Shah Rukh Khan's 'Pathaan' effect: How big screens made a comeback

The Shah Rukh Khan (SRK)-Deepika Padukone starrer Pathaan, marking SRK’s return to the screens after four years, has hit it out of the park. The film has grossed a mammoth Rs 542 crore in worldwide collections in just five days. Pathaan is being called a movement of sorts, with revenge-watching and positive ‘word of mouth’ driving the collections. The positive after-effects of this tent pole release are likely to sweep Bollywood in 2023.

Analysts say the fate of Hindi cinema will also go on to determine the financials of the box office in Q4FY23. “A blend of large-scale content and a mega-star such as SRK may provide the much-needed respite to Bollywood, as Pathaan may turn out to be the highest-grossing Hindi film in the post-Covid-19 era, surpassing Brahmastra and Drishyam 2,” says Karan Taurani, SVP at Elara Capital.

The turnaround for multiplexes began in the December quarter. While Hollywood made a strong comeback in the Indian market with titles like Avatar 2: The Way of Water and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, regional cinema, especially movies from the South—from blockbusters like Ponniyin Selvan 1 to sleeper hits like Kantara—continued their pan-India dominance.

PVR, India’s largest multiplex operator, turned a profit of `16.15 crore in Q3FY23, after posting 10 successive quarters of losses since the pandemic. Its revenues also jumped 53 per cent to Rs 940.69 crore, riding on higher ticket prices and spending per head.

@mittermaniac