Bollywood Half-Yearly Box Office Report 2024: Kalki 2898 AD and Munjya Become Big Hits; BMCM Collapses

Bollywood Box Office Half Yearly Report 2024: As 2024 dawned, the Hindi film industry was once again entering a year of uncertainty despite box office collections reaching a record Rs 12,200 crore in 2023. This is probably because the cinema footfall was, and still is, far below pre-pandemic levels.

In the first half of this year, three big-budget films were the subject of hopes from the country's cinema operators: Fighter, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan and Maidaan. While Fighter, starring Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone, started the year on an upbeat note, BMCM, starring Akshay Kumar, and Maidaan, starring Ajay Devgns, collected Rs 15.5 crore and Rs 7 crore respectively. These are disappointing results for films made on a grand scale and starring top actors.

Unlike last year's blockbusters like Pathaan, Jawan, Gadar 2, and Animal, Bollywood's big-budget films in 2024 (so far) have not been as successful as expected. However, several mid-range films like Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya, Crew, Shaitaan, Munjya, and Article 370 have been big surprises at the box office. The unexpected success of these films can be attributed to positive word-of-mouth on social media, marketing strategy, and interesting content.

That said, all hail the triumphant creative comeback of South cinema, which is once again dominating the Indian box office and how. Director Nag Ashwin's Telugu film Kalki 2898 AD, starring Prabhas, Deepika Padukone, Amitabh Bachchan and Kamal Haasan, gave theatre owners a much-needed fillip by registering a record opening of Rs 191.5 crore worldwide.

Let’s take a look at the biggest hits and misses of Bollywood in 2024 so far.

The hits of 2024:

Kalki 2898 AD is originally a Telugu film, but its Hindi version is also a box office success. Released on 27 June, the Hindi version of Kalki 2898 AD grossed Rs 22.5 crore on its first day, Rs 23 crore on its second day, Rs 26 crore on its third day, Rs 40 crore on its fourth day and around Rs 16.5 crore on its fifth day, taking its Hindi total to over Rs 128 crore.

On the Bollywood front, Fighter opened the industry doors this year with an impressive collection of Rs 199.45 crore at the box office in India. The film starred Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone and was termed a hit. Bollywood had to wait for a few weeks before it could taste another hit in the form of Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya.

Starring Shahid Kapoor and Kriti Sanon, Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya has collected Rs 80.88 crore in its lifetime, as reported by Bollywood Hungama. Other hits include Munjya, Shaitaan, Article 370, Crew and Madgaon Express.

*Box office stock as reported by Sacnilk.com and Bollywood Hungama.

The failures of 2024:

The biggest flop of the year was Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff's Bade Miyan Chote Miyan. Made on an estimated budget of Rs 350 crore, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan was a box office flop, grossing only Rs 59.17 crore. Maidaan was another box office flop, grossing Rs 52.29 crore.

Check out the movies that haven't performed well at the box office this year so far:

*Box office revenue as reported by Bollywood Hungama.

Upcoming movies in 2024:

There are a few big films that are expected to do wonders at the box office. Among them are Shraddha Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao's much-awaited Stree 2 and Ajay Devgn's multi-starrer Singham Again.

Meanwhile, big bets are being placed on Rohit Shetty's Singham Again, which stars Arjun Kapoor as a villain, Deepika Padukone as Lady Singham and brings back Akshay Kumar along with Ranveer Singh in their police avatars.

Another film that could help revive the Bollywood box office is Aamir Khan's Sitaare Zameen Par. The film marks his return to the silver screen after the debacle of Laal Singh Chaddha.

On the pan-India front, we have Allu Arjun reprising his role as Pushpa Raj with Pushpa 2: The Rule.

Several other films like Kangana Ranaut's Emergency, Kartik Aaryans' Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, Varun Dhawan's Baby John, Shahid Kapoors' Deva, Alia Bhatts Jigra and Vicky Kaushal-Triptii Dimri starrer Bad Newz have the potential to become box office hits.