After two years of turmoil at the box office due to the Covid-19 pandemic, 2022 proved to be the year that Indian cinema on the big screen bounced back. According to ‘India is Back…at the Theatres’, a report released by Ormax Media in collaboration with GroupM, an international media investment company, 2022 was the second most successful year in the recorded history of India’s box office collections. All the data gathered in this report have been compiled and analysed based on information collected from producers, distributors, exhibitors and trade analysts.
Finishing with a gross box office tally of Rs 10,637 crore, 2022 saw more money being made at the theatres than 2021 and 2020 combined. However, it narrowly fell short of 2019’s cumulative collection, which still remains unmatched at Rs 10,948 crore.
These numbers seem more staggering when one takes into account that theatres in most parts of India remained partly or entirely shut during January 2022 due to Covid protocols. Of the gross box office collection, Hindi films accounted for 33 per cent of the business, well ahead of Telugu at 20 per cent and Tamil at 6 per cent. Hollywood films (including all language versions) managed 12 per cent of the box office. Despite the dominance of Hindi, its share of the pie has dropped considerably from pre-pandemic levels, which regularly saw Hindi movies take away 40 per cent or more of the total box office revenue.
K.G.F:Chapter 2 and RRR untouchable at the top; Brahmastra was top Bollywood release
Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt from Brahmastra Brahmastra
Two films led the way at the pinnacle of India’s box office charts for the majority of 2022. In first place was Prashanth Neel’s K.G.F: Chapter 2, which garnered an astounding Rs 970 at the box office, followed by the S.S. Rajamouli-directed Oscar contender RRR, which closed out at Rs 869 crore. James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water did the best business for Hollywood in 2022, aggregating Rs 471 crore. Rounding off the top five were Rishab Shetty’s Kantara at Rs 362 crore and Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selvan – PS I at Rs 320 crore.
As for original Hindi releases, it was Ayan Mukerji’s Brahmastra-Part One: Shiva that shrugged off boycott threats to end at the top of the pile, roping in Rs 306 crore in 2022, ahead of the likes of Vivek Agnihotri’s The Kashmir Files (Rs 292 crore), Abhishek Pathak’s Drishyam 2 (Rs 285 crore) and Anees Bazmee’s Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 (Rs 217 crore).
Footfall in cinemas in 2022 more than 2021 and 2020 combined
In terms of footfall, 2022 saw 89.2 crore viewers make their way to the cinemas in India, a figure better than 2021 and 2020 combined, but short of every year before that since records began in 2015. The highest footfall came back in 2019, when more than 103 crore people watched films on the big screen.
In keeping with economic trends, the average ticket price (ATP) for films in India shot up in 2022, setting a new record at Rs 119. This a significant surge from back in 2021, when the ATP was Rs 87 and even from the next highest in 2019, when it was Rs 106.
The report also delves into advertising in relation to theatrical releases, which shows that advertisements went up in 2022 as compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019, with ads reaching their peak in September 2022, when 430 brands had their promotional content featured in cinemas. Unlike in 2019, when the top three ad categories involved clothing, telecom/internet service providers and consumer durables (in that order), 2022’s advertisements were topped by food and beverage brands, followed by consumer durables and clothing.
