Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic Unlock the Editor\u2019s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.India\u2019s entertainment industry is banking on a solid line-up of local and Hollywood releases to drag it out of a blockbuster \u201cfamine\u201d and get people back into cinemas after a series of flops. Indian box office takings have fallen 7 per cent to Rs89.5bn ($1bn) from January to October, compared with the same period in 2023, according to Ormax Media. But the Mumbai-based consultancy expects the strong performance from sequels and franchises, including Hindi-language horror-comedy Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 and southern Indian macho thriller Pushpa 2: The Rule, to help reverse 2024\u2019s relatively muted performance. Ajay Bijli, the head of India\u2019s largest multiplex operator PVR Inox, said the next financial year starting in April would see a \u201cfull slate\u201d of domestic and international offerings, including the latest Mission Impossible and Marvel movies.But Mumbai-centred Bollywood has been wrestling with a string of recent Hindi-language flops as viewers kept away from movie theatres following the pandemic.Audiences have gravitated to high-testosterone action flicks from the country\u2019s south, particularly those produced by the Telugu-language industry known as Tollywood.Bijli said that the industry\u2019s issues were to do with the \u201cconsistency of content connecting with the audiences\u201d. Studios and cinemas struggled with either \u201cfeast or famine\u201d.\u201cThe volatility, the peaks and troughs, have become very, very pronounced post Covid,\u201d Bijli said. \u201cContent makers are grappling with what the consumer wants.\u201dIn response to changing preferences, Bollywood has pushed out extravagant features that mirror some of the successful south Indian productions. Jawan, the highest grossing film of 2023 starring the country\u2019s biggest actor Shah Rukh Khan, was directed by south India\u2019s Arun Kumar, known professionally as Atlee. This year, Jio Studios \u2014 the Indian film house owned by Asia\u2019s wealthiest person Mukesh Ambani \u2014 has had a run of hits, including Singham Again, the latest in a cop action series that heavily references the Ramayana, a Hindu epic. Jio\u2019s horror comedy Stree 2 had been one of the highest grossing Indian films of 2024.Following a series of titles for digital-only release, more Indian studios are focusing on theatrical releases. \u201cFor at least a couple of years, most of these [streaming] platforms were saddled with dead snakes around their neck and massively overpaid for content,\u201d said Jyoti Deshpande, Jio Studios chief and president of the media and content division at Ambani\u2019s conglomerate Reliance Industries. \u201cI think that correction has happened,\u201d she added. \u201cOne must produce carefully, produce for theatrical [release] unless commissioned in advance by some platform.\u201dIndia\u2019s box office revenue is now expected to expand at a 14 per cent compound annual growth rate to Rs237bn by 2028, according to a PwC report published this month.Jio Studios is hoping to expand globally and is targeting deals with Hollywood. Deshpande said talks are on with US studios to collaborate more widely \u201con various tracks\u201d, including co-production, distribution and superstar crossovers \u2014 whether big US names in Indian productions, or vice versa.\u201cOur talent in their films, their talent in our films\u2009.\u2009.\u2009.\u2009I think that\u2019s the next phase,\u201d Deshpande said about collaboration between Bollywood and Hollywood. \u201cWe haven\u2019t scratched the tip of the iceberg.\u201d So far only a few Indian megastars, such as Alia Bhatt, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Deepika Padukone, have acted in big-budget US features. Chopra Jonas has appeared in Hollywood flicks such as 2021\u2019s The Matrix Resurrections and the 2017 cinematic remake of Baywatch. Bhatt made her Hollywood debut in the 2023 spy thriller Heart of Stone, while Padukone starred in the 2017 Vin Diesel vehicle xXx: The Return Of Xander Cage.Deshpande predicted that India\u2019s fragmented entertainment industry would enter a period of consolidation. In October, Indian vaccine billionaire Adar Poonawalla marked his first foray into the film business. He spent $199mn to buy a 50 per cent stake in Dharma Productions, the studio headed by Karan Johar, the powerful Bollywood director behind blockbusters including romantic comedy Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and family melodrama Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham.\u201cIt\u2019s going to be survival of the fittest,\u201d Deshpande said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a big boys\u2019 game.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic Unlock the Editor\u2019s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.India\u2019s entertainment industry is banking on a solid line-up of local and Hollywood releases to drag it out of a blockbuster \u201cfamine\u201d and get people back<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":155401,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-155400","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-culture"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155400","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=155400"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155400\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":155402,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155400\/revisions\/155402"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/155401"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=155400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=155400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=155400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}