In a remarkable turn of events for Hindi cinema, the action blockbuster Dhurandhar has officially crossed the ₹870 crore mark, setting a new post-pandemic high and becoming the first original Hindi language film to breach the ₹800 crore threshold. This achievement underscores a seismic shift in Bollywood, where films are generating significantly higher revenues than in the pre-pandemic era, despite a noticeable decline in overall theater footfalls.
The Blockbuster Leap: Fewer Films, Bigger Returns
Alongside Dhurandhar, other hits such as the period drama Chhaava, horror comedy Stree 2, and Shah Rukh Khan's Jawan have helped establish the ₹600-crore club over the past three years. Earlier milestones were set by films like Pathaan, Gadar 2, and Animal, which emerged as the first Hindi titles to cross ₹500 crore. In fact, nine of the top 10 highest-grossing Bollywood films of all time have been released only in the post-COVID period, highlighting a dramatic transformation in audience behavior and industry dynamics.
Audience Selectivity and the Event Film Phenomenon
Before the pandemic, the highest-grossing Hindi film, Dangal, managed a domestic box office collection of ₹387.38 crore. According to media consulting firm Ormax, average ticket prices have risen from ₹106 in 2019 to ₹161 in 2025. While India's gross box office has increased to ₹13,395 crore from ₹10,948 crore over the same period, footfalls have fallen sharply from 103 crore to 83.2 crore. This paradox points to a fundamental change: audiences are becoming more selective, gravitating toward event films that offer a compelling theatrical experience.
Devang Sampat, managing director of Cinepolis India, explains, "Pre-COVID, theatrical releases were competing primarily with each other. Today, they're competing with OTT and streaming libraries offering thousands of titles at home. This has concentrated footfalls around fewer, bigger films. When audiences decide a film is worth leaving home for, they show up in unprecedented numbers."
Pan-India Expansion and Premium Formats
A second major shift is the democratization of regional blockbusters. In the past, a Telugu or Tamil hit would earn 70-80% of its revenue in its home market. Today, films like Kantara, Pushpa, and RRR draw 40-50% of their collections from outside their primary language markets, showcasing a broader appeal across India.
Furthermore, the expansion of premium formats like IMAX and 4DX has significantly raised the revenue ceiling. These screens command prices two to three times higher than standard tickets, yet films such as Kalki 2898 AD or Pushpa 2 have maintained near-100% occupancy on these formats for weeks. Kamal Gianchandani, chief business planning and strategy at PVR INOX Ltd, notes a distinct shift in consumer habits: "People are going for films once or twice a year, which means an infrequency has come in, but they are gravitating towards popular films with word-of-mouth, whereas earlier tastes were more broad-based."
Buzz-Driven Box Office and Structural Shifts
Collections that were once spread across many releases are now being concentrated on a few standout titles that generate strong excitement. Ashish Saksena, chief operating officer—cinemas at BookMyShow, emphasizes that while ticket pricing plays a supporting role, the bigger momentum is driven by wider pan-India releases, sharper awareness built through digital and social platforms, and appeal that cuts across age groups and regions.
Structural shifts such as increased cinema density, deeper mobile and internet penetration, and higher purchasing power have also contributed to this growth. Continued investment by cinemas in bigger screens and superior sound systems ensures audiences continue to prefer the theatrical experience. Bhuvanesh Mendiratta, managing director of Miraj Entertainment Ltd, adds, "A major reason for this is that the social media buzz around songs, dialogues, performances and moments is far stronger than what we saw pre-pandemic. This heightened buzz, combined with selective audience turnout and ticket pricing, leads to higher footfalls for a few standout films—allowing them to cross ₹500, ₹600 and even ₹800 crore benchmarks."
Rahul Puri, managing director of Mukta Arts and Mukta A2 Cinemas, points out that once a film demonstrates exceptional audience pull, it tends to command a growing share of screens: "The advantage of pricing is coupled with a huge volume of shows and screens for the audience to focus on one big output." This trend suggests that Bollywood's future may hinge on creating fewer, but more impactful, cinematic events that resonate deeply with audiences across the country.
