Ranbir Kapoor-starrer ‘Animal’ to now release on 1 December

Ranbir Kapoor-starrer Animal co-produced by T-Series and directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga, has been moved from its original release date in August to 1 December, 2023. The film also stars Rashmika Mandanna.

Bollywood continues to languish despite cinemas operating at full capacity for more than a year now after the lifting of pandemic-induced curbs with film business in the Hindi-speaking market nearly 40% less than the pre-covid levels.

The first half of 2023, which clocked in about ₹1,900 crore in the Hindi belt, according to trade experts, has seen only one notable Bollywood hit in Pathaan besides occasional hits like The Kerala Story, Zara Hatke Zara Bachke and dubbed versions of regional hits like Ponniyin Selvan-II. Moreover, Hindi film releases have remained mostly inconsistent during the period with several weeks seeing no new movies.

Further, trade experts say the big miss stems from the underperformance of mid-budget titles since the genre has completely moved to OTT. However, there is more hope from the second half where Shah Rukh Khan’s Jawan will compete with Animal, Prabhas’ Salaar and Salman Khan’s Tiger 3, among others. The second half of the year is usually more lucrative with several festivals and holiday weekends scheduled. “The first half of the year began on a positive note for the multiplex business, as it witnessed record-breaking revenues with the release of Pathaan in January. However, following this initial success, box office collections faced a slowdown. This dip in revenue was expected to some extent, as the market often experiences fluctuations in audience turnout and box office numbers after a highly anticipated release. This volatility is a common phenomenon in the cinema industry,” Devang Sampat, chief executive officer, Cinepolis India said in a recent interview. He said the multiplex business managed to partly revive its fortunes with the recent release of Fast X and The Kerala Story.