Bollywood 2025: Sequels and Franchises to Draw Audiences to Theatres?

Sequels/franchises offer Bollywood filmmakers a safe bet, leveraging existing success, brand recall, and loyal fanbase to mitigate risks, Seema Sinha reports for ETV Bharat.

It's raining sequels in Bollywood; 2025 is shaping up to be a significant year for franchises. The upcoming slate for next year will see a line-up packed with blockbuster sequels and franchises with much-anticipated films like Baaghi 4, Raid 2, Jolly LLB 3, Housefull 5, War 2, and Welcome to the Jungle among others that promise to deliver thrills, comedy, action and drama in abundance.

Filmmakers are increasingly relying on sequels and franchises in these difficult times when the film business is looking unpredictable and shaky and hence providing audiences with popular and familiar characters is definitely safe for business as producer and trade analyst Girish Johar says, "All are a bit nervous and they are banking more on sequels. About 40 to 50 titles are being worked upon in terms of franchises, sequels, prequels ...It is a natural tendency that when you are not aware of what is happening be it a cricket ground or films we come to basics. Producers are sceptical …what is working and what is not, so a sequel is the best and safest route to work on established franchises and established characters, elongate them and tell a new story rather than spending big money in these turbulent times in costly ventures."

And now with Singham Again and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 doing well at the box office, the films that had an intense clash at Diwali 2024 it is very likely that more and more sequels will be churned out in the years to come as it is confirmed that audiences are eager for more stories about popular characters and settings. No wonder so Rohit Shetty has announced the fifth instalment of Golmaal with Ajay Devgn in the lead and there are strong rumours that Akshay Kumar is planning to bring back the smash hit comedy drama Bhagam Bhag (2006) with a sequel with Govinda and Paresh Rawal.

Not just comedies and actioners but the cult classic Masoom will also be revived. Acclaimed director Shekhar Kapur has just announced the sequel of his 1983 hit with Shabana Azmi and Naseeruddin reprising their roles in the follow-up. Director of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 and 3 Anees Bazmee, who is currently basking in the success of the third instalment of the horror-comedy should know better as he says, "Sequel is definitely a safe bet as compared to a regular film because there is recall value and people have faith that it will be a good film. I have written about 50 films and I never wrote sequels in the past but I like this trend, we should accept it with both hands and with an open mind. If the industry is reaping benefits, then we should welcome it." Adds Stree and Stree 2 director, Amar Kaushik, "Sequels bring with them a sense of continuity and established connection with characters. This familiarity reduces the risk for moviegoers, who are more inclined to invest time and money in a story they already trust."

Brand and recall value, established narratives and characters, audiences eager for more stories about popular characters, nostalgia, actors wanting to stick to what works and last but not the least financially appealing are some of the primary reasons why successful franchises are the way forward. Further, pointing out the advantages of sequels and franchises, Bazmee says, "Franchise is a big thing and if you are successful at it then it gets more love than a regular film. Whenever a good franchise has been made, for instance, Pushpa ...there is curiosity to watch its sequel. If it had been a very normal film there wouldn’t have been curiosity around it. That is the fayda (advantage). People had loved Stree and therefore Stree 2 got a great initial. In fact, the sequel got a still better opening. Probably Pushpa 2 will be a bigger hit than Pushpa. If your first film was good and you worked hard on it then it will reap more benefit in the second one."

The history of sequels in Hindi cinema dates back to 1943 with Hunterwali Ki Beti but the true era of sequels began in 2006 with huge hits like Lage Raho Munna Bhai, Dhoom 2, Phir Hera Pheri, and Krrish. The success story of franchises in 2022 and 2023 includes, KGF: Chapter 2, the follow-up to the 2018 hit KGF: Chapter 1 that became a pan-India sensation. Similarly, Drishyam 2, a sequel to the 2015 thriller Drishyam, garnered critical acclaim and strong box office returns.

Kartik Aaryan in a still from BB 3 (Photo: ETV Bharat)

Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, a sequel to the 2007 horror-comedy, then Gadar 2, Tiger 3, OMG, Dream Girl 2 and Fukrey 3 all performed exceptionally well. And if we consider the YRF Spy Universe as a franchise, then Pathaan also counts. Talking about the success and dependability of sequels, trade expert Atul Mohan says, "As seen recently, films like OMG 2, Gadar 2, Stree 2, Singham Again and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 and 3 have performed massively at the box office. With successful films, a brand has been established, and audiences know what to expect. Many actors have tried different things—some worked, and some didn’t—but today, the situation has changed. Actors now want to stick with something that has worked, as they want to maintain the graph and momentum of their careers."

This trend mirrors the Hollywood model as it is believed that Hollywood studios are extremely risk-averse: they do not want to invest money in something that is not going to make money for the studio and the producers. Any "new" movie or idea has a built-in risk - the audience won’t be familiar with the characters, the story, or the setting, and it may not capture their imagination (and $$). With sequels, remakes, and reboots, there is a certain amount of built-in audience, and therefore much less risk. There are exceptions of course. It has been seen that Marvel movies also received a lot of backlash due to bad story-telling and stretched plots. "Audience anywhere in the world is clear that you can’t take us for granted. If you want to take the franchise ahead then give us proper stories," says Johar.

Still from Singham Again (Photo: ETV Bharat)

Talking about the films here, recently, the Indian 2 (Kamal Haasan-starrer, sequel to the 1996 hit) was a disaster and hence plans of making another instalment was stalled. Then, sequels to John Abraham’s Attack, Vicky Kaushal-Bhumi Pednekar’s Bhoot and Tiger Shroff’s Ganapath were dropped as originals flopped. "Some of these filmmakers put their foot in the mouth, they go wrong but still the ratio in India of franchise films failing is less. We have seen many successes and hence there are four to five instalments made in Cop Universe and comedies. Golmaal 5 is being made, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 4 is likely to happen which indicates that people are loving these films," says Girish Wankhede, a film trade analyst.

Coming back to Bollywood replicating Hollywood in franchises, Wankhede says, "We are very much following the Hollywood that has been churning the franchise, sequels, instalments, trilogies since 1979 with Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Trek, Star Wars to Conjuring to Psycho, to John Wick action franchise and more...it is very normal for them and now we are trying to catch up with the trend. To recreate that universe becomes easy because entire talent is at your disposal. It is logical to opt for tried and tested formulas instead of experimenting with new ideas. Look at Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 and 3, then going back into the past, Hera Pheri 2 and Golmaal 2 and 3, then Stree 2...even as the sequels have not done justice to the original content yet they have done better business than the original."

Wankhede opines that Bhool Bhulaiyaa sequel was released 15 years after the original but still the brand recall value was so high that both second and third instalments worked well. "It's essentially a three-day business and when your Friday-Saturday-Sunday are safe because of your great franchise value that is what the filmmakers are inclined to go for," says Wankhede. "In terms of content we do sometimes feel that this has a little lesser value and enrichment as compared to the earlier part. Very few films like Drishyam and probably Dhoom or Ek Tha Tiger where content quality enrichment increased with the passage of time," adds Johar.

Mounting a new film is like creating a new universe which means a lot of risk, finalising and working on new actors' team, whereas franchise is a sure shot formula and safe bet where both, your investors and actors are excited, say most filmmakers in unison. However, not all would want to go for safe bets and instead feel creatively satisfied by creating a new universe.

Anil Sharma, director of the massively successful Gadar 2 (Rs 691 crore worldwide, one of 2023's highest-grossing films), is more inclined to creating original ideas which is why it took him more than two decades to come up with the sequel of the film.

"I believe in originality," Sharma explains. "Each director has his own thinking and process. I thought about making Gadar’s sequel only after over 20 years of the release of the first one because I believe in and prefer original ideas. People are waiting for Gadar 3 and making that would be easier for me but I will start the third instalment whenever I want to and before that I want to make two to three films based on original ideas. I wanted to create something new and I have made Vanvaas (releasing around Christmas, 2024) which is purely emotional film even though I had to start from scratch for promotions, creating public interest, raising funds …there is lot of extra work which I don’t need to do when I make Gadar 3 which I plan to start in 2026," says Sharma.

While there is a downside to sequels and franchises as many film connoisseurs feel that the filmmakers and creative people are not coming up with new ideas and there’s too much dependence on tried and tested formulas, the makers disagree. "To make a sequel is a very difficult job. The challenge is that the sequel has to be neither same nor completely different from the original. There is a responsibility on the makers and directors to make a better product whether you or someone else had made the previous one. For the sequel also there is a challenge to bring some new ideas and elements. We are making films for a common man who enjoys watching films. Second part is also a new idea, otherwise people will reject it," Sharma adds.

The filmmaker also admits that "there is a lot of pressure in business and if I have the option of sure shot formula and creating something new obviously, I will go for the former." Bazmee, who might return to the director's chair for Bhool Bhulaiyaa 4, adds, "Why would I make efforts to create something new because that has risk? Therefore we are going for the tried and tested route rather than experiment with new talent and new writers." Echoing same sentiments, Sharma adds, "For a film producer, a sequel is a safe bet and there is nothing wrong in it because ultimately movie making is business but at the same time making a sequel is not easy because there is comparison and competition with your original."

As fans eagerly await these sequels, it's clear that Bollywood’s franchise era is here to stay, offering a diverse mix of action, comedy, romance, and drama. With beloved stars reprising their roles and new stories unfolding, 2025 promises to be a year of cinematic extravagance, one that will delight moviegoers across the country and the trend can be boiled down to three words: Commodification of Nostalgia.

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