India Box Office Grows 10 Percent in 2013

Indian domestic theatrical gross revenues hit $1.54 billion (93.4 billion rupees) in 2013, growing 10 percent over 2012’s figure of $1.4 billion (85.1 billion rupees).

The figures were included in an annual industry report by consultants KPMG India and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, which was unveiled at the FICCI-FRAMES conference in Mumbai on Wednesday.

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The report estimates the Indian film industry’s total size at $2 billion (125.3 billion rupees), projected to reach $3.6 billion (219.8 billion rupees) by 2018. Domestic theatrical revenues — which contribute 75 percent of total industry revenues — are projected to hit $2.67 billion (160.2 billion rupees) by 2018, registering a compound annual growth rate of 11.4 percent from 2013.

While the film business is on a growth curve, last year’s increase is slightly lower than 2012’s, when gross domestic theatrical revenue grew by 12 percent, reaching $1.4 billion (85.1 billion rupees) over 2011’s $1.14 billion (68.8 billion rupees).

Major blockbusters that propelled the box office with a billion rupee-plus run included Disney-UTV’s Chennai Express and Yash Raj Films’ record-breaking Dhoom: 3, among other titles.

Hollywood and foreign films continued to command a minority share of the Indian market, estimated at less than 10 percent. The top three grossing Hollywood films in India for 2013 were: Iron Man 3 at $11.1 million (667 million rupees); Fast & Furious 6 at $9.5 million (573 million rupees) and Superman: Man of Steel at $6 million (370 million rupees).

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Looking ahead, the report states that while multiplexes have been growing — in 2013 about 150-200 new screens were added — India still remains a heavily under-screened country. There are an estimated 9,000 screens of which 25 percent are multiplex screens. India has a low screen density of eight screens per million people in comparison with 117 screens per million in the U.S.

“India has the potential to significantly increase the number of existing multiplex screens in the country over the next decade without causing an oversupply,” states the report.

The shift to digital screens has also been strong with about 95 percent of all screens digitized. But the report also warns that “going forward, multiplex growth is expected to slow down, in line with the overall delays and future expectations for the retail sector and commercial real estate development.”

But the industry will continue to be on the upswing — projected to grow by almost 12 percent to hit $3.6 billion (219.8 billion rupees) by 2018 — thanks to “rapid urbanization, penetration of multiplex in smaller cities, increasing sophistication in production and marketing of films and audience receptivity to differentiated content,” the report says.