MUMBAI: With 2016 set close, demonetisastion, piracy and tussle with Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) overshadowed Bollywood box office business as only eight out of the approximately 230 Hindi films released in 2016 surpassed the glorified Rs 100 crore club in the country.

The year 2016 was average in terms of business as some Bollywood movies failed badly with only an average tally of around Rs 2,700 crore, according to industry insiders.

According to numbers estimated by trade insiders, while 1.46 billion people went to see Bollywood films released in 2009, the number came down to 1.18 billion in 2016.

Respite was brought in by the eight movies that crossed the Rs 100 crore mark. These include “Airlift” (Rs 125 crore), “Rustom” (Rs 122 crore), “Housefull 3” (Rs 107 crore), “Sultan” (Rs 300 crore), “M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story” (Rs 120 crore), “Ae Dil Hai Mushkil” (Rs 112 crore), “Shivaay” (Rs 100 crore) and “Dangal” (Rs 155.53 crore in five days since its release on December 23).

Barring Shah Rukh Khan, whose “Fan” did not prove to be like most of the superstar’s box office wonders, Bollywood’s other A-listers, including Salman Khan, Aamir Khan and Akshay Kumar, had a bright year with their films raking in the moolah and making it to the Rs 100 crore club.

There is no centralised agency to record Bollywood’s box office numbers. But going by film trade experts and industry sources, Salman registered good returns with “Sultan”, Akshay won the audiences’ hearts with “Airlift”, “Housefull 3” and “Rustom”, and Aamir’s “Dangal” Christmas release added to the festive season’s celebratory mood.

Some other films which did well at the box office included “Neerja”, “Kapoor&Sons”, “Ki&Ka”, “Baaghi”, “Pink” and “Dear Zindagi”.

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