2025 First Half Box Office Report Card: From Chhaava To Sitaare Zameen Par

The first half of 2025 delivered mixed signals for the Indian film industry. While overall collections have improved from the last two years, the real story lies in who delivered and who didn't.

Film analyst Girish Wankhede explains, "If we see the box office report of the first 6 months of 2025, the industry has fared much better than in 2024 and 2023. In 2023, we had five Rs 100 crore films. In 2024, only three. But this year, six films have crossed the Rs 100 crore mark."

Absolute Hits of 2025 So Far:
      •     Chhaava - Rs 585 Crore
      •     Raid 2 - Rs 173 Crore
      •     Bhool Chuck Maaf - Rs 152 Crore
      •     Sitaare Zameen Par - Rs 121 Crore (and counting)

These four not only hit Rs 100 crore, but were also declared clean commercial hits thanks to strong word of mouth and fresh storytelling.

Big Stars, Big Budgets, Low Returns

Despite crossing Rs 100 crore, star-studded films like Housefull 5 (Rs 182 crore), Sikandar (Rs 110 crore), and Kesari Chapter 3 struggled to impress audiences and were marked as underwhelming. Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan, and others couldn't lift these titles into hit territory.

Comparisons With Past Years:

2024:
      •     Fighter - Rs 212 crore
      •     Shaitaan - Rs 148 crore
      •     Munjya - Rs 102 crore
      
2023:
      •     Pathaan - Rs 524.53 crore
      •     The Kerala Story - Rs 239.05 crore
      •     Adipurush - Rs 147.92 crore
      •     Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar - Rs 147.28 crore
      •     Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan - Rs 110.94 crore

With most of the 30+ releases in first half of 2025 flopping, it's clear that audiences are rewarding substance over stardom. All eyes are now on the second half for redemption or reinforcement of the shift.