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Horror films have become one of the highest earning genres in Bollywood this year.
Malevolent spirits, scary zombies and vengeful witches are making a comeback in Bollywood this year, with horror films becoming some of the biggest grossers of 2024. The BBC examines how these modestly budgeted films are generating impressive returns.
Earlier this month, Bollywood witnessed a dramatic showdown between the big and the not-so-great.
On one side was the big-budget action film Singham Again, and on the other was Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, the final installment of a three-part mid-budget horror-comedy series of the same name.
Singham Again, which featured five of Bollywood's biggest stars – Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor, Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh – managed to gross 1.86 billion rupees ($22.05 million; 17. 06 £) worldwide in four days, according to film analysis. Sacnilk tracker.
While Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, which stars the relatively young and new Kartik Aryan, earned slightly less in the same period (Rs 1.63 billion), its smaller budget meant its performance was even more impressive .
The film brings back Aaryan, who also featured in the second part, as a crook exorcist hired by a royal family to purge their palace of an evil spirit.
Filled with adventure and hilarity, the film's racy plot lured audiences to the cinemas in droves.
The film's success continues a new trend in Bollywood, where horror and horror-comedy films – once relegated to the fringes – are now topping the box office.
The trend started with Shaitaan, a psychological horror film starring Ajay Devgn, which grossed over $25 million worldwide despite a modest budget. Following this, Munjya and Stree 2: Sarkate Ka Aatank continued their momentum, with the latter becoming the highest-grossing Hindi film of 2024, grossing over $103 million.
The film Stree 2: Sarkate Ka Aantank, set in the fictional town of Chanderi, features the mysterious Stree, who once targeted patriarchal men, now facing a monster who kidnaps free-spirited women.
The film played to packed houses for months while other major Bollywood productions struggled to find an audience.
The industry went through a crisis after the Covid-19 pandemic, with most films in free fall at the box office, according to trade figures.
What's interesting is that many of these horror films didn't receive rave reviews. In fact, some critics criticized the films for their “lousy” plots.
However, their back-to-back successes seem to have given a new lease of life to Bollywood.
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Stree 2 is the highest-grossing film of 2024
So what's driving this trend?
“Horror comedy plays on the audience’s most primal instinct – alternating between fear and humor,” says veteran film critic Mayank Shekhar.
“Both are contagious. You audibly feel the screams and laughter in the room.”
Films like Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 and Stree 2 also benefited from the success of their prequels.
People come to see these films simply because they enjoyed the films that came before them, which makes them somewhat “critique-proof,” Shekhar adds.
“I think we are going because we loved the original film and we want to feel the same magic in the sequels,” says Apurva, a radio jockey who recently watched both films.
Horror as a genre in Bollywood has also reinvented itself over the years.
Unlike the horror films of the 1980s, which were designed for adult audiences, horror films today have become a collective cinematic experience, suitable for family viewing.
In the 1970s and 1980s, the Ramsay brothers dominated the Hindi horror scene with hits like Do Gaz Zameen Ke Neeche (1972) and Purana Mandir (1984), built on a formula of over-the-top ghosts, witches, blood and titillation.
“The films were profitable but lacked the legitimacy and appeal to attract big actors and a wider audience,” says trade analyst Taran Adarsh.
In the new millennium, producer brothers Mahesh and Mukesh Bhatt, along with director Vikram Bhatt, took the reins of the genre.
Their series Raaz (the first film released in 2002) – a sleeker reinvention of the Ramsay Brothers formula, with chart-topping songs and sensual scenes – achieved significant success.
But with a few exceptions, the charm of horror films remains limited.
The turning point came in 2007, when the first part of Bhool Bhulaiyaa, starring Akshay Kumar and Vidya Balan, hit the theatres.
Adapted from the 1993 Malayalam blockbuster Manichitrathazhu, the film offered a perfect blend of humor and horror and became an instant hit among the audiences.
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Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007) offered a perfect blend of humor and horror
The genre – with its new family-friendly approach, which tones down explicit content – gained popularity with the 2018 release of Stree, which combined horror with social themes like patriarchy and feminism.
Anees Bazmee, the director of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 and 3, says a big part of his vision was to make his films enjoyable for children. “I wanted them to be on the edge of their seat but never really scared, like on a roller coaster ride – happy on the way up, with a thrill of fear on the way down,” he told the BBC.
And it's not just about humor, there are other common elements too: most of these films are set in small towns and combine local folklore with universal themes of kindness, courage and triumph possible good over evil.
Take the film Tumbbad, a daring blend of mythology, horror and moral lessons.
The film follows Vinayak, who discovers a treasure guarded by a cursed creature and attempts to steal it, only to realize that greed is a death trap. Originally released in 2018, the film was re-released in theaters earlier this year, managing to gross more than its original collection.
Mr. Adarsh says there's no doubt that horror is enjoying a “revival” at the box office this year.
But others caution against oversimplifying this trend.
“Bhool Bhulaiyaa was our first horror-comedy hit which established a hit formula,” said Aditya Sarpotdar, director of Munjya.
“But it took over a decade to find the next big thing (Stree),” he adds.
Bazmee says that often, it's the plot and not the genre that determines a film's popularity.
“In the end, it's always the well-made films that work. That will always be a fundamental factor,” he says.
