Bollywood Attempts to Script a Recovery, But Plot Falls Short

Footfalls remain weak—down 6% from 2023, and below pre-covid levels—amid high ticket prices, and few franchise hits

- Lata Jha

Costly multiplex tickets and refreshments, and release of only a handful of tentpole movies continue to hurt Bollywood business, with the first half of calendar 2025 expected to see a meagre 10-20% increase in revenue over the same period a year ago, trade experts said.

In fact, but for the thin slate of high-grossing titles, collections would have slipped further and below the first-half 2024 levels, they added.

Among those that aided box-office momentum this year include Vicky Kaushal's Chhaava, which leads the pack with ₹600.10 crore, followed by Ajay Devgn's Raid 2 (₹176.93 crore), Housefull 5 (₹162.69 crore), Bhool Chuk Maaf (₹72.58 crore), Kesari Chapter 2 (₹93.28 crore), and Salman Khan's Sikandar (₹103.45 crore). Still, trade insiders flag weak returns for big-star titles like Sikandar, Housefull 5 and Kesari, pointing to an urgent need for a steadier stream of theatrical hits.