Is it high time that audience as well as industry alike starts respecting 100 crore earners? Last year when there were a record number of centuries being scored starting from ‘Agneepath’ (January) to ‘Dabangg 2’ (December), many started commenting around this hardly being a phenomenon and just the beginning of a phase that was here to stay. It started seeming to many that there was a formula that just about anyone and everyone could bring in and gain a 100 crore success out of that.
Well, as 2013 so far has shown, one couldn’t have been more wrong. With scarcity of films that have come even close to the 100 crore mark, leave aside crossing it, it is crystal clear that a lot goes into making a 100 crore film than just a A-list cast, 2500+ screens release, massive hype and promotion.
Bollywood 100 crore Films
The signs were pretty much there at the beginning of the year itself when ‘Race 2’, after a tremendous first week, couldn’t really last long and just about managed to touch the 100 crore mark. A film that was supposed to easily reach the 125 crore mark, it couldn’t really cover the distance despite hit music, good looking cast and cool stunts.
Later ‘Special 26’ was touted to be a 100 crore film as well but that didn’t quite happen. Yes, there was Akshay Kumar leading from the front and the film was well appreciated. However it was proven once again that for a film to be a 100 crore affair, there is a lot more that goes in.
‘Himmatwala’ was touted to be another easy entry into the club for Ajay Devgn who was riding high on multiple centuries being scored by him during the last couple of years. However audience didn’t really step in and allowed that to happen even though all this while the film was expected to just march its way past the 100 crore mark.
Recently ‘Shootout at Wadala’ released and the wait for an elusive 100 crore superhit has only continued. It was felt that John Abraham and Anil Kapoor would make it two in a row as a pair after the century stand in ‘Race 2’. That hasn’t been the case though.
Now compare this with centuries of last year, ‘Ek Tha Tiger’, ‘Dabangg 2’, ‘Agneepath’, ‘Rowdy Rathore’, ‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan’, ‘Son of Sardaar’, ‘Barfi!’, ‘Housefull 2’ and ‘Bol Bachchan’. For all the ridicule that some or most of these films would have fetched and being addressed as ‘Aah, it is just one of those undeserving 100 crore films’, the fact remains that there was something indeed special about these flicks that allowed them to gain an entry into the exclusive club. There was at least a universal element or two that made audience step into theatres and have a dekko.
Let us give credit to these films and the ones to come where it is due. To bring in footfalls that result in 100 crores coming is not a joke.
It never was! It would never be!
Joginder Tuteja tweets @tutejajoginder
outima 150cr because of clash
boss 120cr
thupakki 200cr
This 100cr club is just a pressure riser of film makers and specially producers.. The only thing this 100cr thing does is reducing the quality of films.. Some film makers are just trying to make 100 cr movies despite thinking of what actually their movie contains.
Up to now for me the only 100cr worthy films which passed that coveted figure were 3 idiots and Barfi! .. Most of other films were just cheap masala entertainers which climbed the ladder due to a superstar figure… (Ghajini, Agneepath, JTHJ were not cheap as others though. But don’t think deserving 100cr). I’m really glad that a crap film like Himmatwala was rejected by people.
And as once Karan Johar said, when Khan’s era wud b over in a 4-5 years time, there wont b actors to touch that Mega Stardom they have created. (There wil b superstars for sure..like Hrithik, Ranbir.. And Im glad that they are very good actors as well).. But the weight of the star power will reduce in a film. The story wil b a more valuable point than the star in the movie. It’s a good sign.
I’m not from India. Therefore, I hav a more exposure to the world cinema. From the stars in Bollywood at the moment how many are actually actors?? We should think abt that.. From current stars, SRK, Hrithik, Ranbir, Aamir have proved themselves as actors..Other than that there are alot of actors who are actually have not gained the stardom like Irfaan Khan, Nawazzuddin…etc.
@Meghani, well said……..I too want this star system to be vanished & only good movie should work at the boxoffice & actors like Irrfan should get his due.BTW Gajhni & Agneepath were far better movie than JTJH. Agree these weren’t classic but not that bad either and all action movies are not garbage.
100 cr. is not a joke agree but you being a trade analyst is a big joke.Even a 10 year old kid can predict better than you.Race 2 didn’t collect 100 cr & SOS too didn’t.Nobody expected 125 cr from Race 2 & 100 cr. from S26.But yeah S26 could have performed a bit better at the boxoffice but only if Akshay starts doing less movies in a year.BTW nobody is expecting 50 cr. opening for K3 apart from you , 25 cr. would be a more realistic possibility as It is releasing on diwali.
@sachin11, mental will not cross 200 crores !! how are you even expecting that ?? the only filsm that are expected to do 200 crores this year are krrish 3 and dhoom 3, they are the most awaited films from many years , a hastily made mental can’t come to that level, no offence !!!! you said salman’s name coz he is your fav. salman is no doubt the current fav at box office but in the future , he has to fight alot and bring in good and novel movies to compete with other a-list actors !!! he competition has become fierce now.
@romance express, go and get your treatment at hospital, you are too sick after watching bakwaas films
@meghani, let me tell you leaving khans , hrithik roshan and akshay kumar are too huge superstars !!! hrithik roshan has broken the box office records many times, he has got many awards which proves that he is an actor and superstar both !!! hrithik has also 3 years , 2000,2003,2006 as his top grossing years !!! and many more to come in the future, hrithik is now doing fully commercial yet menaingful and new type of films KRRISH 3,BANG BANG,SHUDDHI,TIGMANSHU’s NEXT and most probably PAANI, with these films , honsetly speaking he has the most lethal and strongest line up.
@meghani and some1, and yeah i do agree with you both that this star system should baolish as it hampers good movies and honest work, even small star like nawazuddin,manoj bajpai,irrfan etc should get the chance to shine
@romance express, i can understand you point but the thing is you are always wrong, so why don’t you peacefully shut your mouth and sit ?
yes zindagi na milegi dobara was that one film whcih desreved 100 crore, it was very close too but due to clash with harry potter and singham, the collections affected , even the promotions weren’t at large scale, the movie was also targeted at class audience primarily, the screen count was also less, so with all these limitations , the movie still crossed 90 crores which is an achievement in sorts, but hte movie won all major awards that year which proves that how well made movie that was .
so 100 crore can measure a commercial factor of a movie but they can’t always measure the worth of a movie. films like paan singh tomar,kai po che,omg,english vinglish,gangs of wasseypur etc coudln’t do 100 crore but we will always remember them.
For Salman, it is nos of days for others it is nos. of weeks.
I think
3 idiots,Ghajni,Don2,JTHJ,Agneepath are deserving 100 cr. Films
Hrithik and Srk are only actors who does quality films and give 100 cr.
Where others depends on South Remakes
rowdy rathore sucks….songs like chinta ta in bollywood r ridculus…really undeserving film in 100 crore club rowdy rathore….
indicine as per your statement last time you mentioned that race 2 was not a 100 crore then why you put race 2 in 100 crore now?
Special Chabbis was an excellent movie…..But it was never expected to garner 100 Cr domestically.But still it did very well as it collected around 70Cr domestically.
BTW dont wrry Special Chabbis 2 wil be an easy entry to 100Cr club not because it will be cashing on its predesser but because it is directed by Neeraj Pandey.
SOS,JTHJ,SINGHAM,RA.1 were undeserving movies to gross 100 Cr…..Instead Kahaani,Omg,Vicky Donor,Special 26,Kai Po Che were the movies that should have grossed that much.
But unfortunately most of the Indians dun Like MasterPieces…..And it shows…….Waiting for the day when people dont consider these Khan’s the world of bollywood and start appreciating the movies that deserved to be loved…..The day when no star is actually a Superstar and deserved people get deserving roles…..!!
Yes 100 crore is not a joke. It was proven last year itself when Aamir-Rani-Kareena’s Talaash stopped around 90 crore or so. Though people said it would cross 100 easily just because it has Aamir in it.
On other hand a film like Barfi which had no older superstars and no hype went past 100 crore easily despite serious subject and disabled lead characters.
Here SRK’s achievement becomes apparent as he managed to take rejected and criticised films like Ra One and JTHJ to 100 crore and beyond. That is his enduring star power.
And those who think only masala makes Salman should look at failures of Khiladi 786 and Himmatwala. Salman’s cult is something else.
Salman and SRK were the first Khans to give ATBBs. They are real superstars and first choice of paying public in India. #Fact
All others are only playing catch upon their new entry in box office games few years ago.
yeah even much hyped Talash and Khiladi786 couldnt even cross 90 cr..so yeah 100cr threshold is much respectable
I would not see 100 crore as a core element of success in bollywood but there is something i have noticed about bollywood and humans in general, persons taunting 100 crore netters eg shahid kapoor , priyanka chopra, sonu sood, irrfan khan, anil kapoor, naseeruddin shah (what is common to them), wanna guess it is like this a dishonest man mocks honesty, a poor man mocks wealth, an immoral man mocks morals, a charmless man mocks charm so on and so forth. i think everybody should do his own thing with openess, sincerity and determination. for instance as a worker not every colleague or client thinks or speaks highly of me but the consoling truth is when i do a good job i get self satisfaction that is greater than praise or money. If americans had a poor and corrupt if not disorganised society like india may be 25 crore would have been a benchmark today instead of talking bad about mediocre scripts in 100 crore netters we should think about a renewal in socicultural and socioeconomic practices that would improve filmmaking in india, the reason why hundred crore is celebrated is the fact that india is a country known for star mania or worship and funny enough these stars cannot be assessed by many locals struggling with daily needs which further intensifies the desire to be like this stars, just rying to figure out something the US has a population of 320 million humans and one film may sell over 6o million tickets a ratio of 19% and India has a population of 1.3 billion humans and a film may just 48 million tickets a ratio 3.7% you can see from these that all things being equal Bollywood should be talking about an 800 crore club.
A contributor from Nigeria.