2022 Mid-Year Round-Up: ‘The Kashmir Files’ To 'Major' To ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2’ – Hindi Films That Became A Hit

The first half of 2022 had several Bollywood films headlined by superstars failing to bring audiences to the theatres. At the same time, there have been some good content-driven, and moderately budgeted films that have ended up faring better at the ticket windows. Films of big stars like Ajay Devgn, Amitabh Bachchan, Kangana Ranaut, Akshay Kumar, Nushraatt Bharuccha, John Abraham, Jacqueline Fernandez, Shahid Kapoor, Ranveer Singh, Rakul Preet Singh, Tiger Shroff, Ayushmann Khurrana, Mrunal Thakur, Shilpa Shetty and many others have not been able to pull in the crowds.

The film business has been suffering since the time the pandemic started and this year too hasn’t been great for the Hindi film industry. The non-success of big-budget films at the box-office has hurt the business. To add to the woes, the same films when released on OTT are doing good business. Films like ‘Jersey’, and ‘Anek’ are good examples of the same. Therefore, movies that aren’t doing well at the ticket windows are very quickly moving on for an OTT release within just 3-4 weeks.

In 2022’s first half, Bollywood has remained highly dependent on either audience emotions, or pan-India titles like ‘RRR’, ‘KGF: Chapter 2’ and ‘Vikram’. As we enter the second half of the year, let’s have a look back at the Hindi films that stood out, won the support and love of audiences and also had cash registers ringing at the box-office:

‘The Kashmir Files’

Starring Anupam Kher, Mithun Chakraborty, Pallavi Joshi, Darshan Kumaar and many others, this film was the biggest sleeper hit one can ever imagine. The Vivek Agnihotri directorial ended up making ₹340.16 crores at the box-office. Not only did the movie manage to earn the big bucks, but it also ended up becoming a topic of discussion among people everywhere.

‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2’

Starring Kartik Aaryan, Tabu and Kiara Advani in the lead roles, the horror comedy went on to be the second biggest money-spinner at the box-office. Till now the Anees Bazmee directorial has earned around ₹262.04 crores, and it is still running in selected theatres, despite having been released on May 20. Audiences lapped up to see ‘Manjulika’ once again on screen.

‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’

Filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali marked his first collaboration with Alia Bhatt with this film on the life of Gangubai Kothewali. The film was based on the book by S. Hussain Zaidi called ‘Mafia Queens Of Mumbai’. The film earned ₹209.25 crores at the box-office.

‘Major’

Starring Adivi Sesh as Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, ‘Major’ not only won hearts with its content but also managed to witness almost 100 per cent growth at the box-office on its very first weekend. The film, which was shot simultaneously in Hindi and Telugu, managed to do well in the Hindi belt. Despite tough competition from big-budget films like ‘Samrat Prithviraj’ and ‘Vikram’ on the same weekend, ‘Major’ managed to earn ₹66 crores just with its Hindi release.

‘Jugjugg Jiyo’

Starring Varun Dhawan, Kiara Advani, Anil Kapoor and Neetu Kapoor in the lead roles, ‘Jugjugg Jeeyo’ managed to be the massy rom-com entertainer that the Hindi audiences had been waiting for a long time. The film, which was released on June 24, has until now managed to earn ₹81.13 crores at the box-office in just one week. Produced by Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions, the film is about dysfunctional families and their broken relationships. Trade sources predict that with a good second weekend, the movie would easily enter the ₹100 crores club.