The year 2023 will be crucial for Bollywood and the Hindi film industry as a whole. Colossal event films are lined up for the year and almost all big stars are ready with their multiple releases minus Hrithik Roshan and Aamir Khan.
2022 was slightly better for the Hindi film industry after the setbacks it had seen in years 2020 and 2021 mainly because of Covid times. But again a lot of corrections are needed to happen as the audience’s choices and tastes have changed drastically now. With a plethora of entertainment materials at their fingertips with OTT platforms coming into the fore, it will take some getting for the revival of the theatrical business.
Prior to Covid times, Bollywood was boosting with business in excess of 300 crores in India alone and now it is struggling to even go beyond the 100 cr NBOC mark. Something big is definitely going wrong for them. To add salt to injury the Southern Film Industry has grown leaps and bounds in these times and films like RRR and KGF 2 have shattered all myths and done huge business in India alone. In addition, Hollywood films also have started posting huge numbers at the Indian box office with Avatar 2 even going past the 350 cr NBOC mark.
Yes, lots of correction needs to happen now. Yes, Bollywood needs to wake up from complacency and fight for survival. We think 2023 will definitely be the first big step in the right direction. There are few films that we think might even challenge all time records for Indian films if everything goes right about them. But this is also true that a few films that have massive expectations may also tank at the box office.
So, which are the 20 most awaited movies of the year. Let’s have a look into that.
20. Dream Girl 2
Starcast – Ayushmann Khurrana, Ananya Panday
Director – Raaj Shaandilyaa
Release Date – 23 June 2023
Box Office Prediction – 50-75 cr
19. Bawaal
Starcast – Varun Dhawan, Janhvi Kapoor
Director – Nitesh Tiwari
Release Date – 7 April 2023
Box Office Prediction – 50-100 cr
18. Gadar 2
Starcast – Sunny Deol
Director – Anil Sharma
Release Date – 11 August 2023
Box Office Prediction – 50-100 cr
17. Selfiee
Starcast – Akshay Kumar, Emraan Hashmi
Director – Raj Mehta
Release Date – 24 February 2023
Box Office Prediction – 50-100 cr
16. The Vaccine War
Starcast – Anupam Kher, Nana Patekar
Director – Vivek Agnihotri
Release Date – 15 August 2023
Box Office Prediction – 75-100 cr
15. Shehzada
Starcast – Karthik Aaryan, Kriti Sanon
Director – Rohit Dhawan
Release Date – 10 February 2023
Box Office Prediction – 75-125 cr
14. Adipurush (Hindi only)
Starcast – Prabhas, Saif Ali Khan, Kriti Sanon
Director – Om Raut
Release Date – 16 June 2023
Box Office Prediction – 75-125 cr
13. Maidaan
Starcast – Ajay Devgn
Director – Amit Sharma
Release Date – 12 May 2023
Box Office Prediction – 75-125 cr
12. Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani
Starcast – Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt
Director – Karan Johar
Release Date – 28 April 2023
Box Office Prediction – 100-125 cr
11. Satyaprem Ki Katha
Starcast – Karthik Aaryan, Kiara Advani
Director – Sameer Vidwans
Release Date – 29 June 2023
Box Office Prediction – 100-150 cr
To The Top 10 Now…..
10. Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar
A film by super hit director Luv Ranjan and starring Ranbir Kapoor is always a threat at the box office. If film content is on the positive side then it will be simply unstoppable at the box office.
Starcast – Ranbir Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor
Director – Luv Ranjan
Release Date – 8 March 2023
Box Office Prediction – 125-175 cr
9. Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan
A film starring Salman Khan will always be an event and an anticipated one. Plus it is slated for release on Khan’s favorite release period EID and hence all the potential of striking Gold at the box office.
Starcast – Salman Khan, Pooja Hegde
Director – Farhad Samji
Release Date – 21 April 2023
Box Office Prediction – 125-175 cr
8. Salaar (Hindi only)
The makers of KGF 1 and KGF 2 are coming back and this time with Pan India Superstar Prabhas. Any more to add? It will be a big surprise if the film doesn’t emerge as a big grosser at the box office.
Starcast – Prabhas, Shruti Haasan
Director – Prashanth Neel
Release Date – 28 September 2023
Box Office Prediction – 150-200 cr
7. Bholaa
Post Drishyam 2, Ajay Devgn is on a different planet now. So, any film he stars in automatically becomes an anticipated one. Bholaa will be an out and out emotional action entertainer and has the potential to do huge business at the box office.
Starcast – Ajay Devgn, Tabu
Director – Ajay Devgn
Release Date – 30 March 2023
Box Office Prediction – 150-200 cr
6. Bade Miyan Chote Miyan
Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff in an action-loaded film to be directed by Ali Abbas Zafar and slated for release in the Christmas festive time. Does anything more need to be said? BMCM has the potential to do huge business at the box office.
Starcast – Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff
Director – Ali Abbas Zafar
Release Date – 22 December 2023
Box Office Prediction – 150-200 cr
5. Animal
Animal could be the dark horse of the year and this film can surprise everyone. If everything goes well it can also challenge for the top spot in 2023. The film has an exciting star cast ensemble and a good story will attract audiences in big numbers to the ticket counters.
Starcast – Ranbir Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Bobby Deol, Rashmika Mandanna
Director – Sandeep Reddy Vanga
Release Date – 11 August 2023
Box Office Prediction – 150-200 cr
4. Jawan
Jawan stars Shah Rukh Khan in the lead role and is directed by the massively talented Atlee. Is anything more to be said? Atlee directed smash hits like Mersal and Bigil in South India and there is no doubt that he is planning something big with Jawan.
Starcast – Shah Rukh Khan, Nayanthara, Vijay Sethupathi
Director – Atlee Kumar
Release Date – 2 June 2023
Box Office Prediction – 175-250 cr
3. Pathaan
Be the Tiger Series or War, both have struck gold at the box office. And a new spy is joining this YRF universe and that is Pathaan. Pathaan is the comeback vehicle of Shah Rukh Khan and buzz is all time high. The film is getting released during the fruitful Republic Day holiday and there is no doubt that it will open huge at the ticket counters. There is a big possibility that Pathaan will be SRK’s first 300 cr grosser in India. The film will seriously aim to be the Highest grossing film of the year (HGOTY) and it has got a damn good chance.
Starcast – Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, John Abraham
Director – Siddharth Anand
Release Date – 25 January 2023
Box Office Prediction – 225-325 cr
2. Dunki
Any Rajkumar Hirani movie is easily the most awaited movie of the year. And just imagine what will happen when the lead star of that film will be none other than Shah Rukh Khan. If anything more is needed then the film will release during the Christmas and New Year festive times. There is no doubt that the film will take a bumper opening and every box office record will be in big danger. Dunki might emerge as the Highest Grossing Film of the Year (HGOTY).
Starcast – Shah Rukh Khan, Taapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal, Boman Irani
Director – Rajkumar Hirani
Release Date – 22 December 2023
Box Office Prediction – 250-350 cr
1. Tiger 3
Ek Tha Tiger and Tiger Zinda Hai both emerged as the highest-grossing films of the respective years as far as Bollywood films are concerned and there is no doubt that Tiger 3 will easily be the most awaited movie of the year. Salman Khan coming back as ‘Tiger’ on the big screen and that too on Diwali festive time is simply lethal. There is no doubt that all box office records will be in danger with this film. And, God permits if the film strikes the right chord in the heart of the audiences, then the sky is the limit for it, as anything is possible at the box office.
Starcast – Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Emraan Hashmi
Director – Maneesh Sharma
Release Date – 10 November 2023
Box Office Prediction – 300-375 cr
Here are our top picks for 2023. What is yours? We are highly optimistic and we think that the year 2023 will be the year in which Bollywood (Hindi) films will not only break the shackles but also smash the box office and business will go beyond the 400 crore nett mark.
Do let us know your predictions in the comment section below!
