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Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety, Hasee Toh Phasee join the growing list: Are re-releases a guarantee of box-office success?
Nearly 25 Hindi titles returned to theaters in the past year. While select have performed well, some struggled, showing nostalgia doesn't guarantee success.
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Bollywood is increasingly turning to its past to draw audiences back to theatres. Multiplexes have witnessed a steady rise in films returning to the big screen, from cult favourites to relatively recent titles finding a second theatrical life.
In the past year alone, nearly 25 Hindi films have been re-released: Dil To Pagal Hai (1997), Band Baaja Baaraat (2010), and more recently Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety (2018) and Hasee Toh Phasee (2014). While some have generated impressive footfalls and surprising box office numbers, others have struggled.
The mixed results suggest that re-releases are far from a guaranteed success formula. Films that were major hits during their original run have not always found the same enthusiasm upon returning to theatres. For instance, Ranveer Singh-Deepika Padukone-Shahid Kapoor's Padmaavat (2018) reportedly earned only modest numbers in its recent re-release. The restored original cut of Sholay (1975) also saw limited traction.
How some re-releases have fared
Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani: ₹21 crore
Sanam Teri Kasam : ₹41 crore
Padmaavat: ₹50 lakh
Sholay: ₹2 crore
Tere Naam: ₹1.25 crore
Trade analyst Taran Adarsh says the trend has accelerated rapidly. “Until last year, only a few select films would re-release. Now the trend is picking up pace. In a matter of weeks, we’ve seen several films returning to theatres. But the results have been mixed and not all re-releases are guaranteed successes,” he says, adding that the strategy partly fills gaps created by fewer new theatrical releases.
Actor Harshvardhan Rane, whose Sanam Teri Kasam (2016) found unexpected success during its re-release, believes the industry often gravitates towards what works. He says, “People love to follow any trend that is successful, especially if it has worked once or twice. But I hope we don’t end up re-releasing everything from the archives in the same genre.”
For Hasee Toh Phasee director Vinil Mathew, nostalgia alone cannot drive a film’s return to theatres: “It’s not just about the film itself. Marketing, awareness and show timings play a big role. Without enough publicity, some re-releases simply come and go.”
