The report said that in 2025, Hindi film ticket sales grew by 11.3% from 2024 to 256 million. The growth bucked the general downtrend, as the all-India figure for footfalls across all language films declined by 5.7% to 832 million.
“Today, only content works in theatres. Gone are the days footfalls would come to theatres merely on the strength of stardom of a star,” said Bhuvnesh Mendiratta, managing director at Miraj Cinemas. “The successes of Hindi films across diverse genres from historical (Chhaava), romance (Saiyaara), animation (Mahavatar Narsimha) and Spy (Dhurandhar) in 2025 prove this trend.”
This optimism is evident in the performance of Hindi films when compared to the all-India box office collection.
Last year, the box office (gross) of Hindi films grew by 18% from 2024 to Rs 5,504 crore. In the same period, the all-India box office (gross) grew by 13.2% to Rs 13,395 crore.
Although this growth in footfalls weakens the argument that people are averse to going to theatres, producers had a nuanced argument. Community experience in theatres may not be passe but the frequency of going to theatres for films has declined.
“Footfalls in theatres for Hindi films have shown visible improvement in 2025 compared to 2024. This growth has come despite a continued rise in average ticket price (ATP),” said Suniel Wadhwa, co-founder and director of Karmic Films. “It indicates that audiences are selectively returning to theatres for Hindi films which provide them genuine theatrical experiences.”After the pandemic, the recovery in the industry’s business has been led more by increase in the average ticket price than footfall growth. The ATP of Hindi films grew by 6% to Rs 215 in 2025 from Rs 203 in 2024. In comparison, the all-India ATP grew by 20.1% to Rs 161 in 2025 from Rs 134 in 2024. A large part of the growth in all-India ATP was contributed by the ATP of southern films, which grew by 21.8% to Rs 123 in 2025 from Rs 101 in 2024.
Producers shared that theatres and entertainment avenues outside theatres will not be a threat to each other’s existence.
“I think there will be a lot of movies which audiences will watch in theatres. And there will be a lot of movies because of short windows, audiences will watch in their home theatres,” said Naveen Chandra, founder, 91 Film Studios, a studio that produces and distributes regional films. “Both forms of entertainment experience will co-exist.”
Lastly, producers also shared that audiences are the biggest promoters and campaigners of a well-made film.
“Today, audiences have become the biggest promoters and campaigners of a well-made film through strong word-of-mouth communications. No amount of out-of-the-box film marketing helps a bad film,” said producer Ameya Naik. “This is reflected in the successes of Hindi films such as Saiyaara and Mahavatar Narsimha in 2025.”
