With several iconic movies returning to the silver screen, 2024 stands out as a very important year for Bollywood. Nostalgia, big screen experience, community viewing, curiosity …all this and more brought audiences back to the theatres to revisit older movies as well as films of the yesteryears. As Shah Rukh Khan recently said, ‘The love for films should be common. People should come to the theatres and enjoy themselves with somebody else's family too... Where you laugh and cry together’. And some films only become better with age, as seen by the success of notable re-releases such as Veer-Zaara, Laila Majnu, Rockstar, Jab We Met, and Tumbbad.
Writer-presenter of Laila Majnu, Imtiaz Ali, who had announced the nationwide release of the film is thankful to the audience for this new trend of bringing back past films to the theatre. A modern-day adaptation of the classic folklore, received a lukewarm response at the box office when released (in 2018) but over the years it garnered a cult status. "They first asked for Rockstar, and then Laila Majnu ...it is a wonderful initiative that we can bring back such classic cinema. I’m glad that people can revisit my films whenever they want. I feel that good cinema never dies,” Imtiaz Ali tells ETV Bharat.
Sohum Shah’s Tumbbad emerged as the highest-grossing re-release followed by Imtiaz Ali’s Rockstar and Laila Majnu
Besides the ones that surpassed the previous records, about a dozen other films like Maine Pyar Kiya, Kal Ho Na Ho, Karan Arjun, Pardes, Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein, Gangs of Wasseypur, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Chak De! India, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, Hum Aapke Hain Koun, as well as many in Tamil and Telugu cinema, have been re-released in theatres over the last few months. Most of these re-releases have done well in terms of footfalls as well. “The re-release (of Karan Arjun) is an experiment for me as a filmmaker. I'm nervous, because I'm presenting my film to a new generation, it is a story of reincarnation, the re-release will help me gauge the mindset of the current generation of cine-goers,” Rakesh Roshan had said. But even as Shah Rukh Khan, Ranbir Kapoor, Shahid Kapoor, Chiranjeevi, and Vijay saw the re-release of some of their biggest hits, the most business was done by a niche horror film with no stars—Tumbbad in which Sohum Shah’s character embarks on a treacherous journey to find a hidden treasure that holds the key to breaking the curse that plagues the village of Tumbbad.
Upon its original release in 2017, the film was critically acclaimed but did not do much at the box office as it faced competition from films like Andhadhun and Badhaai Ho probably but on its re-release, it earned three times more (around Rs 40 crore) than what the original had collected. Shah knew his labour of love, to which he devoted seven years, deserved better. “Although the film didn’t get much love at first, I began getting phone calls from people in the industry, and slowly it started gaining recognition. I always felt that justice wasn’t done to the film. We had made it with so much love, it took us seven years to make. While the critics appreciated it, the box office numbers didn’t reflect that. I always felt that the film deserved more, and it was meant to be watched on the big screen. Yes, many people watched it on OTT, and we made it to be experienced in theatres. I would always get messages from people asking if I was making Tumbbad 2, and asking to re-release Tumbbad. Finally, after receiving so many messages, I felt it was the right time to re-release it,” says Shah. Tumbbad, Rockstar and Laila Majnu are among the most successful re-releases this year. Laila Majnu, a 2018 release starring Avinash Tiwary and the then newcomer and now ‘it’ girl Triptii Dimri, outdid the Rs 2.18 crore collection in its first theatrical run in just three days.
“When Laila Majnu had come (with the new cast) it probably didn’t encourage people to spend time and money to come into the theatres to watch. But anything that you do has quality will ultimately find a way of reaching people. For all these years people kept watching the film on different platforms, even pirated copies on YouTube and the community kept growing. A pure word of mouth has helped this film with friends and families recommending it to each other. Sometimes you get the return of labour in an instant and sometimes you get it in an EMI and it keeps coming in small ways (laughs). And then people started talking about why they didn’t watch it in theatres when it released, then I started hearing echoes of a re-release... what humbles me is people actually took out their time and money and made the effort of going to theatres to watch it. Also, both the actors - Tripti Dhimri and Avinash Tiwary who are extremely talented, became popular over the years and hence curiosity for the people kept growing,” says the film’s director, Sajid Ali.
Re-releases now evolved into a tactical move by multiplexes
The trend of re-releasing films is not new to Bollywood, it was quite prevalent in the '70s, '80s and '90s when films like Mother India, Mughal-E-Azam, Sholay, and (Govinda’s) Aankhen made a successful return to theatres due to public demand. But in recent times the trend of re-run started essentially due to scarcity of movies in theatres and lack of interesting new films and that resulted in benefitting the likes of older films. So, the films that have cultivated a strong base, or didn't get their due over the years, were showcased again for big screen experience for those who loved watching these movies or had missed them at the time of their release.
When the trend picked up big time the exhibitors and theatre-owners started looking beyond “nostalgia showcasing” or “filling in lean weekends” as Niharika Bijli, lead strategist, PVR Inox explains, “Our re-release strategy initially began as an experiment and a way to fill gaps in our programming between releases. However, as we started curating iconic films like Rockstar, Jab We Met, and Tumbbad for re-releases, we witnessed an overwhelming appreciation from our audiences. Re-releases have now evolved into a tactical move — a powerful way to unite generations, offering first time viewers the chance to experience classics on the big screen while also giving nostalgic fans an opportunity to relive cherished memories. The remarkable success of films like Kal Ho Naa Ho highlights not only the timeless magic of cinema but also our commitment to creating unique, immersive experiences. This blend of past and present is transforming beloved classics into new cultural moments, showcasing how storytelling connects audiences across time and keeps the theatre experience fresh, relevant, and deeply connected to the heart of Indian cinema.”
Successful re-releases are also expanding their audience base not just in metros but also elsewhere, as multiplex chains like Cinepolis and single screens jumped on the bandwagon too. “Re-releasing older 3-D movies like Titanic, Avatar ... have always been part of our strategy, we often also do these film festivals but this year it became a tactical move. We are seeing fewer new releases or the new movies are not doing well so it was a tactical move to include older movies as part of our overall business so that we could get more people coming to cinemas. Also, the ticket price of older movies is much less than the new movies, Rs 160-Rs 170 against Rs 240, and re-releases have had higher occupancy this year. Against an average occupancy of about 26 per cent we are seeing re-releases at about 32 – 33 per cent occupancy in 2024. So, it makes sense for us to continue re-releasing films in a period where there are less new movies,” says Ashish Misra, Head - Commercialisation, Cinepolis India.
Celebrating anniversaries like Wake-Up Sid’s 15th in October, or organising film festivals like the recently held on Raj Kapoor’s centenary are other ways to position re-releases.
“Mera Naam Joker is a great example ..Even though some of the movies were very long as compared to the trend now, people were enjoying it and we had good occupancy rates. This year we had three per cent of our admission through these movies. Barsaat that released about 75 years back, got such a phenomenal response from families with older people being accompanied by their children and grandchildren. We do a lot of polls and contests with our patrons – Which is that one movie we should bring back? Then we acquire content on the basis of feedback. Last year we did the retro film festival where we played some films from the 90’s like Baazigar, Main Khiladi Tu Anari …these films got a very massive response from the audience …these are the movies people from my generation watched when we were very young and we want to watch it again because of the iconic songs and scenes. It’s a great atmosphere during the screening as people know the dialogues, song steps ...it is a different way of enjoying the movie. We are focusing on this trend and it will continue to be part of our release strategy,” adds Misra.
Re-releases in 2025 not on a grand scale?
Re-releasing films now may have become an integral part of the release strategy of multiplexes but it will all depend upon the release calendar of new films. “In 2024, blockbusters have been missing so re-releases provided a very good opportunity for people to come back and see those nostalgic movies on a big screen because there are many people who missed out watching a DDLJ or Tumbbad when they originally came in. But 2025 looks a lot better for new releases, so re-releases may not be as frequent and not in the same grand way as 2024. If the new releases perform well then, the window for re-releases would be smaller. It is because of the (poor) performance of new releases that we started to focus on re-releases."
In 2025, there are quite a few big new releases and the last two to three year’s data underlines the fact that the franchise movies that have done well. The volume of re-releases will be down by half, opines Misra. "Let’s say Bhool Bhulaiyaa, Singham, Pushpa, Stree, KGF... Next year we are expecting a few franchise movies not just from Bollywood but also from Hollywood and regional. The trend of success in franchise movies will continue next year as well. If we re-released 50 films this year next year it could be 25 to 30 re-releases but we expect the contribution from these movies to be sizable,” says Misra.
Re-releases send a message to filmmakers...
Audience demand for older films definitely sends an important message to the filmmakers that they need to revise their content as per public taste. “One good thing about re-releases happening is that the makers will be encouraged to spend more time, money and effort in producing quality products. Now it is not that you are going for just one Friday, maybe you are going for a legacy because that is getting monetised also, there is real money to be made. At least, on a conceptual level there is another chapter that might have opened up. There will be more faith that the producers will have when they put their money. There will be faith and confidence in people if you tell a pure story. Quality ultimately speaks for itself. People are coming to theatres for Pushpa, Tumbbad, Laila Majnu ...they have to be excited for it,” says Sajid Ali.
“What really underscores is that even as the older movies are available on OTT platforms, YouTube ..yet they are coming to watch on the big screen. People like that community viewing experience and this is a great win for the industry. All industries go through cyclical change, the ups and downs ..post-Covid 2023 was one of the best years for the industry ever in terms of Box office. Am sure the stakeholders involved in presenting the content are working on making sure we have content which appeals to the diverse Indian taste. Habit (of going to theatres) is intact," concludes Misra.
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