Thamma vs Deewaniyat: Will the superstar-less Diwali after 22 years bring in box office rewards? Trade experts share their views

2025’s prime festive season—Diwali—will go into history because, for the first time in 22 years, there is no superstar release. The only films hitting the screen are Thamma and Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat. The former features Ayushmann Khurrana and Rashmika Mandanna and the later has Harshvardhan Rane and Sonam Bajwa.

The last year not a single huge star was there in a Diwali release was 2003, when we had Sssshhh… (Dino Morea, Tanishaa, Karan Nath) and Pinjar (Manoj Bajpayee, Urmila). From 2004 to 2024, we had either a single release with a superstar or major stars clashing. 2008’s Golmaal Returns with Ajay Devgn, 2011’s RA.One with Shah Rukh Khan (competing with two smaller films, of which the Hema Malini directorial had a song-cameo by Salman Khan, which does not count), 2013’s near-to-Diwali Krissh 3 with Hrithik Roshan, 2015’s Prem Ratan Dhan Payo with Salman, 2018’s Thugs of Hindostan with Aamir Khan, 2019’s Housefull 4 and 2021’s Sooryavanshi with Akshay Kumar (the latter had Ajay Devgn in a cameo) and 2023’s Tiger 3 with Salman Khan again formed this list (this one had Hrithik Roshan in a blink-and-miss end-credits cameo).

2020, the year of the pandemic, had three OTT releases: Laxmii with Akshay Kumar, Chhalaang which was produced by Ajay Devgn but featured Rajkummar Rao, who himself had a double bill with Ludo (also featuring Abhishek Bachchan and Aditya Roy Kapur).

Last year, the Ajay Devgn mega-starrer Singham Again released (with Akshay in a special appearance and Salman in a blink-and-miss cameo, and Arjun Kapoor and Tiger Shroff along with another cameo by Ranveer Singh). But despite doing fairly well, it underperformed and lost out to another ‘third in a franchise’ film, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3. And that film was toplined by Kartik Aaryan, not any superstar!

What matters—Superstar or subject? “Obviously, both do!” opined trade analyst Taran Adarsh. “Superstars have always been important for a film’s opening business. But story is the key, which is why even the biggest names hunt for a good story.”

He added that Thamma, though bereft of a superstar, comes from a horror-comedy franchise that is very big now after Stree, Munjya and Stree 2 (Bhediya was an also-ran). “We cannot dismiss Thamma at all as a small film!” he pointed out. “It may set records.”

Interestingly, while Stree released in 2018 and Munjya came up in 2024, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 (incidentally a progressively-successful franchise) was also a big horror-comedy triumph, which released in 2024’s Diwali. Feels Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 writer-director Anees Bazmee, “Content is paramount always, was so a hundred years ago and will be a century later!”

Distributor-exhibitor Raj Bansal, however, has a unique perspective. Candidly, he declared, “Even for superstars, collections are important for their remunerations to scale up. Social media and influencers today decide on the fates of films, based on ticket sales. All this has started after the pandemic, and so we find fake collections shown from tickets being purchased! Actors dictate to producers and successful producers want to make their own place, since they cannot dictate to stars! But such things cannot last long…Hindi cinema is facing tough times! Let us see what happens!”

Why there is no starry blockbuster Bazmee feels that the reason for no superstar release this Diwali is purely organic. “Plannings are done but can sometimes go askew!” he says. Adarsh also agreed. “Superstars are doing less work today, and there has been a scarcity of big star releases in 2025!” he noted. “But next year, things will change. For one, Ranbir Kapoor’s Ramayana is definitely slated for a Diwali 2026 release. There will be other films coming up as well.”

Veteran filmmaker-writer-editor N. Chandra of Ankush-Pratighaat-Tezaab-Style fame, offered another unique outlook. “I think that one explanation of why there is no superstar coming up this Diwali is that probably the times when stars fought for Diwali release dates and screens may have got over. I remember how filmmakers and stars would not want their films to come in during the shraddha period before Navaratri, as it is considered inauspicious! But now the audience mentality too has changed and they can watch any movie at any time, probably because of streaming as well.”

Foolproof? Not really! At the end of the day, then, as Bazmee, the “winning party” of last year’s Diwali, put it, it is always content that rules. Salman’s Kyon Ki… (2005) and Main Aur Mrs Khanna (2009), Salman-Akshay’s Jaan-E-Mann (2006), Akshay’s Action Replayy (2010) and Ram Setu (2022), Ajay Devgn’s Shivaay (2016) and Thank God (2022) and Aamir Khan’s Thugs Of Hindostan (2018) all released during Diwali but were either flops or disasters.

On the other hand, the theatrical success (in terms of Returns on Investment) for RA. One, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, Secret Superstar, Tiger 3 and even Singham Again are a matter of debate, though extra-theatrical or long-term earnings can escalate many a film to the positive side.

True-Blue Diwali Sparklers Let us, therefore, pray that Thamma and even Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat join the list of the big true-blue Diwali sparklers like Om Shanti Om, Golmaal Returns, Golmaal 3, Golmaal Again (note this increasingly-successful franchise like the Bhool Bhulaiyaa one and also the tangy part that Golmaal Again was also a horror-comedy!) and Housefull 4. Let us also include, for a valid reason, the immediately post-pandemic film, Sooryavanshi (2021) as people were still wary about venturing into cinemas.

Also Read: EXCLUSIVE: Thamma vs Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat screen-sharing battle begins; makers of Ayushmann Khurrana-starrer demand ALL shows in single and two-screen cinemas

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