Trade experts say filmmakers are launching low-budget movies as new star kids, hoping to deliver on novel factors and family legacy, when small-scale projects generally struggled at the box office and were left alone by streaming platforms.
Movie loveyapa Aamir Khan’s son Junaid Khan and the daughters of the late Sridevi, Khushi Kapoor and Khushi Kapoor and Azad Raveena Tandon’s daughter, Rasha Thadani, and Aaman Devgn’s nephew, may not be a box office blow or a streaming breakthrough, but it makes the business meaningful due to the marketing buzz around it. These movies also keep production machinery running at low cost and manageable risks.
Trade experts also stressed that it is important to promote small and medium-sized films, as the gap between large and small films is becoming a permanent feature of Indian box office in the post-pandemic era.
According to media consulting firm Ormax ₹1.183.3 billion box office in 2024, 41% came from the top ten movies of the year. According to Ormax’s report, box office trends over the past three years suggest that large movies will continue to get bigger, while smaller movies across languages will face increasing challenges to attract dramatic audiences.
“The box office witnessed the challenging moments, and few movies did well. But not only did “Star Kids” bring hype and context that translated into marketing buzz, but filmmakers also wanted to launch projects that rely less on celebrities and their high pay,” said Girish Johar, a filmmaker and trade and exhibition expert.
Big Budget Bruce Pushing Smaller Movies
Over the past few months, Bollywood Studios has stopped a bunch of new projects in amidst steep star fees and unpredictable box offices, as the industry struggles to find a way forward in multiple big-budget films.
According to industry executives, the casting fee has increased by 20% after the pandemic, despite sparse theaters. Many celebrities are not keen on the income sharing model proposed by film producers. At the same time, few movies are favored by viewers on cinemas or streaming platforms, and the bets of big stars are not always the case.
Among other examples, the action movie “The Bull” starring Salman Khan stagnates indefinitely, while Ranveer Singh quits a movie called ” rakshasdirected by Prashant Varma in Telugu Hanuman. Tiger Shroff’s sequel Ganapas And another action movie from him, Rambono progress was made. In this case, if economics are right, trade experts say that helping small films makes sense.
“These are soft, low-risk launches. Plus, even if a fire occurs every day, everyone in the business has to seize some opportunity. Ultimately, the product has to be packaged correctly because the audience gets very smart and the rejection may be just a proposal,” said filmmaker Yusuf Shaikh.
loveyapaToday, for example, is a remake of the successful Tamil movie love and support with teams like hits Ghajini. Similarly, given the existence of Ajay Devgn, Azaad Kedarnath and Kai Po Che. Trade experts say this may have facilitated their sales to distributors and streaming platforms.
It’s certain that when Star Kids debuted Dadak and Kedarnath Trade experts say that due to changes in budgets, tight budgets, and viewers have curiosity around these new faces because of their pedigree and existing curiosity on social media, but viewers are looking for value for money.
“Their debut has a certain brand value and it makes more sense to invest money in them than other new immigrants. But they can no longer afford to be ordinary performers because mediocrity is no longer tolerated in the audience,” said independent exhibitor Vishek Chauhan.
