Movies, big and small, keep Indian box office in high spirits

Mumbai: The performance of Indian films so far in 2026 provides hope of a sustained revival in the industry.

Box-office collections and footfalls at movie theatres have both posted healthy growth, according to a study by media and entertainment research firm Ormax Media. More importantly, according to film industry experts, movies across sizes, languages and genres have done well, in what a trade analyst termed as "revival of range".

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Cumulative Collection

Footfalls at movie theatres increased 5% from a year earlier to 378 million between January and June this year, show Ormax Media data. Footfalls in the last three years had either fallen or stayed flat.

Cumulative box-office collection in the nine months ended September grew 17% to ₹11,000 crore from ₹9,409 crore a year earlier. The year is also about the returns that films across languages generated relative to their budgets, said producer Anand Pandit. "Audiences have increasingly accepted stories which feel authentic," he added.

Malayalam film Bethlehem Kudumba Unit, made on a budget of ₹25 crore, collected ₹192 crore in India alone. Films across sizes and genres have shown similar success. These include Hanuman Ansh (small-budget, devotional), Awarapan 2 (mid-budget, romance), Mirzapur (OTT, mid-budget), DC (mid-budget, slick action), Irumudi (mid-budget, devotional), Premada Oorali (small-budget, family drama) and Dhurandhar 2: The Revenge (big-budget, franchise value). Changing audience preferences and tastes are the key reasons behind these successes, said producers.

"Theatrical audience is coming in for newer experiences and rejecting 'sameness'," said producer Sunir Khetrpal. "Audiences are gradually but definitely becoming agnostic about genres, language or star status."

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Increasingly, regional makers have been focusing on their home territories first. After resonating with their audiences in home states, these films travel to other territories through word-of-mouth recommendations and social media discussions.

Emotional Connect

These films have demonstrated that theatrical success is more about emotional connection with stories, said producer and film business expert Girish Johar. "Emotional connection with stories is a common aspect in most theatrical successes across languages in 2026," he said.

A similar story has played out in the India box office performance of Hollywood films as well. Films across scales and genres such as Obsession, Michael and The Odyssey have succeeded in India.

"Social media platforms, especially Instagram, YouTube, shorts and forums such as Reddit, are increasingly building audiences for Hollywood films in India," said Shaaminder Malik, a distributor and film business expert.

Hollywood High

In the remaining period of 2026, Hollywood films such as Avengers: Doomsday and Dune: Part Three, and Hindi films such as The Ramayana and King are expected to boost collection further, said film trade analysts.

They expect Hollywood's contribution to India's box office likely to grow to 20-21% from the historical average of 15%.