From Sikandar to War 2: 12 Big-ticket Bollywood films of 2025 that underperformed at box office

2025 saw Indian cinema struggle with massive flops. Franchise fatigue, high costs, and weak scripts led big-budget films like War 2 and Sikandar to fail, proving star power can't save bad content.

Sikandar; War 2

There was a lot of upheaval in the Indian film business in 2025. Despite the record-breaking performances of a few tentpole movies, many other high-profile ventures, sequels, and star-led vehicles bombed at the box office. Numerous films were deemed "flops" or "underperformers" due to factors like "franchise fatigue", enormous production expenses, and intense competition from both local and foreign releases.

A common factor in several of these bombs was franchise fatigue. The films Baaghi 4 Housefull 5, and Son of Sardaar 2 depended on names that weren't as powerful without substantial artistic growth. Southern "Pan-India" blockbusters and massive Hollywood sequels have also pushed Bollywood films with moderate to high budgets out of the market. Star power cannot save a bad script or an overbudget film, as Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar learnt the hard way in 2025.

The Blockbusters That Weren’t

Deva

As the year came to a close, everyone was hoping that Deva directed by Rosshan Andrrews and featuring Shahid Kapoor in a thrilling police role, would make a strong impression. Though it had a respectable opening day of ₹5.78 crore, the film was unable to maintain its momentum during the week. Some critics felt the script was too predictable and didn't add anything fresh to the genre. The expected production and marketing expenses were not covered by the film's static lifetime collection in India, which stayed at just over ₹32 crore. The film's worldwide run ended at around ₹51.73 crore, and the international market didn't help matters much either.

Kesari Chapter 2

Kesari Chapter 2 was a historical courtroom play that Dharma Productions ambitiously released to mark the 106th anniversary of the Jallianwala Bagh tragedy. Critics were divided on the film, regardless of the filmmakers' resumes, the subject's historical significance, or the star cast, including Akshay Kumar, R Madhavan, and Ananya Panday. Although it was a courtroom drama, its slow-burning plot and special appeal kept it from reaching the same level of commercial popularity as its predecessor. Despite having a reported budget of ₹150 crore, the picture was a giant letdown in the first half of the year due to its failure to break even theatrically with a worldwide total of under ₹145 crore.

ALSO READ: Sikandar Review: Salman Khan’s masterclass on how to take your audience for granted

Sikandar

Directed by A.R. Murugadoss, the Salman Khan film Sikandar is one of the more frightening entries here. Although smaller films typically achieve a domestic finish of ₹100 crore, Salman Khan's "Eid" (the film's release occurred near the Eid window) was a disastrous flop. Despite starting with ₹27.50 crore, the film's second week experienced a staggering 84% decline. The film was deemed a "disaster" in numerous areas when compared to the star's previous box office success and its enormous landing cost. The domestic box office take of 1.2 crore tickets was significantly lower than Khan's usual fare.

Housefull 5

Casting an ensemble headed by Akshay Kumar, Housefull 5 was touted as the most extravagant installment in the comedy series. Filming took place exclusively on a luxury cruise ship. The "franchise fatigue" problem, though, was particularly hard on the film. The film made over ₹240 crore globally; however, the profit margins were extremely slim due to the high expenditure of ₹225 crore. Its digital and satellite rights were strong, earning it an "Average" rating from some trade analysts, but it bombed at the box office, failing to even break even—the industry threshold for a clean "Hit"—and therefore was considered an underperformance.

Son of Sardaar 2

The follow-up to Ajay Devgn's 2012 smash blockbuster was a letdown compared to the original. Over the weekend, Son of Sardaar 2 was unable to improve upon its chilly ₹7.50 crore opening. Many felt the film had failed to deliver due to its disjointed plot and outdated humour. The film's theatrical run was shortened due to competition from other August films, and it ended with a domestic net of only ₹43.24 crore. Considering the picture was part of a popular franchise and featured an A-list actor, these figures fell well short of expectations.

War 2

The blockbuster film War 2—which stars Hrithik Roshan and Jr. NTR—is proof that "big numbers" aren't necessarily indicative of success. Despite the film's ₹365 crore worldwide earnings, its enormous ₹400 crore landing cost led to its declaration as a flop. The film was considered successful if it managed to earn more than ₹700 crore worldwide. Earning barely ₹57 crore net, the film's performance in the Telugu market was especially disheartening considering the presence of Jr NTR. The critically panned "Tiger 3" still has more viewers than this YRF Spy Universe flop.

Baaghi 4

For the action series, Tiger Shroff's Baaghi 4 was the lowest point. Critics said the film's poor script and graphic violence were its worst problems. It became the lowest-grossing instalment in the series, with a global gross of just ₹66 crore. Day 6 showed a 43% decline in ticket sales, suggesting that not even the film's most devoted action fans could save it. Distributors lost a ton of money since the "mass" audience—who generally buys Shroff's movies—didn't show up.

Jolly LLB 3

Despite its star power, the courtroom comedy Jolly LLB 3 (featuring Akshay Kumar and Arshad Warsi) was unable to earn a profit. At the end of its run in India, the film had recovered about 98% of its ₹120 crore budget, falling just ₹2 crore short of its investment goal. It may have made more money than the other two Jolly LLB films combined, but the additional budget prevented it from achieving the same return on investment (ROI) as its predecessors.

Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari

The romantic comedy starring Varun Dhawan and Janhvi Kapoor was supposed to be the talk of the Gandhi Jayanti weekend. But the huge hit Kantara: Chapter 1 starring Rishab Shetty, took all the attention away from it. Mixed reviews and an un-resonant storyline kept Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari from breaking out in non-urban areas. It continued a pattern of mid-scale romantic comedies failing to attract audiences away from digital media, as its worldwide gross of ₹92 crore fell short of the ₹100 crore barrier.

De De Pyaar De 2

The sequel's box office performance was lower than the 2019 original even though the film featured a strong cast, including Ajay Devgn, Rakul Preet Singh, and R. Madhavan. For a family-friendly series, the film's domestic lifetime net of ₹70 crore was considered disappointing. The film's significant weekday drop-off rate indicates that, although there was initial curiosity, the content did not deliver the "repeat watch" value needed to be considered a hit.

120 Bahadur

The commercial failure of Farhan Akhtar's 120 Bahadur war drama, which was based on the Rezang La Battle, was unprecedented. The film underperformed in the November window, despite a modest increase over the opening weekend. Compared to the production value, the film's total domestic net of ₹15.52 crore was significantly lower. While the intention was admirable, some felt the execution belonged in an OTT film rather than a theatrical production.

Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri

The most recent addition to this list, which features Kartik Aaryan and Ananya Panday, has had a rocky start. The film's earnings plummeted to ₹6.03 crore on Day 2 from ₹8.46 crore on Day 1, which was its opening on Christmas Day. Hollywood behemoth Avatar: Fire and Ash and box office smash Dhurandhar are causing it enormous difficulty at the moment. Based on current statistics, it seems like the film would struggle to earn between ₹50 and ₹60 crore, which would be a big letdown for Aaryan following his recent achievements.

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