In a rare triumph for Indian cinema, the Tamil action-thriller Maharaja is making waves at the Chinese box office, raking in over Rs630 million ($10 million) in just two weeks since its Nov 29 release.
Directed by Nithilan Saminathan and starring Vijay Sethupathi, the film has already surpassed a third of its global earnings and is on track to join the ranks of India’s top 10 highest-grossing films in China.
First released in India on June 14, Maharaja is an action thriller about a barber’s search for his missing daughter.
The film’s success is a notable milestone, marking the first Indian production to screen in China since 2020, when diplomatic tensions following a deadly border clash between the two nations led to a temporary block on Indian films.
Now Maharaja’s encouraging performance has focused attention on the Chinese market, whose estimated 86,000 screens are a big draw for film-makers from around the world, including India, where the number of cinema screens is estimated to be around 10,000.
Chief executive Zhang Yi of iiMedia, a research consultancy in China’s southern Guangdong province, told The Sunday Times that China remains an “attractive market for foreign films, given the high number of cinemas in the country and its huge middle class”.
In recent years, China has established itself as the largest overseas market for Bollywood, giving the thumbs up to hits like Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015; $62.8 million), Secret Superstar (2017; $168 million) and Andhadhun (2018; $64.7 million).
Maharaja is poised to follow suit, with some analysts suggesting that a hit in China can out-earn a film’s global overseas earnings combined.
Mr Komal Nahta, a Mumbai-based film trade analyst, said any Indian film maker with a film that could potentially become a hit in China would “run towards the (Chinese) market” because of its sheer size.
“If the film clicks, then we know the sky’s the limit for the China market,” he said. “In China, a film could earn more than what it has earned in the entire overseas market put together.”
Ms Yanyan Hong, a doctoral scholar at The University of Adelaide in Australia who has researched the popularity of Indian films in China, said Indian films resonate with Chinese audiences because they blend universal themes with emotionally rich narratives.
“Films like Dangal and Bajrangi Bhaijaan focus on family bonds, personal struggles and social issues – topics that strongly resonate in China, where family values and social narratives hold deep cultural significance,” she said.
But competition is tough in China, where strict censorship and protectionist policies limit the release of foreign films each year. A total of 84 imported films, including 28 Hollywood movies, were released in the country in 2023.
The Straits Times
