Bollywood is bracing for a lacklustre Diwali week due to a dearth of big-ticket releases during the critical festive period, forcing it to rely heavily on mid-budget films that are still to garner strong audiences, said producers and industry observers. This would exacerbate the challenges for the industry reeling from the tepid box-office performances of recent big-budget offerings War 2 and Coolie.
“Generally, the industry and its stakeholders look forward to big-ticket Diwali and Christmas releases given the festival period, and the tendency of audiences to go for big family outings,” said Rajesh R Nair, a film producer. “But this time, the situation is different. There are no big-ticket releases in the Diwali week.”
“Except for horror-genre film Thama, there is no big release during the Diwali week. In fact, in the remaining part of the year, there are only two films which are tracking well: Kantara: Chapter 1 and Durandhar,” said Nair.
Diwali releases in India (Year)
Net collection (Rs crore)
Coolie and War 2 have earned Rs 262.2 crore and Rs 225.8 crore, respectively till date, according to box office data research firm Sacnilk. Notably, the two films were made within the budget of Rs 350-450 crore each. Historically, the Diwali week, which features several holidays, is considered a crucial phase for box office earnings. Big-ticket films of large production houses compete for release dates during the period to capture this audience.
Historical data shows Diwali releases contribute as much as 10-25% of total annual box office collections for the Hindi film industry. Last year, Diwali releases Singham Againand Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 combined earned Rs 653 crore in gross domestic collections, contributing nearly 14% to the total Hindi box office receipts.
Lack of Planning
“Generally, Diwali releases are planned well in advance,” said Girish Wankhede, a movie trade analyst. “The two big releases in the Diwali week last year Singham Again and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 were planned two years before their release. As the industry was coming out of a correction phase since last year, Diwali releases were not planned well for this year,” he said.
Scant planning has made the industry rely heavily on mid-budget releases in Hindi and southern languages. Films such as Ikkis, Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari, 120 Bahadur, Romeo, and Jolly LLB3 are slated to dominate the rest of the year.
“There is not a big-ticket Diwali release this year which warrants a big family outing. But I think there are noteworthy mid-budget Hindi and regional films, which I am hopeful may do well in the second half of 2025,” said producer and film business expert Girish Johar. “I think the combined performance of Indian films across Hindi and southern languages will be good enough for the second half to be as good as the first half of 2025,” he added.
In recent months, a few major releases such as Aashiqui 3 and The Raja Saab were moved to 2026. Industry observers pointed to delays in post-production works, reshoots, and fund crunch among factors why some of the big-ticket releases were postponed to next year. According to the film trade circuit, beyond the Diwali period, the industry is also pining high hopes on Hollywood films such as Avatar: Fire & Ash, The Conjuring: Last Rites, and Zootopia 2, which have a huge following in India.
“Generally, the industry and its stakeholders look forward to big-ticket Diwali and Christmas releases given the festival period, and the tendency of audiences to go for big family outings,” said Rajesh R Nair, a film producer. “But this time, the situation is different. There are no big-ticket releases in the Diwali week.”
“Except for horror-genre film Thama, there is no big release during the Diwali week. In fact, in the remaining part of the year, there are only two films which are tracking well: Kantara: Chapter 1 and Durandhar,” said Nair.
Diwali releases in India (Year)
Net collection (Rs crore)
Coolie and War 2 have earned Rs 262.2 crore and Rs 225.8 crore, respectively till date, according to box office data research firm Sacnilk. Notably, the two films were made within the budget of Rs 350-450 crore each. Historically, the Diwali week, which features several holidays, is considered a crucial phase for box office earnings. Big-ticket films of large production houses compete for release dates during the period to capture this audience.
Historical data shows Diwali releases contribute as much as 10-25% of total annual box office collections for the Hindi film industry. Last year, Diwali releases Singham Againand Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 combined earned Rs 653 crore in gross domestic collections, contributing nearly 14% to the total Hindi box office receipts.
Lack of Planning
“Generally, Diwali releases are planned well in advance,” said Girish Wankhede, a movie trade analyst. “The two big releases in the Diwali week last year Singham Again and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 were planned two years before their release. As the industry was coming out of a correction phase since last year, Diwali releases were not planned well for this year,” he said.
Scant planning has made the industry rely heavily on mid-budget releases in Hindi and southern languages. Films such as Ikkis, Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari, 120 Bahadur, Romeo, and Jolly LLB3 are slated to dominate the rest of the year.
“There is not a big-ticket Diwali release this year which warrants a big family outing. But I think there are noteworthy mid-budget Hindi and regional films, which I am hopeful may do well in the second half of 2025,” said producer and film business expert Girish Johar. “I think the combined performance of Indian films across Hindi and southern languages will be good enough for the second half to be as good as the first half of 2025,” he added.
In recent months, a few major releases such as Aashiqui 3 and The Raja Saab were moved to 2026. Industry observers pointed to delays in post-production works, reshoots, and fund crunch among factors why some of the big-ticket releases were postponed to next year. According to the film trade circuit, beyond the Diwali period, the industry is also pining high hopes on Hollywood films such as Avatar: Fire & Ash, The Conjuring: Last Rites, and Zootopia 2, which have a huge following in India.
