights and festivities this year—it ignited the Indian box office with a dazzling display of cinematic magic.

    According to Ormax Media’s The India Box Office Report: November 2024 the month turned into a blockbuster bonanza, with the box office cash registers ringing up a jaw-dropping Rs 914 crore in gross collections. In a nation where movies are worshipped and stars are idolised, two powerhouse releases—”Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3” and “Singham Again”—emerged as the true torchbearers of unity and entertainment, raking in Rs 664 crore and capturing a whopping 73 per cent of the month’s collections.

    Despite a year marked by a 4 per cent dip compared to 2023, the silver screen proved its resilience, delivering joy, drama, and record-breaking numbers like never before. The numbers don’t just speak—they roar!

    The Hindi film industry delivered a commanding performance in November. “Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3” emerged as the highest-grossing film of the month, amassing Rs 15 crore more than “Singham Again”. Both films now rank among the year’s top Hindi theatrical releases, trailing only “Stree 2” in total collections.

    While “Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3” capitalised on nostalgia and engaging storytelling, “Singham Again” thrived on its action-packed narrative and star power. Together, they bolstered Hindi cinema’s contribution to the cumulative box office for January to November 2024, which stands at Rs 9,862 crore.

    In contrast, non-Hindi films struggled to make a significant impact. The Tamil film “Kanguva”, despite a promising start, faltered due to poor audience reception, barely crossing the Rs 50 crore mark. Hollywood, regional Indian films, and dubbed releases collectively failed to breach the Rs 100 crore benchmark for November.

    Hindi’s market share climbed to 38 per cent  in 2024 from 34 per cent  earlier this year, signaling a recovery. However, it remains below the 44 per cent  dominance recorded in 2023, highlighting room for growth. With “Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3” & “Singham Again” being the latest additions, “Kalki 2898 AD” saw 45 per cent of its box office collection coming from its hindi version, further underscoring the language’s significant contribution to the year’s cinematic landscape.

    The cumulative gross box office collections for 2024 have already surpassed the Rs 10,000 crore threshold, thanks to the enduring appeal of major releases like “Pushpa 2: The Rule”. Industry insiders are optimistic about December’s high-profile films, including “Baby John” (Hindi) and “Mufasa: The Lion King” (Hollywood). With the right audience response, 2024 could challenge the record Rs 12,226 crore gross achieved in 2023.

    The industry’s resilience amidst a 4 per cent  decline is commendable, yet the reliance on a handful of blockbusters underscores vulnerabilities in market diversification. For regional and non-Hindi films, capturing broader audience segments will be crucial.

    As December’s releases roll in, the Indian box office’s final figures for 2024 remain a subject of keen anticipation. The industry’s ability to adapt and innovate will determine whether it can reclaim the highs of previous years or chart new territory in its post-pandemic resurgence.

    Key takeaways:

    1. “Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3” leads November 2024 with record-breaking collections.
    2. Hindi films dominate, contributing 73 per cent of monthly revenue.
    3. Regional and Hollywood films underperform, highlighting disparities.
    4. The annual box office’s success hinges on December’s releases.

    (The main picture for this story was generated usingfreepic ai image generator.. No copyright infringement is intended)

  • Doordarshan invites by month-end EoIs for 2,754 English & regional films per yr

    NEW DELHI: Doordarshan seems to be girding up its loins, especially after the appointment of the Prasar Bharati CEO — Shashi S Vempati. Expressions of interest (EoIs) have been invited by Doordarshan for companies/rights holders for supplying a total of 2,754 feature films per year in English and various Indian languages for its channels.

    According to the notice by the pubcaster, the rights holder which should be a company or a partnership firm must have a minimum of three years of experience in providing feature films to a television broadcaster and a minimum of 25 films in its possession.

    The right-holders are required to provide feature films to Doordarshan for a period of two years and this period is extendable for one more year. The last date for submission of entries is 30 June 2017 by 2 pm.

    Doordarshan at present has seven channels that are uplinked from New Delhi – DD National, DD News, DD Bharati, DD India, DD Urdu, DD Sports and DD Kisan.

    Besides these, Doordarshan also operates 14 (24X7) regional language channels. Regional language Channels are area/region specific and due to diversity of language and culture, each Channels is unique in terms of content and viewership.

    Films are being telecast on the entire network of Doordarshan – on Channels uplinked from New Delhi (DD National, DD Bharati, DD India, DD Urdu, and DD Kisan Channels). English and Hindi feature film slots have also been created in the soon to be launched DD Arun Prabha Channel. Additionally, regional language feature films are also telecast on all its regional language Channels.

    The applicant should not be a defaulter of Doordarshan at the time of submission of the Eol. A black-listing order passed by the Central government I State governments I any PSU should not be in operation against the applicant at the time of submission of the EoI. The right holder should not be debarred from bidding as per GFR, Rule 151.
     
    Tentative requirement of feature films would be according to the table below but iIt may change marginally depending upon the requirement.

    SrNo.
    Name     of      the
    Channel
    Language
    Tentative
    Number of films required (per year)
    1
    DD National
    Hindi
    200
    2
    DD Bharati
    Hindi
    60
    3
    DD Ind ia
    Hindi
    60
    4
    DD Urdu
    Hindi &
    Urdu
    160
    5
    DD Kisan
    Hindi
    100
    6
    DD Arunprabha
    (upcoming)
    English &
    Hindi
    104
    (52 Eng. &
    52 Hin.)
    7
    DD Bangla
    Bangla
    360
    8
    DD Bihar
    Bhojpuri &
    Maithali
    100
    9
    DD Chandana
    Kannada
    250
    10
    DD Gimar
    Gujarati
    60
    11
    DD Kashir
    Urdu&
    Hindi
    100
    12
    DD Malayalam
    Malaya!am
    100
    13
    DD North East
    (including
    Assamese)
    English,
    Hindi, regional languages
    of the north-
    eastern region
    100
    14
    DD Odia
  • The whole movie acquisition game has gone for a toss

    The whole movie acquisition game has gone for a toss

    MUMBAI: In recent times, quite a few International as well as regional films have been dubbed into Hindi to wide commercial acclaim. Why are the channels acquiring the rights to air these foreign films or south Indian films, dub in Hindi and air on their channels at primetime? What might be the reason behind it?

     

    Bollywood blockbusters have become too expensive. These films revolve around just the top four to five male actors. Plus, a Bollywood blockbuster comes with a baggage. Bollywood producers have become aggregators. When they sell a blockbuster film, four to five smaller-budget films come in the package.

     

    For example, when Karan Johar sells television rights for his blockbuster, he sells it as a package along with a few of the films made under his banner by other directors. The smaller-budget films make no commercial sense for television channels.

     

    When Sony MAX bought the television rights for Dhoom 3, reportedly paying a very high price, the movie channel had to buy yet-to-be-released film like Bewakoofiyaan as part of the package.

     

    Also, the recall value of bollywood blockbusters now is low. A bollywood blockbuster which was aired on a television channel for the second time, the viewership rating was more than 75 per cent lower than the ratings garnered by the film at its television premier in October 2013.

     

    The big budget films being made now make their money in the first and second weekends. The films do not qualify for a second viewing.

     

    The economics of acquiring bollywood blockbusters first drove movie channels to dubbing English and south Indian languages films, largely action movies, in Hindi.

     

    Sony MAX, Senior Vice President and Business Head, Neeraj Vyas, has an interesting take on the matter. He says, “it is because acquisition of Hindi films has become so expensive. It is virtually impossible to keep buying those films. Everybody everybody has a limited budget. There is a cost that you incur for renewing your existing library. So there is very little money to keep buying those films.”

     

    “The whole movie acquisition game has gone for a toss,” says Vyas.

     

    Even the Hollywood action blockbusters do not come cheap. These films too are packaged by the studios along with older movies. Aggregation happens even when television rights are sold for Hollywood movies. And, a substantial part of the movies acquired along with blockbusters add to the worthless movie library.

     

    In an interesting turn of events, the south Indian films being dubbed into Hindi are gaining more traction as compared the international films.

     

    Disney India Director, Programming, Movie Channels, Kunal Mukherjee says Disney has witnessed a preference towards regional films, specifically south Indian language films dubbed in Hindi. “While certain international titles do work wonderfully with the audiences, south Indian films, if taken average, certainly work better.”

     

    Do the channels tend to follow a particular timeslot, for example, airing Chinese films dubbed in Hindi on weekends and south Indian films dubbed in Hindi on weekdays? On that Mukherjee states, “We understand our audiences and there is no specific viewing pattern that is followed for dubbed movies. UTV Action brings in content as per the audience preferences and entertains them with movies in the manner and language that is relevant to them.”

     

    What is the selection process of the films? “We are constantly listening to our viewers’ choices and for UTV Action, we consider the star cast of the movie along with the number of action scenes and the date of release for our library.”

     

    Regarding the audience demographic being aimed at, Mukherjee stated that, UTV Action is a movie channel which entertains audiences across all age groups with content which is acquired through various partners  and associates who own the intellectual properties of the film.

     

    Sony MAX’s Vyas says, “Almost 25-30 per cent of everybody’s FPC in a week comprises of south Indian dubs. South Indian dubs are very integral reality of composition of every Hindi movie channel. Those guys completely enjoy south Indian cinema.”

     

    Another up and coming movie channel &Pictures also has some exciting projects lined up. The channel is launching ‘Hollywood Sundays’ at 12:00 pm, starting 2 March, 2014, to bring the Asli Desi flavour.