Spy Vs Cop Vs Horror-Comedy: The Formula That Works Best For Bollywood

The Covid-19 pandemic has altered the dynamics for both filmmaking and moviegoers. A strong competition from the OTT platforms have forced production houses to find newer means to entertain the audience and bring them back to theatres for a larger-than-life experience.

The Bollywood industry has certainly embraced the idea of franchise filmmaking or the universe movie model — a trend that is prevalent in the West is gradually seeping into the Hindi film industry.

Big production houses and filmmakers, including Yash Raj Films, Rohit Shetty and Maddock Films, are banking heavily on the universe model to revive the industry and elevate it to greater heights. The recent box office successes of Stree 2 and Pathaan are proof that the universe model has delivered impressive results.

Spy Universe

Multiple genres of filmmaking are part of this universe model race, with spy universe, cop universe and horror comedy being among the top contenders.

According to Sacnilk's data, YRF's Spy Universe so far has garnered a total domestic net collection of Rs 1,681 crore, comprising Salman Khan's Tiger series, Shah Rukh Khan's Pathaan and Hrithik Roshan's War. The box office success of these films has inspired the makers to further explore this concept.

Pathaan's domestic net collection surpassed the earnings of other four films, totalling Rs 543 crore followed by Tiger Zinda Hai with Rs 339.2 crore and War with Rs 318 crore.

Cop Universe

It all started in 2011, when Rohit Shetty's first cop film, Singham, turned out to be a hit at the box office. From strong storytelling to powerful dialogues like Aata Majhi Satakli, it laid a strong foundation for the Cop Universe.

So far, the Cop Universe has garnered a total domestic net collection of Rs 924.8 crore. Singham Again led the way with Rs 247.85 crore, followed by Simmba with Rs 240.30 crore and Sooryavanshi with Rs 195.55 crore.

Horror-Comedy Universe

With back-to-back hits like Stree 2 and Munjya, Maddock Films have aced the horror-comedy genre. While filmmakers in 2024 struggled to get audiences to the theatre, Maddock Films provided a full-on entertainer to the public with laughing and screaming in suspense throughout the movie.

Maddock Films horror comedy cinematic universe garnered a domestic net collection of Rs 898.4 crore, with Stree 2 obtaining Rs 598 crore, while Stree mopped up 129.83 crore and Munjya acquiring Rs 101.6 crore. Dinesh Vijan's mantra of creating cinematic wonders on a low-cost budget has been the key to this success.

Likewise, the Bhool Bhulaiyaa franchise has become a significant force within Bollywood. The Akshay Kumar-led Bhool Bhulaiyaa emerged a box office superhit, creating a new wave in the horror comedy genre. Its domestic net collection stood at Rs 49.11 crore.

In 2022, the baton was passed to Kartik Aaryan and the second installment garnered Rs 184.3 crore. The third installment achieved a box office collection of Rs 260.04 crore.

Upcoming Movies

The YRF spy franchise will aim to break all records with two of its upcoming movies. The audience will see Hrithik Roshan in War 2 locking horns with Telugu superstar Jr NTR. In December, the first-ever female-led spy movie, Alpha, will hit the screens staring Alia Bhatt and Sharvari in the lead roles.

Similarly, the action genre is evolving to include strong female leads, as seen in the recently released Singham Again. Rohit Shetty introduced a female cop played by Deepika Padukone. According to media reports, she will take on the role of the lead cop in the upcoming cop film.

Speaking about horror-comedy, Maddock Films recently unveiled a list of eight horror films scheduled for release in the coming years. This includes Thama and Shakti Shalini in 2025 while Bhediya 2 and Chamunda in 2026, among others.

Maddock Films recently unveiled a list of eight horror films scheduled for release in the coming years.