Hindi box office share drops to 40%, South dubs drive 31% of revenue: Report

India’s theatrical box office recorded gross collections of ₹11,833 crore in 2024, making it the second-highest year on record after 2023. The findings, published in the 'Ormax Box Office Report 2024,' reflect both the resilience and the shifting dynamics of regional cinema in a market still readjusting post-pandemic.

While the overall box office declined marginally by 3% from ₹12,226 crore in 2023, it still marked the fourth year that the Indian box office crossed the ₹10,000 crore benchmark, following 2019, 2022, and 2023. However, total footfalls fell to 88.3 crore (883 million), a 6% drop from the previous year, and lower than 2022 figures. This continued decline in audience turnout highlights a growing reliance on increased average ticket prices (ATP), which rose by just 3% from ₹130 to ₹134, indicating stabilisation after two years of double-digit increases.

Hindi cinema 

Hindi-language cinema witnessed a significant drop, with gross collections falling 13% year-on-year from ₹5,380 crore in 2023 to ₹4,679 crore in 2024. Its overall market share shrank from 44% to 40%. When adjusted for only original Hindi-language films, the decline steepened to 37%. Approximately 31% of Hindi cinema’s total collections in 2024 came from dubbed versions of South Indian films, notably Pushpa 2: The Rule and Kalki 2898 AD, both of which outperformed most original Hindi releases.

Footfalls for Hindi films also declined by 16%, down to 23 crore in 2024, substantially below the 30 crore range seen pre-pandemic. Only six original Hindi films surpassed ₹100 crore, compared to 16 in 2023.

Malayalam and Gujarati 

Among regional languages, Malayalam cinema emerged as the strongest performer, with its gross collections more than doubling, from ₹572 crore in 2023 to ₹1,165 crore in 2024. This pushed its market share to 10%, up from 5% the previous year. Malayalam films also recorded a near 88% increase in footfalls, led by commercially successful titles such as Manjummel Boys and Aavesham.

Gujarati cinema, though a smaller contributor, also showed substantial growth, rising 66% to reach ₹84 crore. It was the first time the language crossed the ₹80 crore mark at the domestic box office, aided by the performance of Jhamkudi.

Telugu and Tamil industry

Telugu cinema recorded its best-ever year with collections of ₹2,348 crore, up 4% from 2023. Although footfalls declined by 12%, this was offset by increased ticket prices, especially during the release windows of tentpole films. Pushpa 2: The Rule and Kalki 2898 AD were major contributors.

Tamil-language films collected ₹1,829 crore, a 7% decline from 2023. Despite the drop, 2024 was Tamil cinema’s second-best year in terms of gross collections. The industry's reduced dependence on top-grossing films, down from 71% of total revenue in 2023 to 60% in 2024, suggests a more even spread of mid-range successes.

Hollywood 

Hollywood films experienced the sharpest decline among all language categories, with collections falling 17% to ₹941 crore, the first time since 2015 that the segment failed to cross ₹1,000 crore (excluding the pandemic years). No Hollywood title crossed the ₹200 crore threshold, and only three films surpassed ₹100 crore. Footfalls stood at 3.8 crore, among the lowest figures for the category in the past decade.

Kannada, Marathi and Punjabi industry

Kannada cinema reported a marginal decline of 3%, with ₹304 crore in box office revenue. Footfalls dipped to 2.6 crore, continuing the downward trend seen in 2023. Despite the presence of big-ticket titles, the industry struggled to produce a breakout success.

Marathi and Punjabi films also recorded double-digit declines—12% and 14% respectively. Marathi cinema fell below ₹200 crore for the first time in two years, while Punjabi films saw fewer high-performing titles following a strong showing in 2023. Bengali cinema remained flat year-on-year, with negligible change in overall performance.

Key films and top performers

Pushpa 2: The Rule was the highest-grossing film of the year with ₹1,403 crore across all languages. Its Hindi-dubbed version alone grossed ₹889 crore, making it the highest-earning 'Hindi' film of all time in that category. Other notable performers included Kalki 2898 AD, Stree 2, Devara - Part 1, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, and The Greatest Of All Time, all of which crossed the ₹300 crore mark.

The report also indicated that while mega-hits continue to drive box office revenues, their outsized impact underscores an over-reliance on a small number of successful titles, particularly within Hindi-language cinema.