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Bollywood lessons from 2025: Saiyaara says romance is back, Dhurandhar proves runtime don’t matter

Sanjeev Kumar | December 31, 2025 8:22 PM CST

The year 2025 was a mixed bag at the box office, but it started with a bang with Chhaava, had another big success mid-year with Saiyaara and ended on a much higher note with Dhurandhar. In the middle there were some hits and some misses, and from it all, here are some lessons that Bollywood learnt in 2025:

1. Same strategy doesn't work for everyone: Ahaan Panday-Aneet Padda and Ibrahim Ali Khan, both followed the same strategy of no media interactions prior to their debut films release. The strategy worked for Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda as Saiyaara became a rage and the mystery around them made the audience curious. But the impact of the same strategy was complete opposite for Ibrahim Ali Khan as Nadaaniyan proved to be a subpar project. It proved that it all boils down to the talent and content. 2. Audience is done with remakes and sequels: What the audience's response at the box office proved this year was that they are no more accepting sequels and remakes which are being made just for the sake of cashing in on the franchise's name. Here's how the remakes and sequels this year performed: Flops: Loveyapa, Deva, Chhorii 2, Dhadak 2, Son of Sardar 2, Andaaz 2, War 2, Baaghi 4, De De Pyaar De 2, Mastii 4, Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon 2, Housefull 5 Exceptions: Mrs, Metro... In Dino, Raid 2, Kesari Chapter 2, Sitaare Zameen Par, Jolly LLB 3

3. Romance is back, but quality of romcoms suffering: The success of Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani in 3 and re-releases like Laila Majnu and Samam Teri Kasam working, showed audience's interest towards a revival of romance. The outcome of Saiyaara just proved the theory that romance is back and it got solidified with Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat. However, the quality of romcoms did take a hit and the audienec's repsonse proved that. Param Sundari, Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari, Nadaaniyan, Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri, Mere Husband Ki Biwi were some of the romcoms that released this year, with all being panned for their quality. 4. Tentpole days not a guarantee for success: While Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat might have benefitted from a Diwali release, other holiday releases didn't benefit much from it, be it Sky Force on Republic Day, Sikandar on Eid, War 2 on Independence Day, Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari on Dussehra, Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri on Christmas. 5. The power of good music: Azaad might have vanished in thin air on release, but Uyi Amma made debutante Rasha Thadani a star. Metro... In Dino, Saiyaara and Dhurandhar did well because of their content, but there's no denying that they all also benefitted from the success of their film's soundtrack.

6. Length don't matter if the film is good: In today's Reel culture, the general assumption is that lengthy films won't attract audience and will impact the box office. But the three biggest successes of 2025 proved otherwise-Chhaava (2h 41m), Saiyaara (2h 36 m), Dhurandhar (3h 34 m). 7. Audience is over mindless action: A few years back, action was all the rage with films like Pathaan, Jawan, Animal setting the cash registers ringing and how. But this year, that tried-and-tested formula seemed to have ran out. Other than Dhurandhar, no action film was a clean hit. Baaghi 4, War 2, Maalik and Fateh were some of the action films that came on screen and flopped.