The Indian multiplex sector saw the biggest blockbuster quarter in its history during July-September with back-to-back hits that ruled the box office.
Bollywood wrote its success script with 'Jawan' and 'Gadar 2' clocking Rs 5 billion each at the domestic box office. The Hindi film industry had even more reason to celebrate after films like ‘OMG2’, ‘Satyaprem Ki Katha’, ‘Rocky aur Rani ki Prem Kahani’ and ‘Dreamgirl2’ cross the Rs 1 billion milestone during the quarter.
In the Hollywood section, 'Mission Impossible- Dead Reckoning Part One' and Oppenheimer delivered close to Rs 1 billion. Among regional movies, Kollywood blockbuster movie 'Jailer' continued to have a great run at the box office, collecting more than Rs 6 billion worldwide. The movie has become only the second Tamil film after '2.0' to achieve this feat.
The sting of success is expected to give a big boost to the financial performance of the multiplex industry in the quarter.
“We believe 2QFY24 will be the best quarter thus far in terms of revenue and EBTIDA in the Indian multiplex industry due to highest footfall ever and robust operating metrics,” Nirmal Bang Institutional Equities.
Impact of Holywood writers' strike
Meanwhile, the second quarter numbers are expected to have seen an impact from the Hollywood writers’ strike in the US. Hollywood movies generally deliver 15-20% of box office revenue for the Indian multiplex industry.
The strike, which started in May, is expected to come to an end soon as the writers have reached a verbal agreement.
Further, the terms of the contract will soon be revealed and signed to put an end to the strike.
"We believe any worries about the availability of content in 4QFY24 and more importantly in FY25 will be laid to rest," Nirmal Bang added.
“If both writers as well as actors are back at work in Hollywood, we believe any worries about the availability of content in 4QFY24 and more importantly in FY25 will be laid to rest.”.
Around a week ago, the Writers Guild of America announced the deal in a joint statement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the group that represents studios, streaming services and production companies in negotiations.
The combined strikes made for a pivotal moment in Hollywood as creative labour faced off against executives in a business transformed and torn by technology, from the seismic shift to streaming in recent years to the potentially paradigm-shifting emergence of AI in the years to come.
The writers' strike immediately sent late-night talk shows and “Saturday Night Live” into hiatus, and has since sent dozens of scripted shows and other productions into limbo, including forthcoming seasons of Netflix's “Stranger Things," HBO's “The Last of Us,” and ABC's “Abbot Elementary," and films including “Deadpool 3” and “Superman: Legacy.” The Emmy Awards were also pushed from September to January.