To consider a film a true blockbuster today, it has to make at least `200 crore. The earlier benchmark of `100 crore has become passé since the Shah Rukh Khan-Deepika Padukone starrer Chennai Express broke all records to become the first movie ever to make more than `200 crore within the first 10 days of its release.

Ranbir Kapoor’s Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and Salman Khan’s Ek Tha Tiger had missed entry to this haloed club by a whisker. Both films had managed to cross `180 crore. The man who beat the above movies is Rohit Shetty who, after giving three back-to-back `100-crore hits with Golmaal 3, Singham and Bol Bachchan, has now entered the `200-crore club with Chennai Express. The only other person giving Shetty company in this AAA-list celebrity league is director Rajkumar Hirani, whose 2009 film 3 Idiots, starring Aamir Khan and Kareena Kapoor, made `240 crore in India. While there have been other blockbusters after 3 Idiots, none could touch its figures till Chennai Express. Are these figures authentic? And how do these films make so much money?

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh feels it’s unfair to think that a filmmaker is exaggerating figures. He says, “Why would the figures be fudged? We have a proper system to check box office figures and you can’t fool industry people because you will be exposed. There is no mind-boggling theory behind these numbers. It all boils down to what works with the audiences.”
And the movies that are working at the box office are entertainment or masala flicks. Karan Johar too feels there is no reason to doubt these numbers. “Our films now have international standards and we are not lacking in other departments either, be it technology or any other department; so it’s no surprise that films are breaking records. This is the best phase of the industry. Appreciation matters and so do the numbers.”
In fact, director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, whose recent film Bhaag Milkha Bhaag made `90 crore in three weeks, feels there is no need to gasp at a film making `200 crore because, “our films have worldwide appeal and should target `500 crore”.
And while it is good to dream big, Mehra warns directors against compromising on quality and content in their mad rush to join the elite `100 and `200-crore clubs. “We are chasing these quick hit and quick returns formula but the films need to appeal to the audiences who are smart enough to know which films are really good,” he says.
Producer-director Arbaaz Khan, whose Dabangg and Dabangg 2 are members of the `100 crore club, is thrilled at how well audiences are accepting these films since big money is at stake for every movie made. The figures are an encouraging trend according to him, but like Mehra he too advises movie makers to not just obsess about entering these clubs. “Ultimately it is about making a good film,” he says.
Along with a good movie, ensure that you are making a profitable one. Tanuj Garg, CEO of Balaji Motion Pictures, says that while it is great to be a part of these clubs, a `100-crore or `200-crore club is not the true yardstick of success. “You need to know what the over-all profitability of a film is to gauge its success,” he says, adding, “Dirty Picture made `85 crore at the box office, but its profitability was much more than many of the `100-crore films.”
Thus, the right question to ask is what is the producer’s return on investment on a film? If the cost of making a film was say `80 crore, then reaching the `100-crore mark at the box office doesn’t mean much, says Tanuj. To make it to the `200-crore club one needs to ensure that the story and the script are appealing because that will get the audiences thronging to the theatres. As Puneet Malhotra, who is directing the upcoming Kareena Kapoor-Imran Khan starrer Gori Tere Pyar Mein says, “True box office success is achieved when the story and the script of the film are appealing and keeps the audiences glued to the cinemas.”
The secret to movie success is all about dragging people to the theatres. Vajir Singh, editor of Box Office explains, “It is possible to make big money like `200 crore because apart from ticket prices going up, there are more and more cinema halls coming up to accommodate audiences.”
Earlier movies would run for silver or golden jubilees, or say 100 days because people would have to wait to buy tickets due to the limited number of cinemas. With an increase in capacity, more people can now be accommodated. “For example if Amar Akbar Anthony released today, at least 1 crore people can watch it in one shot, and if the average ticket price is `20, then the movie would have made `20 crore on the first day itself,” says Vajir, adding, “Today the terminology has changed. Instead of Silver and Golden Jubilees it’s now all about the `100 and `200-crore clubs.”

With inputs from Natasha Coutinho