Bollywood Diwali Box Office From 2021 to 2025: How Sooryavanshi, Tiger 3, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 and Thamma Performed
Diwali has traditionally been one of the most important theatrical release periods for Bollywood. The festive season attracts family audiences, creates opportunities for major film releases and often encourages filmmakers to schedule their biggest projects during the holiday period. However, the box-office performance of Hindi films released around Diwali between 2021 and 2025 shows that a festive release date alone cannot guarantee commercial success.
Over the last five years, Bollywood has witnessed major successes, disappointing performances and unexpected hits during the Diwali season. Akshay Kumar's Sooryavanshi helped revive theatrical business after the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. In 2022, Ram Setu and Thank God failed to meet expectations. Salman Khan's Tiger 3 delivered a strong performance in 2023, while 2024 witnessed a major box-office clash between Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 and Singham Again. In 2025, Thamma and Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat offered another example of how audience preferences can influence festive collections.
2021: Sooryavanshi Helps Revive Theatrical Business
The 2021 Diwali season was particularly important for the Hindi film industry. The COVID-19 pandemic had severely affected cinema operations, and filmmakers were looking for major releases that could encourage audiences to return to theatres.
Akshay Kumar's Sooryavanshi emerged as one of the most significant theatrical releases of that period. Directed by Rohit Shetty, the action entertainer also featured Katrina Kaif, Ajay Devgn and Ranveer Singh.
Released on November 5, 2021, the film benefited from the festive period and the popularity of Rohit Shetty's cop universe. Its action sequences, star cast and connections with the Singham and Simmba films helped generate audience interest.
Sooryavanshi collected approximately Rs 195.55 crore net in India, while its worldwide gross reportedly crossed Rs 290 crore. Its performance demonstrated that audiences were willing to return to cinemas for large-scale commercial entertainers.
The film became an important milestone in Bollywood's post-pandemic recovery and showed the commercial potential of established franchises during the festive season.
2022: Ram Setu and Thank God Deliver Disappointing Results
The following year presented a different picture for Bollywood. Two major Hindi films, Akshay Kumar's Ram Setu and Ajay Devgn's Thank God, arrived during the Diwali period in 2022. Despite featuring popular actors, neither film managed to achieve the expected box-office performance.
Ram Setu also starred Jacqueline Fernandez and Satyadev. The film explored the mystery surrounding the legendary bridge connecting India and Sri Lanka. Its subject and promotional campaign generated curiosity before release, but the film struggled to maintain audience interest throughout its theatrical run.
Ram Setu collected approximately Rs 74.7 crore net in India.
Thank God, featuring Ajay Devgn, Sidharth Malhotra and Rakul Preet Singh, attempted to attract audiences with its fantasy-comedy storyline. However, the film received a mixed response and recorded an estimated domestic net collection of around Rs 36.35 crore.
Together, the two films collected approximately Rs 111 crore net in India. Their performance highlighted the challenges faced by big-budget releases when audience reception does not match pre-release expectations.
The 2022 Diwali season demonstrated that established actors, festival holidays and large promotional campaigns are not enough to guarantee box-office success. Strong storytelling and audience engagement remain important factors in determining a film's theatrical performance.
2023: Tiger 3 Records a Strong Diwali Performance
Salman Khan's Tiger 3 became one of the major Bollywood releases of the 2023 Diwali season. The action thriller arrived in theatres on November 12, 2023, and continued the popular Tiger franchise within the YRF Spy Universe.
Directed by Maneesh Sharma, the film featured Katrina Kaif as Zoya and Emraan Hashmi as the antagonist. Its connections with the larger spy universe and the popularity of Salman's character generated considerable interest among fans.
Tiger 3 collected approximately Rs 282.79 crore net in India. Its worldwide box-office collection was also substantial, making it one of the notable commercial performers of the festive season.
The film benefited from its established franchise, action sequences and star power. However, its theatrical performance also demonstrated that even successful franchise films can experience changing audience responses over time.
Tiger 3 remained an important Diwali box-office release in 2023 and continued the industry's reliance on large-scale action entertainers during major holiday periods.
2024: Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 and Singham Again Create a Major Box Office Clash
The 2024 Diwali season witnessed one of Bollywood's biggest theatrical clashes, with Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 and Singham Again releasing on November 1.
Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, directed by Anees Bazmee, featured Kartik Aaryan, Vidya Balan, Madhuri Dixit and Triptii Dimri. The horror-comedy continued the popular franchise and attracted audiences through its combination of comedy, supernatural elements and familiar characters.
The film collected approximately Rs 283.80 crore net in India and around Rs 423.85 crore worldwide, according to reported box-office figures.
Singham Again, directed by Rohit Shetty, featured Ajay Devgn in the lead role. The film also included an ensemble cast featuring Akshay Kumar, Ranveer Singh, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Deepika Padukone, Tiger Shroff and Arjun Kapoor.
As part of Rohit Shetty's cop universe, the film generated significant pre-release attention. It collected approximately Rs 268.35 crore net in India, with worldwide earnings of around Rs 389.64 crore.
Together, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 and Singham Again collected more than Rs 552 crore net in India. Their combined performance made the 2024 Diwali season a major success for Hindi cinema.
The two films also demonstrated that competing big-budget releases can both attract substantial theatrical audiences, even when they target different genres and viewer preferences.
2025: Thamma and Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat Deliver Mixed Results
The 2025 Diwali season featured two prominent Hindi releases: Ayushmann Khurrana's Thamma and Harshvardhan Rane's Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat. Both films arrived in theatres on October 21, 2025, but offered different types of entertainment.
Thamma, directed by Aditya Sarpotdar, is part of Maddock Films' horror-comedy universe. The film also featured Rashmika Mandanna and Nawazuddin Siddiqui.
The movie opened strongly, reportedly collecting approximately Rs 24 crore on its first day. However, its box-office momentum slowed during the subsequent weeks. It eventually recorded an estimated India net collection of around Rs 134.78 crore and worldwide earnings of approximately Rs 187.59 crore.
Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat, directed by Milap Zaveri, starred Harshvardhan Rane and Sonam Bajwa. The romantic drama emerged as a notable performer despite being a comparatively smaller production.
The film benefited from its music, romantic storyline and audience response. It collected approximately Rs 78.99 crore net in India and around Rs 110.28 crore worldwide.
Together, the two films generated approximately Rs 214 crore in domestic net collections. Thamma recorded the higher overall collection, while Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat demonstrated that a smaller film could also attract audiences during a competitive festive period.
Five Years of Bollywood Diwali Box Office Performance
The box-office figures from 2021 to 2025 reveal significant differences in the performance of Bollywood's festive releases.
In 2021, Sooryavanshi collected approximately Rs 195.55 crore net in India and helped revive theatrical business after the pandemic.
In 2022, Ram Setu and Thank God together earned around Rs 111 crore net, making it a comparatively weak festive season.
In 2023, Tiger 3 collected approximately Rs 282.79 crore net in India and emerged as a major Diwali release.
In 2024, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 and Singham Again together crossed Rs 552 crore in domestic net collections, making it the strongest combined performance among the five seasons discussed.
In 2025, Thamma and Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat collected approximately Rs 214 crore net together, delivering a moderate performance compared with the previous year's major box-office clash.
These figures are approximate reported collections. Box-office estimates can vary between trade sources, particularly when reporting India net collections and worldwide gross earnings.
Does a Diwali Release Guarantee Box Office Success?
The performance of Bollywood films over these five years shows that Diwali remains an important release window, but the festival alone cannot determine a film's commercial success.
Sooryavanshi and Tiger 3 benefited from established franchises and popular stars. Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 and Singham Again demonstrated the commercial potential of a major festive-season clash. On the other hand, Ram Setu and Thank God showed that prominent casts and holiday releases do not always translate into strong theatrical collections.
The 2025 season offered another important lesson. While Thamma attracted a larger audience overall, Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat found success with a different genre and a comparatively smaller production scale.
Ultimately, audience response, storytelling, franchise popularity, marketing and competition all influence theatrical performance. Bollywood's Diwali box office continues to offer significant opportunities, but the results from 2021 to 2025 make one point clear: a festive release date can create expectations, but the film itself must convince audiences to visit cinemas.
