Pathaan

Source: Yashraj Films

‘Pathaan’

Indian films have outperformed independent Australian films by a third at the Australian box office since 2021, according to an analysis of the country’s independent film market by exhibition consultant Nick Hayes.

In total, 1,013 Indian films released since 2021 have grossed US$101.7m (A$155.4m) compared to 341 Australian titles, which have grossed  US$69.2m (A$105.7m), according to figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and Numero

Hayes, who has previously worked for Australian distributors Icon and Umbrella, believes Australia is the first major English-language market in which local films are being outperformed by foreign-language films from another nation.

The top Indian performing films in Australia over the period are led by 2022’s Pathaan, which took US$3.4m (A$5.1m), followed by 2022’s RRR US$3.2m (A$4.9m) and 2023’s Jawan US$3.3m (A$4.8m). 

Further films include Leo, Gadar 2, KGF 2, Animal Mind, Kalki 2898AD, Vikram and Pushpa: The Rise.

The 10 highest-grossing Indian titles grossed a combined US$25.7m (A$39m), representing 69% of the  Indian-language box office in Australia. Consistent supply from distributors such as Mind Blowing Films, Southern Star, and Forum Films has helped to drive the growth of Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu language movies from India.

According to Hayes’ analysis, the Australian independent market is led by the US, with 432 independent films grossing $186.9m (A$285.5) over five years. US and Indian independent films account for 17.5 million and 9.2 million admissions, respectively, over five years. 

Hayes’ figures do not include films released by US distribution companies operating in Australia: Disney, Paramount, Sony and Universal, which also distributes Warner Bros output. A small number of independent acquisitions are therefore not included in the figures, nor US studio-backed Australian-made films such as Elvis and Furiosa.

Hayes said the surge in earnings for Indian films is due largely to big exhibition chains targeting Indian diaspora audiences over many years with a consistent supply of titles, much of it through Australia’s leading distributor of Indian films, Mind Blowing Films.

“The big underserved foreign-language markets [for Indian films] are where we have large diasporas already in the country,” says Hayes. “Predominantly, that’s the Philippines and Vietnam, followed by Indonesia and Nepal.”

“More languages on screen is not cultural tokenism,” added Hayes. “It’s a growth strategy.” 

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