October almost made it a hat-trick of months crossing Rs 1,000 crore at the box office. With a gross collection of Rs 994 crore, this was another strong month, even though the Hindi releases for October performed well below expectations. Instead, it was Tamil that took the lead with Amaran and Vettaiyan both crossing Rs 150 crore, as per the India Box Office Report by Ormax Media.
Based on the real-life story of a commissioned officer in the Indian army, Amaran, with Sivakarthikeyan in the lead, roared to Rs 269 crore in October. Vettaiyan, an action drama packed with stars such as Rajinikanth, Amitabh Bachchan and Fahadh Faasil, closed out October with Rs 173 crore. In third place was Lucky Baskhar (Rs 87 crore), a Telugu film that revolves around money laundering, with Dulquer Salmaan as the eponymous protagonist. Marvel’s Venom: The Last Dance sealed fourth place with Rs 73 crore, steered by a commanding Tom Hardy. Wrapping up the top five for October was Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video, a social message-driven Hindi comedy, starring Tripti Dimri and Rajkummar Rao as the titular pair.
The biggest underperformer for October was undoubtedly Jigra. Despite a critically acclaimed performance by Alia Bhatt, Vasan Bala’s film could not overcome its pre-release controversies to register a solid theatrical performance. Its collection of Rs 39 crore put it sixth on the list for October, marking a rare box office failure for Bhatt.
Amaran’s success means it is now the fifth highest-grossing film of 2024, leapfrogging Fighter (Rs 243 crore). This year’s charts are still topped by Kalki 2898 AD (Rs 776 crore), followed by Stree 2 (Rs 698 crore). Even though October marked a positive start to the final quarter of 2024, this year’s aggregate tally is still seven per cent lower than 2023’s at the same point. However, the likes of Singham Again, Bhool Bhuliayaa 3 and Pushpa 2: The Rule might see 2024 edge ahead come the end of December.
In terms of language share for the calendar year, Tamil went up three percentage points to move to 18 per cent. Telugu stood still at 21 per cent in second, while Hindi retained first place with 34 per cent.
