Horror-comedy becomes a winning combo for Bollywood as ‘Stree 2’ hits Rs 500-cr mark

There is no stopping ‘Stree - Sarkate Ka Aatank’, or simply known as ‘Stree 2’. The horror-comedy film from Maddock Films’ stable has garnered Rs 408 crore (Rs 40 crore on the second Sunday) in just 11 days, while its worldwide GBO stands at Rs 580 crore.

Here’s a comparative look at the highest grossing films at the Box Office in 11 days in the past one year:

‘Jawan’ – Rs 456 crore

‘Pathaan’ – Rs 438 crore

‘Animal’ – Rs 428 crore

‘Gadar 2’ – Rs 415 crore 

‘Stree 2’ had released on Independence Day this year, along with ‘Khel Khel Mein’ starring Akshay Kumar, Taapsee Pannu, Vani Kapoor, Fardeen Khan, and ‘Vedaa’ starring John Abraham and Sharvari Wagh.

‘Stree 2’ stars Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana and Abhishek Banerjee. The same actors had also featured in ‘Stree’, which was released in 2018. As per reports, ‘Stree’ grossed Rs 180.76 crore at the box office during its theatrical run.

On the other hand, ‘Vedaa’ has just managed to gain Rs 19.25 crore approximately, while ‘Khel Khel Mein’ saw a little jump in footfalls in the second week and performed slightly better by earning Rs 23.15 crore at the Box Office.

‘Stree 2’s success has once again showcased the tremendous potential of the horror-comedy genre in India. The genre is not new, and on and off there have been films made that have done fairly well at the Box Office. One can trace back to Mehmood, Tanuja starrer ‘Bhoot Bungla’, which release way back in 1965. However, this genre has gathered momentum in recent times.

While there have been a surfeit of horror films – right from Ashok Kumar, Madhubala starrer ‘Mahal’ (1949) to the upcoming movie ‘Adbhut’ starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui, which will have a straight-to-TV release in September this year. Ramsay Brothers have played a major role in taking forward the horror genre in India. Then came the Bhatt brothers with the ‘Raaz’ series and later with the ‘1920’ series. Ram Gopal Varma introduced a new kind of horror in films with ‘Raat’ in 1992 and followed it up years later with ‘Bhoot’ (2003), ‘Vaastu Shastra’ (2004), ‘Phoonk’ (2008) and ‘Phoonk 2’ (2010), ‘Bhoot Returns’ (2012). He also made two horror anthologies – ‘Darna Mana Hai’ (2003) and ‘Darna Zaroori Hai’ (2005).

Maddock Films has also been creating its own horror-comedy universe with ‘Stree’, ‘Roohi’, ‘Bhediya’, ‘Munjya’ and now ‘Stree 2’. All except ‘Roohi’ have done very well at the Box Office. ‘Munjya’ brought some folk Maharashtrian touch, reminding viewers of another fantastic horror film – ‘Tumbbad’ (2018).

In fact, ‘Munjya’ and ‘Stree 2’ have managed to revive a so far lacklustre year for Bollywood. ‘Shaitaan’, a horror film released earlier this year and starring stalwarts like Ajay Devgn and Madhavan, has also done very well. As per reports, ‘Shaitaan’ grossed Rs 177.96 crore (US$21 million) in India and a further Rs 33.1 crore (US$4.0 million) in overseas markets, for a worldwide total of Rs 211.06 crore (US$25 million).

Of course there have been the monster hit ‘Kalki 2898 AD’, which garnered Rs 800 crore in 11 days of release, and crossed Rs 1,100 crore in 31 days, and sci-fi comedy ‘Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya’, which grossed Rs 96.29 crore (US$12 million) in India and Rs 37.35 crore (US$4.5 million) overseas, for a worldwide total of Rs 133.64 crore (US$16 million).

And let’s not forget Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007), which was not strictly a horror film, but had plenty of scares and some comedy. The film garnered Rs 497 million (US$6.0 million) in India. Its sequel, ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2’, was released in 2022, while ‘‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3’ is slated for release later this year.

Also Read: Blockbuster Horror Comedy “Munjya” locks its Worldwide TV First Premiere