It is that time of the year when Diwali fireworks extend to the Bollywood box office. Traditionally considered one of the most profitable days — Friday or not — to release a film, over the last three decades, every year (with the exception of one or two) has seen the biggest stars scrambling in advance to book this sure-shot date for some of their most prestigious projects. There has rarely been a Diwali Bollywood release that has failed miserably at the box office. Even when there have been two or three big releases on the same date, all of them have got a fair share of the audience pie. There are, of course, exceptions — the chief being Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Saawariya, that introduced Ranbir Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor to the movies, and which when released in the Diwali of 2007, sank without a whimper in front of the might of Shah Rukh Khan's Om Shanti Om.
KING KHAN'S FIREWORKS
Diwali, in fact, has been SRK's domain, like Eid has always been Salman's chosen date for his films, while Aamir — in the years he has released a film — has been more or less inclined towards the Christmas weekend.
SRK, without a doubt, has been the King (Khan) of Diwali. Right from the mid-'90s, the Bollywood Badshah has scored without fail at the box-office on this festival. Get a load of this — Baazigar (1993), Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995), Dil To Pagal Hai (1997), Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), Mohabbatein (2000), Veer-Zaara (2004), Don (2006), Om Shanti Om (2007), Ra.One (2011), Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012), Happy New Year (2014). Most of the biggest films dotting SRK's filmography have all been Diwali releases. While most of these films have been bona fide blockbusters, all of them, without a doubt, have gone down in the annals of Bollywood as some of its most defining, big-budgeted commercial films.
DHOOM!
There have been others who have aimed for the Diwali weekend and, more often than not, delivered fireworks. Teaming up with Rohit Shetty, Ajay Devgn has released three — Golmaal Returns (2008), Golmaal 3 (2010), Golmaal Again (2017) — out of the four films in the franchise on Diwali, all of which have been big earners at the box office. Last year, their multi-starrer enterprise Singham Again, was a Diwali release.
While his socially relevant films and those themed on patriotism have always eyed the January 26 (Republic Day) and August 15 (Independence Day) weekends, Akshay Kumar has also been a big believer in the odd Diwali release — most recently Housefull 4 (2019) and Sooryavanshi (2021), have paid dividends. Both Salman Khan (Tiger 3, 2023) and Aamir Khan (Thugs of Hindostan, 2018) have flirted with the date, but the films in question didn't work. However, both these films, despite their box-office showing, had the credentials of a Diwali release with the potential to set the box office on fire.
In Diwali 2017, Aamir stuck his neck out and released the modestly-budgeted Secret Superstar — riding on his Dangal co-star Zaira Wasim, then aged 16, and with himself featuring in only a cameo — and crafted a box-office mammoth. Made on a budget of ₹15-crore, Secret Superstar earned a humongous ₹875-crore (though quite a bit of it came from its release in China where Aamir is a huge draw).
FACE OFF!
What's a Diwali Bollywood weekend without a face-off? Some of the biggest stars have brought out their biggest films on the same Diwali date, with many of them having a go at each other, demolition-derby style. Some classic examples are Diwali 2006 with Don and Jaan-E-Mann (Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar, Preity Zinta) and Om Shanti Om (that marked Deepika Padukone's debut) versus Saawariya in 2007. The nostalgic notes of Jab Tak Hai Jaan — director Yash Chopra's final film, that came out less than a month after his demise and had Shah Rukh sharing screen space with Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma — were marred by Yash Raj Films' pow-wow off screen with the team of Son of Sardaar (led by Ajay Devgn) that was adamant on releasing its star-studded comedy on the same Diwali Friday of 2017. Things came to such a head that it drove a wedge between besties SRK and Kajol (who sided with husband Devgn). Yes, it was ugly, but underlined the importance of a Diwali release in Bollywood.
Even last year, Singham Again (led by Devgn and starring everyone from Akshay Kumar to Ranveer Singh, Kareena Kapoor Khan to Deepika Padukone) went neck and neck with Kartik Aryan's Rooh Baba (along with Vidya Balan and Madhuri Dixit weaving their magic) in Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3. Both films had audiences trooping in in droves.
BUT THIS YEAR...
So what happened to Diwali 2025, where the biggest release, Thamma, is frontlined by Ayushmann Khurrana and which clashes with Harshvardhan Rane's Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat? Both actors — along with their co-stars in their respective films — have proved their mettle, but neither of their star power (or the lack of it) is enough to qualify as a big Diwali release.
"Thamma holds an edge because it is the latest in the Stree supernatural-meets-social commentary-meets-humour franchise where audiences are eager to know what happens next. But, honestly, it doesn't have the magic or the magnetic pull of a traditional Diwali release. Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat is definitely not a festival release," was the word to t2 from a veteran Mumbai-based trade analyst who did not wish to be named.
To be honest, what we are seeing this Diwali is a culmination of the below-average run Bollywood has had this year. With the exception of a few titles — Chhaava, Saiyaara, Mahavatar Narsimha (which is anyway an animation film) — there have been very few genuine hits in 2025, with the industry perpetually battling loud whispers of bulk booking, fudged box-office numbers and more. Quite a few high-budgeted films have also flopped and the last two months of the year only have a few notable releases — Dhurandhar, Alpha, Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri — with the promise to make it big.
Will Diwali 2026 — with the magnum opus Ramayana: Part 1, starring Ranbir Kapoor, Yash and Sai Pallavi — turn things around and bring back waning glory? Or will Thamma and Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat become big enough to prove that content will now rule over star power, no matter what the release date is? Let's wait and watch.