Bollywood's Most Successful Horror Movies

Ajay Devgn's Shaitaan is a superhit.

Joginder Tuteja looks at how successful the horror genre has been at the box office in recent times.

 

Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2
Box office collections: Rs 186 crore/Rs 1.86 billion
Bhool Bhulaiyaa
Box office collections: Rs 50 crore/Rs 500 million

The horror comedy Bhool Bhulaiyaa is quite big in this genre.

The first part, directed by Priyadarshan and starring Akshay Kumar and Vidya Balan, was a big hit. Later, Anees Bazmee's sequel with Kartik Aaryan and Tabu turned out to be a blockbuster.

Now, the actor-director team are getting ready for Part 3 with Vidya Balan.

Shaitaan
Box office collections: Rs 150 crore+/Rs 1.5 billion+ (expected lifetime)

The second biggest horror success ever is Shaitaan, which is still playing in theatres.

Ajay Devgn and R Madhavan came together for this critical and commercial success by Director Vikas Bahl and now, a sequel in the works.

 

Stree
Box office collections: Rs 130 crore/Rs 1.3 billion

Another horror comedy blockbuster.

With Shraddha Kapoor playing the title character, and Rajkummar Rao as the leading man, this Amar Kaushik directorial was a surprise success at the box office.

The sequel with the same team is expected this year and its success will not be a surprise.

 

Kantara (Hindi)
Box office collections: Rs 85 crore/ Rs 850 million

The Kannada film Kantara instantly caught the audience's attention and became a blockbuster.

So much so that the shows were increased for this Rishab Shetty horror drama with a strong mythological angle to it.

A sequel is in the works.

 

Raaz 3
Box office collections: Rs 73 crore/Rs 730 million
Raaz Reboot
Box office collections: Rs 30 crore/Rs 300 million
Raaz - The Mystery Continues
Box office collections: Rs 25 crore/Rs 250 million
Raaz
Box office collections: Rs 22 crore/Rs 220 million

The biggest horror franchise so far is Raaz and it's surprising that the Bhatts are not reviving it with a Part 5.

It all started when Vikram Bhatt and Bipasha Bhatt came together for Raaz and made it a blockbuster.

The sequel with Emraan Hashmi and Kangana Ranaut was a hit and Raaz 3 was an even bigger success.

Emraan continued with Raaz Reboot but the film flopped.

 

Bhediya
Box office collections: Rs 70 crore/Rs 700 million

Producer Dinesh Vijan is creating his own horror universe.

After Stree and Roohi, he made Bhediya with Varun Dhawan and Kriti Sanon, which did reasonable business.

The creature horror drama boasted of some of the best VFX that a Bollywood film has seen and there are talks that this 'bhediya' will make a special appearance in Stree 2.

 

Ragini MMS 2
Box office collections: Rs 46 crore/Rs 460 million
Ragini MMS
Box office collections: Rs 11 crore/ Rs 110 million

When Ragini MMS arrived, it turned out to be a surprise success at the box office, more so since it was made on a shoestring budget.

Ragini MMS 2 with Sunny Leone was a bigger film and also a bigger box office success.

Chartbuster songs and Sunny's glamorous image helped to add to the success.

 

1920 - The Evil Returns
Box office collections: Rs 30 crore/Rs 300 million
1920: Horrors of the Heart
Box office collections: Rs 19.25 crore/Rs 192. 5 million
1920 London
Box office collections: Rs 15 crore/Rs 150 million
1920
Box office collections: Rs 11 crore/Rs 110 million

Apart from Raaz, Vikram Bhatt's 1920 has been the most installments.

The commercial success may have been limited, but the franchise has lived for more than a decade, with last year's 1920: Horrors of the Heart surprising everyone by becoming a good success.

 

Haunted
Box office collections: Rs 30 crore/Rs 300 million

Haunted was made in 3D, and is Mahakshay (Mimoh) Chakraborty's only commercial success.

Surprisingly, there hasn't been a Haunted 2 so far.

 

Bhoot
Box office collections: Rs 15 crore/Rs 150 million

Ram Gopal Varma's Bhoot was a chilling movie with great performances by Urmila Matondkar, Ajay Devgn, Fardeen Khan, Nana Patekar and Rekha.

A controlled budgeted film, it was a good success at the box office.

RGV's Bhoot Returns with Manisha Koirala did not do well.