The fate of Force 2 and Kahaani 2 hangs in the balance after Rock On 2 is rejected
Upala KBR (DNA; November 15, 2016)

Rock On 2 released to dismal figures on Friday. The film’s fate is cause for worry for two upcoming sequels Force 2 (releases on November 18) and Kahaani 2 (releases on December 2). Is it a wrong time for sequels? Here is what trade pundits have to say about the release of the two sequels and what went wrong with the Farhan Akhtar-Shraddha Kapoor starrer.

Trade analyst Amul Mohan says, “We can’t write off Kahaani 2 and Force 2. It depends from movie to movie. Box-office success also depends on the popularity of the first part. Force and Kahaani were good pan-India hits, so their sequels have a good base to build on. Rock On 2 didn’t do well as it is a metro-centric and not a pan-India film. Rock On! wasn’t a universal hit, so the sequel needed to hit it out of the park from day one. RO2 released with Chaar Sahibzaade: Rise Of Banda Singh Bahadur which did phenomenally better. The fate of Force 2 or Kahaani 2 will be much better than Rock On 2. Both films are relevant. Force 2 is an action-based film and action works well with the masses while Kahaani was a runaway success."

Film exhibitor Akshaye Rathi says, “You can’t say that the fate of Force 2 and Kahaani 2 looks bleak because Rock On 2 did poorly. Rock On!! became a cult film post its release, but the makers failed to capitalise on that and make the sequel bigger and better. They missed out on a huge opportunity. The reactions for Rock On 2 are negative. The promos of Kahaani 2 and Force 2 look extremely exciting and the content looks promising. Force was John’s first solo mass hit. The brand value of the series give the film some visibility and awareness, but eventually the audience decides purely on merits of promos. Demonetisation is a good excuse to use as a reason for its failure. But if that was true, why did Chaar Sahibzaade: Rise Of Banda Singh Bahadur do so well?”

BOMBAY TIMES (November 8, 2016)