Which Production House Will Emerge Winner in 2018 In Terms Of Box Office & Content?

The year 2017 has brought in front what was being ignored for a long time by the mainstream audiences but now has finally found its way to the top of the food chain, the content. Earlier, it was only about a few films that would release and get critical acclaim and some warm applause from the film festivals and that would be it for them. These content-oriented films hardly had any shelf life in the theatres. 

The audiences always chose the big budgeted films featuring big stars that would keep them entertained for about 3 hours in favor the more intimate and character oriented narratives these content films would provide. While films provide an escapism to the cinematic world, the current times and various other mediums have made the audiences aware of the plethora of contents in different domains like TV, web series and streaming apps.

The risks that the producers and studios took with small budgeted films paid off really well and the top execs of these production houses and studios have realized the next cash cow- content. It is rare that we see films getting commercial as well as a critical reception in India and the small budgeted films are like a breath of fresh air amidst the highly commercialized environment in Bollywood. 

Shubh Mangal Savdhan, Bareilly Ki Barfi, Newton, Lipstick Under My Burkha and Toilet: Ek Prem Katha not only performed well commercially but also received widespread critical acclaim by tackling serious and contentious issues like open-defecation, female sexuality, and erectile dysfunction etc. What's even more heartening to see is that big Bollywood names are not shying away from taking on insecure, meek and weak characters who later find a purpose and try to redeem themselves. If it were the Bollywood of the 80s, the 90s or the 00s, these films would lever leave their script pages.

So, it is obvious that the leading production houses like Yash Raj and Dharma Productions gearing up to face the music at the box office as some new production houses are coming up and giving a neck to neck competition by scooping major stars featuring in content-driven films. KriArj Entertainment started its journey in Bollywood with Akshay Kumar starrer Rustom that earned him a national Award and grossed over a 100 Crores at the box office. The success and profit margin of these films is helping more films like being produced by production companies and big producers.

Upcoming KriArj Films: Their upcoming releases in 2018 include a variety of films like, Anushka Sharma starrer mysterious love story Pari, John Abraham-Diana Penty starrer Parmanu, Aishwarya Rai, Anil Kapoor & Rajkummar Rao starrer Fanney Khan, Vishal Bhardwaj's untitled film with Irrfan Khan & Deepika Padukone, Sushant Singh Rajput's Kedarnath, Shahid Kapoor starrer Batti Gul Meter Chalu and Akshay Kumar starrer Padman. The films range from different domains and it's interesting to see so many starts turning up to do content-driven cinema.

Upcoming Dharma Films: The confirmed releases of Dharma in 2018 are Sushant Singh Rajput's Drive, Prabhas starrer Saaho which is a bilingual and Alia Bhatt starrer Raazi that is being directed by Meghna Gulzar. Its an interesting roster with 2 out and out entertainers and one character driven film.

Upcoming Yash Raj Films: Their upcoming releases for 2018 include the Varun Dhawan-Anushka Sharma starrer Sui Dhaaga, Rani Mukerji starrer Hichki, Aamir Khan starrer Thugs of Hindostan and Arjun Kapur's Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar. The studio that has given small budget gems like Dum Laga Ke Haisha and Mere Dad Ki Maruti will be trying its luck to mainstream the content.