India had the second biggest box office year in 2022 with $1.28BN, but admissions are still below pre-pandemic levels.

Like the South Indian mega-hit KGF: Chapter 2 And RRR And Disney’s Avatar: The Water Wars Helped drive India’s box office to its second-biggest year in terms of revenue in 2022, but the gains are partly attributable to higher ticket prices as overall admissions are still low in 2019.

Even though cinema closed in January, total box office revenue in India reached $1.28BN (Rs106BN) in 2022, according to a report by Ormax Media and GroupM, the second biggest year on record and just a shade from $1.31BN (Rs109.5BN). 2019 was achieved in a record-breaking year.

In contrast, in the first year of the pandemic in 2020, the total box office was just $238M (Rs20.6BN) and rose to $455M (Rs37.7BN) the following year when the delta variant of Covid-19 hit India.

However, admissions only reached 892M in 2022, compared to 1.03BN in 2019, the highest year on record. Referred to as “footfall” in the Indian film industry, admissions never fell below 900M in the five years leading up to the pandemic.

At the same time, the average ticket price rose to $1.44 (Rs119) in 2022, a 12% increase from an average of $1.28 (Rs106) in 2019, which Ormax attributed to the increase in market share of big ticket and event films across all languages.

Hits in Kannada language KGF: Chapter 2 It was the highest grossing film of the year with $117.13M, followed by the Telugu language RRR including $104.94M and Avatar: The Way of Water including $56.88M (see top ten chart below).

But the highest grossing Hindi language film is Disney’s Brahmastra: Part 1 – ShivaOnly ranked sixth in the top ten, a stark contrast to the pre-pandemic period when Hindi films dominated the box office.

While Hindi films were still the top-grossing category overall with $424M (Rs35BN), the Ormax report showed that their market share declined from 44% in 2019 to just 33% in 2022. Additionally, about 32% of the Hindi market share is attributed to Hindi dubbed versions of South Indian films, including KGF: Chapter 2, RRR And Cantara.

Telugu films were the second largest category with $259M (Rs21.45BN) and gained the most in market share, rising from 13% in 2019 to 20% last year.

Driven by hits in Tamil films, including Panyin Selvan: Part 1, Vikram And the beastwas the third largest category with $208M (Rs17.24BN), increasing market share from 13% to 16%.

Despite the success avatarHollywood films’ market share fell to 12% from 15% in 2019, with a combined gross of $148.5M (Rs12.3BN), reflecting US studios’ reduced release calendar in the wake of the pandemic. Doctor Strange in the crazy multiverse It was the second biggest Hollywood film with $20M, then Thor: Love and Thunder including $15.9M.

Hindi films recorded 189M admissions in 2022, compared to 341M in 2019. In contrast, Telugu film admissions reached 233M last year, compared to 182M in 2019, and Tamil films reached 205M admissions, compared to 194M.

Meanwhile, 2023 is shaping up to be a strong start for Hindi films send, starring Shah Rukh Khan, has netted around $60M in India alone since its January 25 release. There are also hopes for Salman Khan’s first big theatrical outing since pre-pandemic days. Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki JanWhich is scheduled for release on April 21, coinciding with the Eid holidays.

India Box Office Top Ten 2022:

Title (Language) US$ (Rupees)
Each film has released in gross box office in all languages