India had its second biggest box office year ever with $1.28 billion in 2022, but attendance is still lower than before the pandemic

South Indian mega hits like KGF: Chapter 2 And RRR and Disney’s Avatar: The War of the Waters helped India’s box office achieve its second-biggest year ever in 2022, but the gains are also partly due to rising ticket prices, as total admissions are still lower than 2019.

Despite cinemas closing in January, India’s total box office receipts will reach US$1.28 billion (Rs. 106 billion) by 2022, according to a report by Ormax Media and GroupM, the second biggest year on record and just a shade of the 1.31 billion US dollars (106 billion rupees). 109.5 billion). achieved in the record year 2019.

In contrast, total revenue in the first year of the pandemic in 2020 was just US$238 million (Rs.20.6 billion) and grew to just US$455 million (Rs.37.7 billion) the following year, when the delta variant of Covid- 19 19 hit India.

However, attendance only reached 892 million in 2022, compared to 1.03 billion in 2019, the highest year on record. Also known as “pedestrians” in the Indian film industry, admissions did not drop below 900 million in the five years before the pandemic.

At the same time, the average ticket price rose to $1.44 (Rs 119) in 2022, a 12% increase from the average of $1.28 (Rs 106) in 2019, leading Ormax to increase market share in big tickets and events returned films in all languages.

Kannada language hit KGF: Chapter 2 was the highest grossing film of the year at $117.13 million followed by Telugu language RRR with $104.94 million and Avatar: The Way of Water at $56.88 million (see top ten chart below).

However, the highest grossing Hindi film is Disney’s Brahmastra: Part 1 – Shivaonly sixth in the top ten, in stark contrast to pre-pandemic times when Hindi films dominated the box office.

While Hindi films overall continued to be the highest-grossing category at US$424 million (Rs.35 billion), the Ormax report found that their market share fell from 44% in 2019 to just 33% per year in 2022 dropped Additionally, around 32% of the total market share of the Hindi films was attributed to the Hindi dubbed versions of South Indian films including KGF: Chapter 2, RRR And Kantara.

Telugu films were the second largest category at US$259 million (Rs.21.45 billion) and saw the biggest gain in market share, rising from 13% in 2019 to 20% last year.

Tamil movies powered by hits including Ponniyin Selvan: Part 1, vikram And animalwas the third largest category at US$208 million (Rs.17.24 billion), increasing their market share from 13% to 16%.

Despite the success of avatarHollywood film market share fell from 15% in 2019 to 12% last year with a combined gross of US$148.5 million (Rs. 12.3 billion), reflecting US studios’ shortened release calendar amid the pandemic. Doctor Strange in the multiverse of madness was the second biggest Hollywood film with $20 million, followed by Thor: Love and Thunder with $15.9 million.

Hindi films attracted 189 million admissions in 2022 compared to 341 million in 2019. In contrast, Telugu film admissions reached 233 million admissions last year compared to 182 million in 2019, and Tamil films grew to 205 million admissions compared to 194 million.

Meanwhile, 2023 is off to a strong start for Hindi films Pathan, starring Shah Rukh Khan, which has grossed only about $60 million nett in India since its January 25 release. Hopes for Salman Khan’s first major theatrical performance since the pre-pandemic era are also high. Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaanscheduled for release on April 21, to coincide with the Eid holiday.

INDIA BOX OFFICE TOP TEN 2022:

Title (Language) US$ (Rupees)
Gross box office of each film in all languages ​​in which it was released