The new trend in Bollywood in 2024 is the rise of horror and horror-comedy films, featuring zombies, witches, and spirits. This genre has seen significant box office success, with films like 'Shaitaan' earning over $25 million worldwide.
Horror films in Bollywood are becoming popular because they have shifted to a family-friendly approach, blending scares with comedy. This makes them suitable for family viewing, where audiences can enjoy both thrills and laughs. Films like 'Bhool Bhulaiya 2' and 'Stree' have successfully balanced these elements, attracting a wider audience.
Bollywood is facing significant challenges post-COVID, including the closure of over 1,000 single-screen theaters and a decline in theater attendance. The industry is struggling to produce content strong enough to draw audiences back to cinemas, especially with the availability of films on OTT platforms shortly after release.
The horror genre in Bollywood has evolved from being considered low-quality, B and C-grade films with poor makeup and special effects to becoming family-friendly entertainment. Modern horror films now mix scares with humor, making them suitable for family audiences and creating a unique viewing experience.
Newcomers are playing a significant role in Bollywood's horror genre, with fresh faces like Abhay Verma and Sharvari Vaag leading successful horror-comedy films. This trend shows that the genre is not reliant solely on established stars, allowing new talent to thrive and attract audiences.
While horror films have been a saving grace for Bollywood in 2024, they alone cannot save the industry. The broader challenge lies in producing high-quality content across all genres to draw audiences back to theaters, especially with the competition from OTT platforms and the closure of many single-screen theaters.
Bollywood films are known for their epic love stories, energetic dance numbers and huge stars like Shah Rukh Khan and Priyanka Chopra. However, the industry - like Hollywood - has faced a slump since the Covid pandemic.
But 2024 marked a new trend; the box office success of horror. Shaitaan, for example, earned over $25m worldwide. We speak to film critic and journalist Yasser Usman and Bollywood influencer Aaina Mehta to hear whether they think witches, zombies and evil spirits could pull more people back to the cinema.
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