bollywood cinema

6 Prominent Differences Between Hollywood and Bollywood Cinema

Cinema is an important part of all developed cultures. It provides entertainment as well as life lessons. It also depicts the moral values of a culture in a creative and fun way.

Two of the biggest cinema industries of recent time are none other than Bollywood and Hollywood. Both industries make a myriad of films each year which you can easily find on streaming sites like 123movies or uwatch free etc.

Though they both make good films, there are some clear differences in how they approach this and this is what this article is about. This article will highlight some of the major differences between these two cinema types.

So, let’s begin.

  1. Origins

Bollywood films usually refer to films produced in India. The main language of these films is Hindi but other languages are also seen in some movies.

The word “B” in Bollywood stands for India’s city Bombay which is a great hub of movie studios and has produced many historical films. The first Bollywood film is considered to be Allam Ara which was released in 1931.

The Hollywood film industry is the oldest in the world. It has its physical location in a district near Los Angeles where hundreds of artists live and historical music studios are located. The first Hollywood movie was made by W.D Griffith in 1910. 

  1. Genres

Though both cinema giants have attempted movies in all genres, they stand out for some. Bollywood cinema focuses more on family-based, drama, romance and comedy, etc., films and they are pretty good at it.

Hollywood films mainly cover genres like action, mystery, sci-fi, romance, and musicals, etc. Most Bollywood movies i.e., almost 80% of them contain more than 1 song and dance sequences while generally, Hollywood movies have only one song played during end credits or between the movie except for musical genre films.

  1. Special Effects and Execution

Most Hollywood movies contain extremely brilliant visual effects. The main reason is their modern cinema technology and techniques. The action films like Avengers and Justice league keep you on your toes with their realistic graphics throughout. Read More : Bolly2Tolly

The Bollywood cinema however is a little behind in terms of special effects. Since they mostly make romance, drama, and comedy films, it usually works for them since these genres don’t need many special effects.

  1. Budget

Since the Hollywood industry is the oldest and has a wider audience, it naturally takes more budget to make the movie and to promote it. While the target audience for Bollywood films is mainly Asian countries, so, they have a lesser budget.

An average Hollywood movie is made at a budget of about $47million while Bollywood movies usually fall under the budget of about $1.5million.

  1. Casting Priority

Hollywood movies usually contain actors from various other nations and regions. In the past, they have starred actors from England, Canada, Austria, Italy, and many other countries.

While moviemakers in India give priority to native actors. These stars know how the public thinks and what it demands.

Having a wide diversity in Hollywood cinema makes it more colorful and fun. They focus more on the actor’s compatibility with the role rather than his/her national background.

  1. Profit and Revenue

Since Hollywood movies have a wider international market, they usually generate more revenue. These films are also released on various streaming platforms and downloading sites like khatrimaza or Netflix etc which makes profits even greater.

By comparison, Indian cinema sells more tickets in the country than the USA does. The USA has an average ticket sale of about 2.6 billion in the country while Bollywood has 3.6 billion in India.

In the international market, however, Hollywood earns revenue of about $56 billion due to their great promotion budget, and Bollywood about $1.4 billion on average.

Final Thoughts

Both Hollywood and Bollywood cinema giants are best in their own ways. It is a matter of your own interest and liking which one you like the most. No doubt there are some differences, but when it comes to providing good entertainment and excitement, both seem to do pretty well.

We hope this article has given you some useful insights as to what are some of the distinctive features of these cinema types.