In 2023, India saw its number of theatre-goers reach 15.7 crore, a 29% increase from the previous year’s 12.2 crore, as per the annual report ‘Sizing The Cinema: 2024‘, by Ormax Media.

The figures also surpassed the pre-pandemic levels, of 14.6 crore, by 8%, as per the report which is based on the research conducted in January 2024 among 8,500 Indian audiences across both urban and rural areas.

These 15.7 crore audience, which include those who watched at least one film in a theatre in 2023, contributed to the 94.3 crore footfall at the domestic box office in 2023, which comes to an average of 6 films watched by a typical theatre-goer in India, across all languages put together.

The report also provided demographic (age and gender), geographic, and language-wise breakdown of the theatrical audience. Hindi-language cinema has seen the most significant growth, with its audience rising to 9.2 crore, a 58% increase over 2022. Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada films have witnessed a minor drop in audience shares, while Malayalam cinema experienced a 19% increase in audience, rising from 1 crore in 2022 to 1.2 crore in 2023.

Sanket Kulkarni, Head, Business Development (Theatrical) at Ormax Media, said, “Market sizing and audience data are as crucial as box office numbers when it comes to strategic decision-making,” Kulkarni said. “With a history of more than 100 years and 12,000 Crore plus box office, the Indian film industry needs and deserves a study of this nature and stature. While it is well understood that the theatrical business has made a sound recovery post the pandemic, this report quantifies the recovery, at the level of markets, languages and demographics, leading to a deeper understanding of India’s theatre-going population.”