How Hollywood alienated a big chunk of Indian moviegoers

However, theatre owners are pushing back against this high-pricing strategy, warning that it is discouraging footfalls, particularly in small towns, contributing to one of Hollywood's weakest box-office performances in the country in nearly a decade.

The average Hollywood ticket price of ₹245 towered over the all-India average of ₹134 and handily beat local languages like Hindi ( ₹203), the report said.

Theatre owners emphasise that despite dubbing efforts, Hollywood's insistence on high ticket prices in India is alienating a significant portion of the movie-going population at a time when fewer films are achieving commercial success.

With footfalls at 38 million and a 17% decline in box office, 2024 marked one of Hollywood’s weakest years in India in the last decade, according to media consulting firm Ormax. This was the first time since 2015 that the industry failed to surpass the ₹1,000-crore mark in annual box office collection, excluding the pandemic-affected years of 2020 and 2021.

Also read | Smalltown content creators can now play in the big leagues. All they need is AI.

“The high price floor set for Hollywood films is a struggle for smaller towns and markets like ours that are very price-sensitive. You’re basically outpricing a large section of the population," Bihar-based exhibitor Vishek Chauhan said. 

In such cases, films tend to be extremely front-loaded, making most of their revenue over the first weekend and are unable to expand beyond the core fan base, Chauhan added. The latest Marvel film, Captain America: Brave New World, for instance, made ₹9.25 crore out of the total ₹18.45 crore box office earnings over the first weekend.

In 2024, Deadpool & Wolverine, too, had clocked in ₹64.55 crore over the opening weekend alone, before going on to make ₹128.40 crore in total.

Clear on targets

Trade experts like Chauhan said Hollywood studios are quite clear about targeting only a specific, upmarket audience for their films, and therefore stick to high-pricing strategy. Besides, they tend to think of ticket rates in India in dollar equivalents, which may not seem unreasonable to them. “At a time that big franchise films are anyway not coming and Hollywood content no longer working like it used to, higher prices only compound and aggravate the problem," Chauhan said.

Also read | A.R. Rahman copyright case revives a frequent clash

Pranav Garg, managing director at Maya Palace, a two-screen cinema in Muzaffarnagar, said there are other reasons for the prices of Hollywood films remaining higher than other languages. In case of American movies, VPF (virtual print fee), which is a cost usually borne by producers to show their films using digital projectors and technology supplied by digital service providers (DSPs) such as UFO Moviez and Qube Cinemas, is paid for by theatres. Plus, there is the expense for equipment such as 3D glasses, common for Hollywood movies.

Making up with hikes

Cinemas try and make up for these extra charges by hiking ticket rates.

“Also, it is uncommon for Hollywood films to get pirated and leaked like Indian titles do, so there is more incentive to come to theatres. That said, with so many films not working lately, exhibitors are taking off their DCI projectors," Garg said.

As a rule, American studios only take their films to DCI (digital cinema initiative)-compliant theatres in India. DCI is a joint venture of several film studios, including Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, 20th Century Fox, Universal Studios, Walt Disney Co., and Warner Bros, to set up a common set of requirements that ensure a high and uniform standard of digital cinema viewing.

Also read | Amazon Prime Video to start ads from 17 June; will offer paid ad-free options

“The average Hollywood film generally appeals to a higher socio-economic market and often makes it to more premium properties because the studios know who they are catering to. But given that Hollywood is now in the same boat as other languages, with no real blockbusters, especially over the last 18 months, the pricing may need to be kept in mind," Rahul Puri, managing director, Mukta Arts and Mukta A2 Cinemas, said.