Bollywood’s First Half of 2025:
The first half of 2025 has turned out to be disappointing for Bollywood, with most releases failing to make a mark at the box office. Out of more than three dozen major theatrical releases, only three films—Chhaava, Raid 2, and Sitaare Zameen Par—managed to emerge as hits, while the rest faced a harsh reality ranging from below average to outright disasters.
The biggest surprise hit was Chhaava, starring Vicky Kaushal in a powerful historical role, which turned out to be an All Time Blockbuster. Its gripping storyline and intense performances connected strongly with audiences across India. The film collected a huge total of Rs. 551 crore nett and emerged as the 3rd biggest Bollywood grosser ever behind Stree 2 (2024) and Jawan (2023).
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Ajay Devgn's Raid 2 also proved to be a clean hit, continuing the success of the original with a fresh investigative drama. However, the film couldn't make it to the Rs. 200 crore nett mark and endedd its run with Rs. 165 crore nett. Meanwhile, Aamir Khan's emotional drama Sitaare Zameen Par won both hearts and decent box office numbers, becoming the third major success of the season. The film has done a buisness of Rs. 150 crore nett so far and it will be intresting to see if it can beat final numbers of Raid 2 ot not.
On the other hand, other decent to good releases like Emergency (starring Kangana Ranaut), Fateh (with Sonu Sood), and Sky Force (featuring Akshay Kumar) underperformed drastically. Even Housefull 5, despite its star-studded ensemble, could only manage a below average verdict, which means an unsuccessful film.
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Himesh Reshammiya's Badass Ravi Kumar, Sooraj Pancholi's Kesari Veer, and Emraan Hashmi's Ground Zero failed to attract footfall, while experimental and mid-budget films such as Phule, Crazxy, and Maa flopped without a trace. Three succesful films in April-May: Kesari Chapter 2, Jaat and Bhool Chuk Maaf brought some relief but couldn't image as clean hits.
With a bleak start to 2025, the industry now pins its hopes on the second half of the year for a turnaround at the box office. However, er don't have many big releases like except for War 2 that can go onto the level of Chhaava.
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Below are the Bollywood Movie Verdicts in the first half of 2025:
Fateh – Disaster
Emergency – Disaster
Azaad – Disaster
Sky Force – Below Average
Deva – Flop
Loveyapa – Disaster
Badass Ravi Kumar – Flop
Chhaava – All Time Blockbuster
Mere Husband Ki Biwi – Disaster
Crazxy – Flop
Superboys of Malegaon – Flop
The Diplomat – Flop/Below Average
Pintu Ki Pappi – Disaster
Sikandar – Flop
Jaat – Average
Kesari 2 – Average
Ground Zero – Disaster
Phule – Flop
Raid 2 – Hit
The Bhootnii – Disaster
Bhool Chuk Maaf – Average
Kapkapii – Disaster
Kesari Veer – Disaster
Housefull 5 – Below Average
Sitaare Zameen Par – Hit
Maa – Flop
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