The seventh month of 2025, July, has begun. In the first six months, several films were released in Bollywood cinemas. Some artists made their debut, while others tried to captivate audiences through action and big-budget stories.
Box Office Report: Half of 2025 has passed. In these six months, Bollywood attempted to draw audiences to theaters with films ranging from big-budget productions to debut films. However, the fate of most films on the box office has been disappointing. While films like 'Chhawa', 'Red 2', and 'Sitare Zameen Par' did impressive business in the initial months, the rest of the films not only failed to meet expectations but also caused significant losses for the makers. Let's explore why these films underperformed and the reasons behind their failures.
1. Emergency
- Director: Kangana Ranaut
- Budget: 60 crore
- Collection: 16.52 crore
- Kangana Ranaut's much-discussed film 'Emergency' was released amidst considerable discussion and controversy. Multiple changes in the release date and the ban imposed in Punjab had a significant impact on it. According to Kangana, Punjab has been a major market for her, and the lack of collection from there heavily impacted the film.
2. Azaad
- Director: Abhishek Kapoor
- Budget: 80 crore
- Collection: 6.32 crore
- Despite the presence of stars like Ajay Devgn, 'Azaad' flopped badly. The reason was the weak storyline and the average acting of new faces. Rasha Thadani and Aman Devgn's debuts failed to make an impact.
3. Lavyapa
- Director: Advait Chandan
- Budget: 60 crore
- Collection: 7.04 crore
- This romantic drama, released in February, marked the debut of Aamir Khan's son, Junaid Khan, and Khushi Kapoor. However, the story lacked originality, and Khushi Kapoor's acting was also weak. Consequently, the audience completely rejected it.
4. Mere Husband Ki Biwi
- Director: Mudassar Aziz
- Budget: 60 crore
- Collection: 9.38 crore
- This comedy film, starring Arjun Kapoor, Bhumi Pednekar, and Rakul Preet Singh, failed to make the audience laugh. Due to a weak screenplay and stale jokes, the audience ignored the film.
5. Sikandar
- Director: AR Murugadoss
- Budget: 200 crore
- Collection: 110.1 crore
- Big names like Salman Khan and Rashmika Mandanna, and South's hit director Murugadoss, also couldn't save the film. An old story and weak direction proved to be its biggest weaknesses.
6. Romeo S3
- Director: Guddu Dhanoa
- Collection: Less than 1 crore
- This film had neither promotion nor did it attract the attention of the audience. As a result, no one knew when it came to theaters and when it was gone.
7. Ground Zero
- Director: Tejas Prabha Vijay Deoskar
- Budget: 50 crore
- Collection: 7.54 crore
- Despite the presence of Emraan Hashmi, the film's promotion was weak. Also, Akshay Kumar's 'Kesari 2' was released at the same time, completely diverting the audience's attention.
8. The Bhootni
- Director: Siddhant Sachdev
- Budget: 30 crore
- Collection: 6.10 crore
- The film offered neither horror nor comedy in the name of a horror-comedy. A weak story and average acting were the reasons for its failure.
9. Kapkapi
- Director: Sangeeth Sivan
- Budget: 25 crore
- Collection: 0.97 crore
- This was a remake film that received no promotion. The audience didn't even know that the film had been released.
10. Kesari Veer
- Director: Prince Dhiman
- Budget: 60 crore
- Collection: 1.89 crore
- The film was in the news because of Sunil Shetty and Sooraj Pancholi, but a weak story and ordinary direction deflated the film's appeal.
Why are films failing?
The 2025 box office report shows that despite big stars and grand budgets, if the story is weak, the promotion is not right, or the release strategy goes wrong, it is not easy to run a film. This year too, many films were released relying solely on star power, but the audience immediately rejected them due to weak content.
Some films also had poor timing and promotion. The examples of films like 'Ground Zero' and 'The Bhootni' are evident, which crashed in the face of other major releases.
