Siddharth Roy Kapur on Bollywood box office trends: Signs of a winner-take-all
Siddharth Roy Kapur expressed concern over the “winner-takes-all” trend of Bollywood, noting that top hits now dominate the total collections. She highlighted how this change has made it increasingly difficult to lead women-led projects.
Last year’s Bollywood box office report has given a clear indication: when a film does well, it breaks all records, and when it fails, it instantly disappears. In a recent conversation, filmmaker Siddharth Roy Kapur shed more light on this, saying that the industry is not healthy and is showing signs of a ‘winner-take-all’ model.
In a roundtable discussion on O Womania Report, the founder and managing director of Roy Films mentioned that 40 percent of last year’s collections came from the top three films – shade, soldier And stalwart. If the top 10 films are taken into account, their contribution would be around 80-90 per cent. He said, “It’s not a healthy industry; it’s a sign of a win-win industry. It’s just a fact, and we have to accept it.”
The filmmaker said that because of this, everyone is now “in a protective state”. He said the industry has been paralyzed because greenlighting a theatrical film – if it doesn’t have the traditional allure of something that might work – has become very difficult. Kapoor said, “Is it a spectacle? Does it have a big male superstar? Does it have enough potential to draw people to theatres? That’s the thinking.”
She further explained that earlier there were many films directed by women, such as Queen, Tanu Weds Manu, The Dirty Picture, Kahaani And English Vinglish. At that time, even the 20th highest grossing film would earn Rs 50-60 crore. However, the 20th highest grossing film today earns less than Rs 20 crore.
“Because of this polarized winner-and-loser scenario, everyone has gone into circles, and unfortunately, women-oriented films have had to bear the brunt of it, because the easiest thing to say is, ‘This isn’t going to work anymore.’ But the good thing is that this industry is completely based on profitability. When a film like The Girlfriend is released, it gives girls a lot of confidence. We need similar thinking in Hindi cinema too,” the producer stressed.
Kapoor also talked about post-Covid theatrical economics and the gender imbalance in big screen film production. She shared that in the streaming space today, we see women in leadership positions, women directing films and series, and fairly balanced casts and crews.
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“There has been a lot of change in the theatrical space since Covid, with very few films being made and the ones that are being made are hyper masculine and mass-driven. Indian cinema audiences have historically been predominantly male, which has led to a tendency towards hero-driven storytelling, which is why a big dramatic film directed by a woman still seems rare,” he highlights.
