Bollywood’s blockbuster box office in 2011 is expected to continue with the upcoming (From top) RA.One, Don 2 and Rockstar

It’s showtime folks — and the champagne corks are popping. The stars are shining brightly and 2011 is turning into a year of box office thrills and blockbuster returns in the Hindi film industry. “We’re having a stupendous year,” says Komal Nahta, editor, Film Information and Koimoi.com.

In the last few months, three films have entered the record books by raking in over Rs 100 crore at the box office (after taxes). The unprecedented run began with Salman Khan’s Ready defying the critics and notching up Rs 122 crore net. That was followed by another spectacular performance from Ajay Devgn and Rohit Shetty with Singham — Rs 100 crore. And then Salman swung into action once more. His Eid release Bodyguard — made for around Rs 65 crore — raced to the top of the charts by raking in Rs 100 crore in a record seven days. After two weeks, it had pulled in an eye-popping Rs 127 crore.

“Rs 100 crore has become the new benchmark. Suddenly, we’re seeing more films breach that number,” says Sanjeev Lamba, CEO, Reliance Entertainment, which has turned into one of the year’s winners with Singham and Bodyguard under its belt. “Even Rs 200 crore seems do-able now,” adds Vajir Singh, editor, Box Office India.

Kamal Jain, group CFO, Eros International, which is co-producing Shah Rukh Khan’s RA.One, touted to be the costliest Hindi film ever at Rs 125-crore-plus, estimates that “the industry must have grossed over Rs 1,000 crore in the last few months”.

That giant figure is probably not off the mark. Bollywood’s been having a fabulous season and it isn’t only because of the Rs 100-crore blockbusters. The year began well with hits like No One Killed Jessica and Yamla Pagla Deewana followed by Tanu Weds Manu and Haunted 3D.

But the last four months have seen one super-hit after another from Mukesh Bhatt’s Murder 2 to the offbeat Delhi Belly — it netted Rs 55 crore despite being in English — to Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (ZNMD), which did a huge Rs 90 crore even though it was a pure multiplex film. More recently, we’ve had Yashraj Films’s Mere Brother Ki Dulhan, and now, the Shahid Kapoor-Sonam Kapoor romance, Mausam.

(From top) Indian audiences are enjoying different types of films today, says actor Imran Khan, whose Delhi Belly has raked it in along with mass entertainer Ready and the multiplex-centric Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara

Says Siddharth Roy Kapur, CEO, UTV Motion Pictures: “It’s been a superb year also in terms of the diversity of content. In July alone we had Delhi Belly, Murder 2, Singham and ZNMD. Each film was different and each one worked.”

Actor Imran Khan, who’s riding high on Delhi Belly and Mere Brother Ki Dulhan’s success, says “As an industry, we’ve found our groove.” He believes the formula’s simple. “The thing that works is if you make a story that people enjoy.” And having been “exposed to so much international media”, the Indian audience, he feels, is “able to appreciate a wide variety of films” today.

“People have watched Delhi Belly with the same enjoyment as they’ve watched Mere Brother Ki Dulhan. At home I eat dal-chawal, and when I go out, I eat pizza. And I love both. Our audience has been given that option now and they’ve shown that they like having a diverse variety,” he says.

And we’re not even done with 2011 yet. The stakes are about to get even bigger. Look at Shah Rukh Khan and his megabucks superhero extravaganza, RA.One. He’s pulling out all the stops. He released the film’s music with a razzmatazz event. Then, he’s lined up a RA.One game, graphic novel, merchandise et al. And you can expect a blitzkrieg in theatres too this October.

The pressure’s on RA.One to breach 3 Idiots’s record Rs 202 crore net or at least cross Dabbang’s Rs 145-crore mark — they’re the top two all-time hits. As one industry-watcher says: “Nothing less than Rs 150 crore-Rs 200 crore will be considered a hit for RA.One now.”

In fact, at least six new blockbusters are poised for release in 2011 including SRK’s RA.One and Don 2, and Ranbir Kapoor’s Rockstar. All three are expected to cross the Rs 100 crore-mark. Then, there’s John Abraham’s Force, Sanjay Dutt’s Rascals, Abhishek Bachchan’s Players, and the Akshay Kumar-John Abraham starrer Desi Boyz.

Nahta reckons around Rs 500 crore is riding on these six films alone. Plus there are other films like Vidya Balan’s The Dirty Picture about southern siren Silk Smitha, and Yashraj Films’s Ladies V/S Ricky Bahl with Anushka Sharma and Ranveer Singh. And Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor’s mega-thriller Agent Vinod might release in 2011 too.

(From top) There’s big money riding on films like Shahid Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor’s Mausam, John Abraham’s Force and Sanjay Dutt-and-Ajay Devgn’s Rascals

Clearly, the scale of the Hindi film business is exploding. Remember, for years, the 2001-hit Gadar - Ek Prem Katha was the all-time box office topper at Rs 75 crore. Then, Ghajini first breached the Rs 100-crore mark in 2008. That was followed by 3 Idiots in 2009. 2010 too saw blockbusters in Dabbang and Golmaal 3 (Rs 108 crore net) but it also had big budget flops like Kites and Veer.

What’s the secret behind Bollywood’s current success? Eros’s Jain says: “The average is growing because the number of screens has gone up. And the content is being planned to attract audiences and it’s timed well too.”

Nitin Sood, CFO, PVR Cinemas, estimates that 200-250 multiplex screens are being added each year. “As new screens open in smaller towns, people are returning to theatres,” he says. PVR is adding 55 screens in 2011-12.

“Producers are scheduling their films in advance to ensure solo releases and strong returns in advance too,” says independent distributor and box office analyst Suniel Wadhwa.

Look at Bodyguard. It stumped up Rs 100 crore in seven days because it banked on the five-day Eid weekend — and the Salman-Eid magic too. “Salman’s a larger-than-life hero and that’s what we presented in Bodyguard,” says its co-producer and Salman’s brother-in-law Atul Agnihotri.

Similarly, RA.One too is slotted for a five-day Diwali holiday run while Don 2 has a Christmas release.

Remember, the Hindi film business swivels around the opening weekend —over 50 per cent of the box office returns come in this tiny period. Therefore, the focus is on splashy mega-releases. So Bodyguard premiered in a massive 2,700 screens. By comparison Dabbang released in just 1,300 screens and even 3 Idiots opened in 2,400. On an even bigger scale, Eros’s Jain is planning to take RA.One to almost 3,000 screens including 400-500 3D screens. “RA.One will be the biggest release ever,” he says.

Not surprisingly, some of this year’s pure ‘masala’ blockbusters have been panned by the critics. But filmmakers point out that audiences have voted with their wallets. Also, producers today are finding takers for both multiplex films like ZNMD and mass entertainers like Singham.

Mukesh Bhatt’s small-budget Murder 2 turned to be a huge hit this year

At another level, Nahta says that “the corporates have learnt their lessons”. Back in 2006, Bollywood was going through another blockbuster boom and studios had rushed to announce 10-15 annual film launches and sign up stars for multi-crore multi-film deals. But the irrational exuberance imploded in mega flops and losses.

Since then, the studios have recalibrated their operations. 2011 has turned out to be Reliance Entertainment’s most successful year. Says Lamba: “We’ve changed our business model in the last two years.” Unlike its previous splashy acquisition spree, the studio’s now only bagging projects where it’s “involved with the film throughout”. And Lamba plans to do only six to eight Hindi films yearly.

Of course, everyone’s expecting the blockbuster run to result in bigger films and higher star prices. But Aamir, Shah Rukh and also Akshay Kumar and Ajay Devgn have already moved to a profit-sharing structure. “So the initial cost’s not escalating,” says Jain.

Naturally, Salman is the rockstar of the moment and he’s also getting into profit-sharing mode. Anyway, his flat fee climbed after Dabbang and he’s reported to have got Rs 28 crore for his next film, Ek Tha Tiger with Katrina Kaif.

Immediately, though, the spotlight’s on his mega-rival, Shah Rukh’s RA.One. The stakes are humongous but Eros’s Jain says they’ve already recovered a big chunk of costs from satellite, overseas and music rights — rapper Akon’s Chammak Challo number is already blasting the charts.

Yes, Bollywood’s also raking in the moolah from satellite rights. The buzz is that RA.One’s satellite rights sold for Rs 35 crore while Aamir’s upcoming film with Reema Kagti has fetched Rs 40 crore.

RA.One may release in 2D and 3D and that could push up revenues too. Already, theatres are rushing to add 3D screens. Films like Don 2 are also looking at a 3D release while 2012 will see more 3D films like Shirish Kunder’s Joker.

Will the good times continue? There’s no denying the danger of the industry going into a bubble. As Dabbang’s director Abhinav Kashyap says: “It’s cyclical. The rightsizing has happened; there could be oversizing next and then, downsizing will happen after that.”

But the expectations are running high given 2012’s slate of mega-budget films. There’s Aamir’s next film, Hrithik Roshan’s Agneepath and Imran- Kareena’s Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu, to name just a few. No wonder Eros’s Jain says: “Next year will be bigger than this year.”