Bollywood’s Summer Slump: IPL and Elections Hit Hard

The Hindi film industry is facing a torrid time. IPL, General Elections, Election Results and weak content has wreaked havoc on the prospects of rich balance sheets this year. From Mid-March, when IPL season begins to General Elections and Results, the entire summer vacation period, one of the best times for movie releases, was over taken by these mega events.

Success rates of Bollywood films have thus dropped, coupled with a perception that the quality of content has taken a back seat and that a movie no longer ride on content or storytelling, but on so-called bankable stars-leading to a disenchantment within the discerning audience.

Manoj Desai, ED of Mumbai-based G7 multiplex and Maratha Mandir, admits to IPL impacting cinema. In a recent interview to a Newspaper, he said, “When a match is at 7 pm, it harms all the evening shows. If it’s on a weekend with two matches, both the afternoon and evening shows are hit.”

But there is a bigger problem, says Desai. “This year, movies failed because of bad content,” he says.

Between Diwali 2023 and Holi 2024, 57 Hindi films were released, but only Ranbir Kapoor-starrer Animal turned out to be a blockbuster. In recent months, two big-budget films bombed. Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, made on a budget of Rs 350 crore and featuring Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff, grossed just Rs 64.5 crore five weeks after its release, according to sacnilk.com, which tracks box office collections. The other dud was the Ajay Devgn-starrer Maidaan that was made on a budget of Rs 250 crore and grossed less than Rs 50 crore five weeks after its release, per sacnilk.com.

Film critic and trade analyst Taran Adarsh also admitted to the polls having a negative impact on movie releases and the industry.

In a recent interview with Faye D’Souza, filmmaker Karan Johar also opened up on the same.

Karan said, “Firstly, the audiences’ tastes have become very definitive. They want a certain kind of cinema. And if you (as a maker) want to do a certain number, then your film has to perform at A, B, and C centres.

Multiplexes alone will not suffice. Simultaneously, the cost of filmmaking has increased. There has been inflation. There are about 10 viable actors in Hindi cinema, and they are all asking for the sun, moon, and earth.” The filmmaker added, “And then your film doesn’t do the numbers. Those movie stars asking for Rs 35 crore are opening to Rs 3.5 crore. How’s that math working? How do you manage all these? Yet, you have to keep making movies and creating content because you also have to feed your organization. So there’s a lot of drama, and the syntax of our cinema has not found its feet.”