Revenue of films in India 2024, by source

Domestic theatricals were the chief source of revenue for the Indian film industry, contributing 114 billion Indian rupees in 2024. Conversely, in-cinema advertising accounted for the smallest revenue share. Owing to a lack of superstar-studded blockbusters and the poor box office performance of big-budget films, revenue from domestic theatricals, digital, and broadcast rights saw a decline that year.

The Indian film industry’s year of “dump months”

The year 2020 was rife with economic setbacks across industries owing to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The film industry was one of many sectors expected to perform poorly as lockdown measures restricted the operations of cinemas leading to domestic film revenue estimations suggesting a steep decline in 2021. In terms of box office ratings too, 2020 was a dry year with ‘Tanhaji - The Unsung Warrior’ being the highest grossing production and the only blockbuster, while most other films released in that year were deemed flops.

 Beneficiaries of the pandemic

The digital and OTT video division, however, appeared to be the most resilient segment of the Indian film industry. Forecasts for both digital rights and OTT video revenues predicted an upward trend from 2021 onwards as engagement with OTT movies and other video genres shot up since the pandemic and during the subsequent lockdown between March and June 2020.