The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic affected the theatre business just as much as other industries. And now, with several films taking the OTT route, things have not been easy for theatre owners, especially in the last two years.
Yet, the Telugu film industry has performed better than others. Over the past two years, the box office revenue in the country from Telugu films have gone up from 27 per cent to 29 per cent. Tamil cinema, on the other hand, has a 17 per cent share. The Hindi movie industry or Bollywood, however, took a hit with box office returns falling from 44 per cent to 27 per cent in 2020-21. In this context, here are some of the biggest grosser in India in the year 2020-21.
1) Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior: This Om Raut directorial, based on the famous Maratha general Tanhaji who was a subedar under Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, had Ajay Devgn play the lead. It grossed Rs 370 crores at the box office and broke records as the highest-grossing Indian film of 2020-21 worldwide.
2) Pushpa: The Rise: With Allu Arjun in the lead, this Sukumar directorial was well received by the audience and completed a 50-day theatrical run. Allu Arjun’s makeover for the role of Pushpa Raj in this movie impressed everyone. Grossing Rs 365 crores, it has become the highest grosser of 2021.
3) Spiderman: No Way Home: The highly anticipated next entry in the universally loved MCU grossed Rs 249 crores at the Indian box office.
4) Sooryanvashi: Rohit Shetty’s first collaboration with Akshay Kumar, Sooryavanshi was the highest-grossing Hindi film of 2021 with Rs 227 crore gross receipts.
5) Ala Vaikunthapuram: Directed by Trivikram and starring Allu Arjun as the hero, the film became the highest-grossing Telugu film of 2020. The film has grossed over Rs. 204 crore.
6) Master: This Thalapathy Vijay starrer, directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, did good business in the Telugu market, despite being a Tamil film. It grossed Rs 197 crore.
7) Durbar: Despite receiving unflattering reviews, the Rajinikanth-starrer Durbar managed to gross Rs. 182 crore, because of the Rajini-mania. The movie was directed by AR Murgadoss.
8) Sarileru Nikevvaru: The movie Sarileru Nikevvaru, starring Mahesh Babu, was directed by Anil Ravipudi. The film grossed Rs 154 crore at the box office.
9) Akhanda: This movie was directed by Boyapati Sreenu with Nandamuri Balakrishna as the hero. Released on December 2 last year, the film was a box office success. Grossing over Rs 151 crores, it is also the highest-grossing film of Balayya’s career.
10)Vakeel Saab : Pawan Kalyan returned after a sabbatical of three years in this Venu Sriram directorial. The movie was released when the second wave of the coronavirus was at its peak and still managed to gross Rs 131 crores.
11) 83: This Kabir Khan directorial had Ranveer Singh portray cricketing legend Kapil Dev on screen. Despite grossing Rs 126 crores at the box office, it was declared a disaster due to its high budget.
