I remember back in my college days, about 20 years ago, there used to be a huge box office obsession about whether a movie would become a big hit or not. I used to wonder: will it cross the 100 crore mark? (At that time, the crazy results of movies like Dhurandhar or Dangal were not a thing yet).
I will not deny that there were times when I felt very interested in that talk. I wanted some of my favorite films to do well at the box office. I also felt bad when a film I loved flopped.
I Don’t Have Box Office Obsession
But with time, I have realized: what is really the point of this? Why should a movie’s success or failure affect me? If my money is not involved in the making of the movie (not counting the money I spend on tickets or popcorn), why do I even care about the box office result?
Fans are always fighting online. They brag that their favorite star gives 100 crore or 200 crore hit movies. They argue about which film will join the 200 crore club or shatter previous records. But tell me honestly, are these stars going to come to your house and give you a gift if their movie becomes a success? Will these stars share their millions with you if the movie is a hit? No. They will just take their paycheck and move on to their next big project, while fans keep arguing for free.
Looking Back At My Past Tracking
You really have to be a huge fan of a star to care this much. Or, you must have a belief system that these things matter, just like I once did.
Here is a screenshot of a list of 36 films and their box office collections that I tracked for a blog post back in 2015. But maybe I matured, or my thinking has just totally changed over the years.
It Matters To The Stars
I do not even read box office articles these days which I know the people who have box office obsession regularly do. I totally get that for an actor, producer, or director, box office success means everything. Without money, how would they invest in a new project? How would a star get better offers if their movies are not doing well?
So, as much as I want to say it does not matter, for the people making the movie, it is actually the first thing that matters. It might matter to them even more than the audience reviews.
My Simple Rule For Watching Movies
In the end, my rule is very simple. I watch a film I am interested in, and then I move on to the next one. I have absolutely nothing to do with how it performs in box office numbers. A movie’s quality can never be measured by its box office results. There will always be movies you love that flop at the box office, and there will be movies you find boring that become huge hits.
If you want to know more about why I don’t worship movie stars, read my other post here: The Problem with Celebrity Worship
