Action fatigue: Why big-budget Bollywood films are losing their spark

Monster budgets, towering stars, breathtaking action—Bollywood crafted a formula for surefire success since covid, churning out a series of blockbusters.

- Lata Jha

But, viewer fatigue appears to be setting in, casting a cloud over similar movies in the pipeline, and raising an uncomfortable question: Is it time to move on?

Hrithik Roshan and Jr. NTR -starrer War 2, made for a budget of ₹300-400 crore, earned just ₹184 crore at last count. Earlier, Salman Khan’s Sikandar, made for₹200 crore, had made ₹103 crore in domestic box office collections. Many trade experts say the formula has been overdone.

According to independent exhibitor Vishek Chauhan, there has been an “overkill” of such films in the last few years, tiring out audiences. "It’s a demand-and-supply issue and supply is higher than it should be. The genre has lost sheen,” Chauhan said audiences are no longer excited by announcements of such titles, and highlighted the unexpected success of romantic drama