The Indian box office (BO) notched up gross collections of Rs 9,264 crore during January-September 2025, 16.54% higher than the same period last year. While the 2025 performance is the second-best after 2019, when the collections were Rs 9,448 crore, Bollywood’s performance this year has been mixed compared to the previous year.
There were six Hindi-language films in this year’s Top 10 list of grossers including Chhaava (Rs 693 crore), Saiyaara (Rs 396 crore), War 2 (Rs 283 crore), Sitaara Zameen Par (Rs 201 crore), Housefull 5 (Rs 200 crore) and Raid 2 (Rs 199 crore).
Why Bollywood’s franchise atrategy is faltering
Some film trade experts, distributors and exhibitors though say this year’s performance comes against a weaker 2024, when general elections and cricket tournaments like the IPL and the T20 World Cup drew audiences away from theatres last year.
“Yes, 2025 has monster hits like Chhaava and Saiyaara, but sequels such as Jolly LLB 3 and Baaghi 4 have not performed well at all, given that they are part of strong franchises. Even movies such as War 2 could have done better at the box office had its storyline been stronger. Banking on big stars alone will not draw audience,” Shyam Shroff, director at Mumbai-based Shringar Films, a film production house, said.
War 2 starred Hrithik Roshan and Junior NTR in leading roles, while Housefull 5 had an ensemble cast, led by Akshay Kumar, Nana Patekar and Abhishek Bachchan. Raid 2 was headlined by Ajay Devgn, Jolly LLB 3 had Akshay Kumar and Arshad Warsi and Baaghi 4 had Tiger Shroff in the lead role.
Film trade experts say that 2025 was billed as the year of sequels for Bollywood, with at least seven Hindi-language reboots or new chapters of big franchises hitting theatres. This follows the trend seen in regional cinema where sequels of blockbusters such as Bahubali, KGF and Pushpa among others have performed well at the box office in recent years. But the strike rate in Hindi cinema for sequels this year has been just about 40-42% versus double the number (80-85%) seen for regional cinema, film trade experts said.
Bollywood filmmakers have struggled with weaker plots and insipid performances as sequels strive to live up to the hype. Also, Hindi filmmakers have counted on the established fan base of the franchise to take them through, rather than paying attention to the storyline, Komal Nahta, film trade expert said.
Post-Pandemic Shifts
“Audience in the post-pandemic world are far more discerning, given that they are exposed to OTT content. So, viewers are looking for fresh talent, more rooted stories, solid action, entertainment and music. For now, regional cinema delivers on mass entertainment while Hollywood takes care of slick entertainment,” Bhuvanesh Mendiratta, MD, Miraj Cinemas, which operates 248 screens in 71 locations across 49 cities, said.
Diwali, which will be celebrated this month has no big Bollywood release while November is also expected to be weak. But December will have a stronger line-up of films including Dhurandhar, starring Ranveer Singh; Alpha, featuring Alia Bhatt, and Tu Meri Mein Tera, starring Kartik Aaryan and Ananya Panday.