The film industry signed its death certificate when it embraced the devil that is OTT streaming. Turns out, the total gross box-office collection for the Indian film industry in 2024 is ₹10,754 Cr. This is when it was ₹13,161 Cr in 2023. That's an 18.2% fall in a single year. The dip becomes even more stark when we only talk about Hindi films. They grossed ₹4,534 Cr in 2024, when they earned ₹6,045 in 2023. Basically shrinking 25% in a just a single year. It's massive. And this dip is consistent. Cinemas are nosediving into oblivion and there's no saving grace. Films aren't making money anymore because theatres aren't drawing crowds. Production houses are getting bought in distress sales, and the entire film economy is shaking. But whenever this conversation comes up, someone often springs up with the usual, "Arre, but Pushpa grossed ₹1,100 Cro-!". Fouck Pushpa! It doesn't matter what a few outliers gross once in a few years, the trend is clear - Films are going the music way. But what happened to Music? Music sales across the world were at $23.7 Bil in 1999, and then came Napster. Since then, the entire music industry has shifted to streaming. But what are the revenues, still? In 2023, the global music industry saw "record breaking" sales of $28 Bil. While about 14% of this still came from CDs & Vinyl, what's important is that $23.7 Bil in 1999 translates to roughly $45 Bil in today's terms (inflation). So basically, even after 18 years of Spotify, et al, the music industry hasn't been able to even match what it was making in 1999 (26 years ago). Not even close. Forget about growing the pie. Streaming killed the music revenues for all practical purposes. And forever. Now music sales are history. And if the film industry doesn't preserve the box office, ticket sales will also become history. And with that, the film industry will shrink how the music industry shrunk. And it'll never come back. But why? Because streaming doesn't pay. And it can't pay. Just how it's completely failed to pay the musicians even a fraction of what they would have made with physical sales, it can't pay the filmmakers what they made (or still make) in theatres as well. It's because streaming is essentially an "efficient" way of consuming art. But what's "efficient" for the consumer is bad for the maker. Tickets aren't efficient, but they are good for the biz. One ticket per person. And with each ticket, I get a cut. It's beautiful. So what can the producers do? Most conversations right now are around "reducing costs". But that won't grow the pie. Or even preserve it as it is. Amongst many things, the film industry needs to go back to the 90 (or even 120) day window between theatrical and OTT releases. OTTs will resist, but it's necessary. People skip the theatres because they know the films will be on OTTs "soon". That needs to stop. Got to sell the tickets. They're gold. P.S. I'm performing live in Delhi on 27th. Here are the tickets: http://bit.ly/3BqxrYu
It is a clear sign that entertainment industry was making more money than it should have. As Indians are probably becoming more time starved, the consumers will get increasingly more conscious about spending on entertainment. Currently they continue to be spoilt by OTTs but eventually quality content should win over distribution while poor quality content will lag behind as commodity. Content players need to demand more for their license and also need to up their game for the industry to survive, may be it’s good in the long run.
I see all of this as an absolute win.
I think industry also has to be blamed as they are spending so much on Heroes making it difficult to be profitable. The malayalam ( Kerala) super hero movie Minnal Murali was made in a budget of 18 crore and ARM 3D movies was made in 30 crore and both are super hits. Bollywood should pause for a while and think about how to create quality movies rather than big movies. Your absolutely right OTT will make it difficult, for people will prefer to watch movies in the comfort of their house . But may be a necessary evil as it's the same
would be also interesting to see the trend in concert ticket sales(90s v/s today). An experience that is hard to translate to streaming - Taylor Swift's Eras tour grossed $2 B in revenue. - "Burning man" surprisingly not a heavy hitter in the revenue but still a decent growth rate with revenues doubling from $32M to $64M - US music events revenue is $18B, up from $9B in 2017(source- statista) With Zomato's foray into this market will be an interesting space to watch out for. India seems to be flocking to these concerts despite the infrastructural challenges.
That is where NFTs will become the answer, I hope 🤞
PVR down ~5.93% today. Nishant Mittal Please share your source material for reading.
Nishant, while your concerns about the film industry and comparisons to music are thought-provoking, it's essential to consider the evolving landscape of consumer behavior and how filming is not merely shifting to streaming but rather adapting. The drop in box office might be attributed to a complex mix of factors beyond just OTT consumption, including audience preferences and even competition from international markets. Furthermore, dismissing successful films as outliers overlooks their role in sustaining interest and engagement. It's crucial to take a broader view when analyzing these shifts rather than framing it as doom and gloom for the entire industry.
Quality of movie needs to improve . Their is no other way . For that to happen some sort of process needs to be implemented both in terms of content creation ( how to get writers, train them and pay them well ) and selection of stars ( based on talent and not on heritage/legacy ) A 90 day window to come on OTT works for good movies . Bad movies anyways don’t last for more than 2-3 days which is the majority Please don’t forget we need entertainment in life and are ready to pay for good or let me say entertaining movies
Film industry is in the 90s - it is the same old masala just retold. Majority of the stories or screenplay lack novelty, lead actors are mostly in because of connects rather than talents! Why would people watch it in theatres!? Movies that are different, do attract crowd, but it is far and few in between. Earlier family entertainment was limited, and people used to flock theatres, now there are plenty of avenues and time is finite, you pick where you have the best ROI! Has the death of single screen theatres/overpriced tickets contributed to this diminishing viewership?
Entrepreneur, musician
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