Movies
Marathi film industry poised for growth with superior content
MUMBAI: In recent times movies like Killa, Timepass, Lai Bhaari and Fandry have managed to break regional shackles and create a buzz amongst all and sundry. Reason – the Rs 300+ crore Marathi film industry has been churning out some quality content lately. What’s more, made on puny budgets – when compared to the big daddy of Indian cinema – Bollywood, many a Marathi films are breaking even and also profiting.
More often than not the fate of Bollywood movies depends on the star quotient. A Salman Khan movie will do well, no matter what. Such is the power and charisma of the man. Compared to this, in Marathi cinema, there is less reliance on stars as it is superlative content that sets the cash registers ringing.
The Riteish Deshmukh starrer Marathi movie Lai Bhaari collected over Rs 40 crore at the box office, while Timepass collected Rs 30 crore. On the other hand, Classmate collected nearly Rs 21 crore at the box office turnstiles. These numbers say a lot.
While these films get a limited theatrical release, when the content clicks with movie aficionados, distributors are ready to shell out that extra moolah for a wider release.
The Marathi film industry churns out close to 100 movies a year as compared to 1000+ Hindi movies that are released every year. While the cost of production of a mid-budget Marathi movie is Rs 1.5 crore, the budget touches Rs 3.5 crore for a big budget Marathi movie. On the other hand, promotions budgets are in the range of Rs 1.5 – 2 crore, which includes advertising, distribution and release cost.
Global Sports Entertainment And Media Solutions directors Arjun Singgh Baran and Kartik Nishandar said, “The Marathi film industry is showing great potential to grow further if strategised well. And the State government is doing a lot for the growth of the Marathi film industry. However, producers still have to pay rental to single screen theatres, which adds up to the overall cost. With this, the movie becomes expensive for the producer.”
With the proliferation of digital and social media, today every brand, movie, personality or company are using the medium to get their message across to million of people at one go. Reiterating the importance of the digital platform, Baran and Nishandar said that digital marketing plays a prominent role in the success of a movie. “Digital marketing over the last one year has grown to the next level with the presence of maximum number of youth on the digital platform. As the target audience has shifted from the age group of 14 to 45, the maximum exposure a movie gets is only through digital marketing,” the duo opined.
While the Marathi movie has always been high on the content, the industry didn’t get its rightful place under the sun until now due to lack of finance, distribution and proper marketing. However, in last five years or so, Marathi movies’ box office collections have seen a considerable jump.
According to director Swapna Joshi, content is the key for a movie’s success. “There is a drastic change in Marathi cinema content. There are three major positive changes that have taken place in Marathi film content over the past few years. The first is that the content is becoming very strong, bolder and wider. Secondly, while collaborating modern context into content, we are not letting go of our core values. Thirdly, the production value of a Marathi movie has really gone up in recent times. One thing that the industry should take care of is not to compromise quality over quantity,” Joshi said.
Key revenue generating factors for a movie are its theatrical distribution coupled with targeted promotions. Actor, director and producer Mahesh Kothare added, “Times have changed and there is an evolution of cinema, which gave an impetus to piracy. Unlike olden days, the shelf life of a movie these days is just a few weeks. So the total box office collections depend on the number of theatres that a movie has been released across. Maximum screens means maximum reach, which automatically results in maximum profit. While most of the revenue is recovered in the first week itself, if a movie runs for four weeks, it’s a bonus and if the run continues into the fifth week, the movie is a great success.”
9X Jhakaas programming head Rohan Rane opined, “The Marathi film industry is growing and celebrities want to be a part of it because both the industries are working very closely with each other. There are many Marathi music launches and releases, which are attended by Bollywood biggies. Similarly, there are many Marathi actors, who have become a part of Bollywood movies.”
The Indian film industry has a history of more than 100 years, wherein Marathi cinema is the oldest form of cinema. According to the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) and International Film Festival of India (IFFI), the first indigenously made film was Raja Harishchandra in 1913, which was produced by Dada Saheb Phalke, as part of Marathi cinema. It was made with Marathi dialogues while shooting with a fully Marathi crew.
That said, the Marathi film industry, which has been churning out superior National Award winning content lately, is poised for growth in the coming years even as the release environment gets more and more conducive.
Hindi
GUEST COLUMN: Why film libraries & IPs are the new engines of growth
Unlocking value through catalogue strength and IP synergy
MUMBAI:In a media landscape defined by fragmentation, platform proliferation, and ever-evolving audience behavior, the economics of filmmaking are undergoing a fundamental shift. No longer confined to box office performance, a film’s true value is now measured across an extended lifecycle that spans digital platforms, syndication networks, and global markets. As content consumption becomes increasingly non-linear and algorithm-driven, film libraries and intellectual properties (IPs) are emerging as strategic assets, capable of delivering sustained, long-term returns. For Mohan Gopinath, head – bollywood business at Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd., this transformation signals a decisive move from hit-driven models to portfolio-led value creation. In this piece, Gopinath explores how legacy content, when intelligently repurposed and distributed, can unlock recurring revenue streams, why the interplay between catalogue and original IP is critical, and how media companies can build resilient, future-ready entertainment businesses.
For all these years, we thought that a film is successful if it performs well in theatres. There are opening weekend numbers, box office milestones, and distribution footprints that gave a good picture of how the movie has done commercially and also tell us about its cultural impact. However, there are multiple platforms today, always-on content ecosystem, which has caused a shift. Today, the theatrical performance is not the culmination of a film’s journey but merely the beginning of a much longer and more dynamic lifecycle.
Film libraries today are emerging as high-value, constantly evolving assets that deliver sustained returns well beyond initial release cycles. This becomes a point of great advantage for legacy content owners with diverse catalogues, to shape long-term business outcomes.
According to FICCI-EY, the media and entertainment industry of India achieved a valuation of Rs 2.78 trillion in 2025 which is expected to reach Rs 3.3 trillion by 2028 through a compound annual growth rate of approximately 7 per cent and digital media will bring in more than Rs 1 trillion to become the biggest sector which generates about 36 per cent of overall market revenues.
This shift is the expansion of distribution endpoints. We know how satellite television was once the primary secondary window but today, it coexists with YouTube, OTT platforms, Connected TV, and FAST channels. Each of these platforms caters to distinct audience demographics and consumption behaviors, helping content owners to obtain more value from the same asset across multiple formats.
For instance, films that had great reruns, now find continuous engagement across digital platforms. On YouTube, classic Hindi cinema continues to attract significant viewership, reaching audiences across generations and geographies with remarkable consistency. At Shemaroo Entertainment, this is reflected in our film library shaped over decades as part of a long association with Indian entertainment. From classics such as Amar Akbar Anthony to much-loved entertainers like Jab We Met, Welcome, Dhamaal, Phir Hera Pheri, Dhol, Golmaal, and Bhagam Bhag, many of these titles continue finding new audiences while retaining their place in popular memory. Their enduring appeal reflects how culturally resonant stories can continue creating value over time. Similarly, FAST channels have created curated, always-on environments where catalogue content can continue to thrive through star-led and genre-based programming.
This multi-platform approach has very well transformed films into long-tail IP assets which are capable of generating recurring revenue across advertising, subscription, and syndication models.
The evolution of audience behavior is equally important. Nowadays, it’s more important to find what’s more relative than what’s recent as viewers are more influenced by mood, memories, and algorithmic suggestions than by release schedules. Even if a movie was released decades ago, it can trend alongside a newly released movie, if surfaced in the right context. Thoughtful packaging, whether through festival-based playlists, actor-driven collections, or genre clusters, allows catalogue content to remain dynamic and continuously discoverable. Shemaroo Entertainment has built extensive film libraries over decades and its focus has mostly been on recontextualizing content for the consumption of newer environments. This process doesn’t just include digitization and restoration, but also re-packaging of films as per platforms.
Syndication itself has evolved into a key growth driver. In perspective, when looking at the domestic market, curated content packages continue to find strong demand across broadcast and digital platforms. Meanwhile, in the international market, especially in markets like Middle East, North America and Southeast Asia, the appetite for Indian content is opening up new monetization avenues. Here, the ability to package and position catalogue content effectively becomes as important as the content itself.
Importantly, the need to re-package catalogue content does not diminish the role of new content. In fact, originals and fresh IP are essential to sustaining the long-term value of a film library because they act as discovery engines that bring audiences into the ecosystem, while catalogue content drives depth, retention, and repeat engagement.
This interplay between the “new” and the “known” is what defines a robust content strategy today. While new films generate spikes in consumption, catalogue titles offer familiarity and comfort. These are factors that are increasingly valuable in an era of content abundance and decision fatigue. This is also shaping our strategy, drawing value from both a deep catalogue assets and a growing focus on original IPs to strengthen long-term audience engagement and build more predictable revenue streams.
There is growing recognition that long-term value in entertainment will be shaped not only by how intelligently existing content continues to live, travel and find relevance, but also by how consistently new stories are created to renew that ecosystem. In that sense, film libraries and original IP are not parallel bets, but reinforcing engines of growth. For media companies, the opportunity lies in making these two forces work together, because that is increasingly where more resilient and predictable businesses are being shaped.
Note: The views expressed in this article are solely the author’s and do not necessarily reflect our own.
