‘It’s heartening to see that the festive energy is being driven not only by star-led blockbusters but also by fresh, content-rich films.’
IMAGE: Ayushmann Khurrana and Rashmika Mandanna in Thamma.
Contrary to the previous years when Diwali shone brighter with big movie releases, this year, the festival will not see any A-list stars on the silver screen, which, according to trade analysts, could lead to a dip in the box office collection by up to 60 per cent.
Last year’s Diwali saw two major Hindi films being released, Anees Bazmee’s horror-comedy Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 and Rohit Shetty’s cop universe movie Singham Again.
This Diwali will see Maddock Film’s Thamma, the fifth part of its horror-comedy universe starring Ayushmann Khurrana and Rashmika Mandanna, being released on October 21.
Apart from Thamma, another Hindi romantic film, Ek Deewane ki Deewaniyat, will be released on Tuesday.
“Last Diwali’s double-franchise clash between Singham Again and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 contributed over Rs 600 crore (Rs 6 billion) in domestic gross (box office), nearly a 10th of India’s annual Hindi box office,” said Suniel Wadhwa, cofounder and director, Karmic Films, a film production and distribution company.
This year’s Thamma-Deewaniyat pairing, however, is projected to deliver around Rs 250 crore (Rs 2.5 billion), marking a contraction of nearly 60 per cent,” Wadhwa added.
IMAGE: Harshvardhan Rane and Sonam Bajwa in Ek Deewane ki Deewaniyat.
Meanwhile, Girish Wankhede, a film trade analyst, said Thamma will collect around Rs 20 crore to Rs 25 crore (Rs 200 million to Rs 250 million) on its opening day at the box office, and Ek Deewane ki Deewaniyat, featuring actor Harshvardhan Rane in the lead role, will collect around Rs 8 crore to Rs 10 crore (Rs 80 million to Rs 100 million) on day one.
In comparison, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3‘s day-one collection in India was Rs 35.5 crore (Rs 355 million), and Singham Again‘s opening day collection was Rs 43.5 crore (Rs 435 million), according to Sacnilk.
“The overall collection of Diwali releases will be less by about 40 to 50 per cent than last year’s strong franchise releases,” he noted.
Wadhwa added that the genres of Diwali releases will still attract audiences to theatres with the successful box office runs of Stree (a part of the same universe) and the recent success of Rane’s re-released film, Sanam Teri Kasam.
Ashish Pandey, head, programming and strategic initiatives, MovieMax Cinemas, said that this year’s films are expected to deliver excellent numbers, as in recent months, the genre these films represent has broken out and delivered massive box office numbers.
IMAGE: Siddhu Jonnalagadda, Srinidhi Shetty and Raashii Khanna in Telusu Kada.
While last year’s Diwali weekend was among the best festival weekends for the multiplex chain in India, cinema exhibitors still anticipate a positive growth in their footfalls.
“It’s heartening to see that the festive energy is being driven not only by star-led blockbusters but also by fresh, content-rich films,” said Gautam Dutta, chief executive officer, revenue and operations, PVR INOX.
“With Thamma building solid pre-release buzz, we’re expecting another strong weekend ahead. Regional cinema continues to lead momentum in the South, while Hindi and family entertainers are adding to the nationwide festival cheer. Overall, this period is shaping up to be one of the most promising weekends of the year for PVR INOX.”
Additionally, a few days before the Diwali festival on October 20, Friday saw several South Indian-language films being released, like Bison, a Tamil-language sports drama; Diesel, a Tamil-language action thriller; and another Tamil-language comedy-adventure film, Dude, along with Telusu Kada, a Telugu-language romantic comedy film.
While Diwali typically sees the release of two major Hindi films, this year’s slightly lighter Hindi slate for the season allows regional films more space to shine, giving audiences a richer and more diverse cinematic experience across languages, said Ashish Saksena, chief operating officer (COO), cinemas, BookMyShow.
IMAGE: Hrithik Roshan and NT Rama Rao Junior in War 2.
“It’s not a collapse of audience sentiment, but a reflection of softer IP (intellectual property) strength and a festival frame driven more by content than by brand recall. This year feels like a correctional Diwali rather than a celebratory one,” Wadhwa said, adding that these releases will test whether audience loyalty now follows content instead of major franchises.
So far in 2025, major holiday weekends have seen top actors’ films being released.
The Republic Day weekend saw Akshay Kumar-starrer Sky Force being released, followed by Salman Khan’s Eid release Sikandar with the Independence Day weekend seeing two major movies like War 2, starring Hrithik Roshan and N T Rama Rao Junior, and Coolie, starring Rajinikanth and Nagarjuna Akkineni.
“The weekend is shaping up to be very promising with a strong mix of films catering to varied audiences. Compared to other festive weekends like Independence Day and Dussehra, the Diwali period traditionally sees a longer celebration window, and we anticipate steady audiences throughout the week rather than just the opening weekend,” said Satwik Lele, chief operating officer, Mukta A2 Cinemas.
