2024 throwback: Movies and experiences that ruled India

How many movies did you watch at the theatre in 2024? Well, one cinephile set a record of watching 221 movies, claims BookMyShow. Another movie buff from Bhopal watched the Bollywood movie Stree 2 a whopping 29 times!

The online movie and experiences ticketing platform unveiled its year-end report, BookMyShowThrowback, highlighting the entertainment and experience trends of 2024. 

Silver screen and streaming hits

Leading the cinematic charge, Pushpa 2: The Rule became the most-watched movie of the year, with as many as 10.8 lakh movie-goers watching it solo. 

Leading film exhibition company PVR INOX made re-releases a major part of its business model. People returned to the theatres to watch Bollywood re-released movies, including Kal Ho Na Ho, Rockstar, Jab We Met, Veer Zara, Tumbaad, and Laila Majnu. 

Low-budget films, including the likes of Manjummel Boys, Aavesham, Lapaata Ladies, and Merry Christmas, resonated well with the audience. 

Alternatively, BookMyShow Stream recorded 107,023 hours of content consumed, with 446 new titles added to its library. 

The most-watched Indian films across verticals include Kalki, Stree 2, Pushpa 2, Hanu-Man, and Amaran. The most-watched Hollywood movies include Deadpool vs Wolverine, Dune: Part 2, Godzilla-Kong, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Kung Fu Panda 4, and It Ends With Us, among others. 

Movie-goers bought the maximum tickets—a whopping 2.3 million—on November 1. This trend was mostly fueled by new releases Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 and Singham Again. 

Big on events

BookMyShow hosted 30,687 live events this year across 319 cities, recording a 18% growth in the Indian live entertainment consumption in 2024.

Some of its iconic events included the Jonas Brothers' performance at Lollapalooza India; Ed Sheeran and Diljit Dosanjh’s collaboration; and Maroon 5’s concert in Mumbai.

Other popular music concerts included Prateek Kuhad’s Silhouettes Tour, Sonu Nigam’s concert, Sanam’s India Tour, and Cigarettes After Sex’s India Tour. 

Music tourism became one of the defining trends this year, with as many as 4.7 lakh people travelling outside their cities to attend music concerts. Coldplay’s Music Of The Spheres World Tour—scheduled for January 2025—will have fans from across 500 cities making their way to Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

Cities with the most number of fans travelling to the Ahmedabad venue include Mumbai (21%), followed by Bengaluru (13%), and Delhi-NCR (11%). 

Besides the metros, Tier II cities experienced a 682% growth in live events, with Kanpur, Shillong, and Gandhinagar, among others making a mark. 

Comedy, art, and immersive experiences found steady audiences in 2024, with events like Nykaaland 2024, Van Gogh 360, and Peppa Pig’s Adventure! Live. According to the report, India’s live events consumption rose 18% in 2024. 

A total of 8.87 lakh fans attended events solo, with one person from Mumbai attending 157 events in person.