Showing posts with label The Conjuring 2. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Conjuring 2. Show all posts
Analyzing Obsession's India box office: The horror obsession that Gen Z can’t quit
2:20 PM
Niharika Lal (BOMBAY TIMES; June 25, 2026)
Indian audiences are obsessed with Obsession. With earnings of over Rs. 91 crore, the Curry Barker directorial is the highest-grossing Hollywood film of 2026. According to box-office data, since its release, the film has not dropped below its first-weekend numbers.
Its momentum has continued to snowball, making it the third highest grossing Hollywood horror film in India. The top two spots are occupied by The Conjuring and The Conjuring 2.
The film’s non-stop run is also because of a larger trend. There has been a clear boom in the horror genre at the Indian box office over the past two years. Exhibitors say globally branded international horror films have set new benchmarks in production values, sound design and immersive theatrical experiences. But Obsession’s success is not just about horror. It is also about Gen Z. We take a look at what worked.
‘Great work gets a film to opening day. What happens after that is the audience deciding whether to recommend it to their friends’
Denzil Dias, Managing Director, Warner Bros. India, says, “Most films follow the same curve: a big weekend, a steady decline, and they’re done by Wednesday. Obsession is running in the opposite direction. A first-time director has made a film that genuinely unsettles audiences, with performances from Michael Johnston and Inde Navarrette that stay with you long after you leave the cinema. The foundation of everything is the film itself. Great work gets a film to opening day. What happens after that is the audience deciding whether to recommend it to their friends.”
He adds, “What drove that word-of-mouth? The experience. Horror is perhaps the one genre where cinema is genuinely irreplaceable. The jump scares, the collective gasp, the nervous laughter, someone screaming three rows behind you and the entire hall erupting together – you cannot stream shared dread. Someone watched it, then told five people. Those five told ten more. We started with a plan for 100 screens. The audience took it to over 800. That’s what happens when the cinema experience itself becomes the recommendation. That is cinema doing what only cinema can do.”
Continuing a trend seen last year, younger audiences have played a major role in driving the film’s success. So why has Obsession connected so strongly with Gen Z? Cinema experts say the film taps into anxieties that are deeply familiar to younger audiences – consent, clingy partners, insecurity and emotional dependency. These themes have sparked conversations online and offline, helping the film spread by word of mouth.
The growing demand has translated into theatrical business. Exhibitors have increased the number of shows week after week, responding to audience demand. They say the film has shattered the myth that movie theatres are becoming outdated for Gen Z audiences and that younger viewers would rather watch films at home.
‘HORROR FANS SHOW A DISTINCT PATTERN OF ENGAGEMENT AND LOYALTY’
Exhibitors say that for horror films, online buzz and virality are especially powerful. It’s no longer just about watching a new film — it’s about going to the theatre because everyone is talking about it.
Exhibitor Aamer Bijli, tells us, “From our view, horror fans show a distinct pattern of engagement and loyalty. Gen Zs are drawn strongly to horror because it offers novelty, edge and social currency. They watch with friends, talk about the jump scares, post reactions and often return for repeat viewings with a group. For them, the theatre becomes a social outing tied to the genre.”
‘WHEN A HORROR TITLE STARTS TRENDING, WE OFTEN SEE AN UPTICK IN OCCUPANCY’
The impact of social media on horror films is also becoming increasingly evident. Last year, Bijli told us, “Our data shows that when a horror title starts trending through Instagram/X reactions and YouTube trailer engagement, we often see an uptick in occupancy, along with stronger holdovers.”
‘GEN Z AUDIENCES ARE PRIORITISING CULTURAL RESONANCE AND AUTHENTIC STORYTELLING OVER SHEER SCALE’
Social aspect is also one of the biggest drivers behind the film’s sustained run, according to distributors and exhibitors.
Sanjeev Kumar Bijli, Executive Director, PVR INOX Limited, says, “Gen Z audiences are prioritizing cultural resonance and authentic storytelling over sheer scale. This film has sparked conversations, built communities on social platforms and turned cinema-going into a shared cultural moment. Obsession proves that distinctive voices and emotionally grounded narratives can deliver both critical relevance and commercial impact.”
Devang Sampat, MD, Cinepolis, says, “Obsession has completely rewritten the playbook for Hollywood films in India. While the horror genre generally performs well here, the film opened modestly and then grew stronger every weekend, defying every historical trend we track. Audiences are clearly hungry for intellectually mature storytelling over spectacle.”
He adds, “It has been our most-watched film over the last three weeks, even against local releases. The film proves that a brilliant script and pure psychological tension can outperform bigger movies when driven by strong word-of-mouth. Late-night weekday occupancies in metros are touching 90%. It’s historic.”
The first half of 2016 boasts of very few hits and dominance by Hollywood & regional films
8:04 AM
Shilpi Sampad (MID-DAY; July 5, 2016)
We are already halfway into 2016 and have seen a mix of actioners, romantic dramas, biopics, thrillers and comedies keeping their date with cinebuffs. But if an assessment of the box office has to be made, Bollywood seems to have encountered more speed bumps than smooth roads in the first six months.
Four and a half dozen films released within this time period, but only two — Airlift and Housefull 3 — managed to break into the Rs 100-crore league. Both films starred Akshay Kumar, but they belonged to diverse genres — the first one was a drama-thriller while the other a leave-your-brains-at-home comedy.
Trade analyst Amod Mehra says, “It wasn’t a very exciting first half. There were some hits, and many average grossers and flops. The only silver lining was that except May, every month had at least one film of which people took notice — Airlift in January, Neerja in February, Kapoor & Sons in March, Baaghi in April and Housefull 3 in June.”
Trade folk suggest the first half of most years is more or less lacklustre, but what took them by surprise was the steady dominance of Hollywood at the Indian box office. “No Hindi release could match up to the might of The Jungle Book, which did a solid business of Rs 175 crore here. Then came Marathi film Sairat, collecting Rs 90 crore and giving many Bollywood films a run for its money. It was undoubtedly, the surprise package of the year,” adds Mehra.
If sources are to be believed, Hollywood films made over $ 61 million at the Indian box office in 2016’ s first half in comparison to the $ 62 million they made in all of 2014 what with several of them overshadowing Bollywood releases. “The Conjuring 2 released alongside Amitabh Bachchan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui- starrer Te3n and collected Rs 3 crore more on its opening day. Overall, it minted Rs 50 crore, which is the highest for any English language horror film in India,” says exhibitor-distributor Akshaye Rathi, adding that other Hollywood releases like The Jungle Book, Captain America: Civil War and Deadpool were some films that gave B’wood a tough time.
Rathi says “small is big” has clearly been the highlight of this year so far. “Small films with controlled budgets emerged victorious at the box office. Airlift and Neerja were the best examples,” he adds.
As far as the biggest disappointments go, Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Fan and Katrina Kaif and Aditya Roy Kapur’s Fitoor take the cake. Made on a big budget, the former just about broke even while the latter incurred losses. Even Azhar and Udta Punjab couldn’t cash in on the controversy that they were embroiled in. “One thing is clear,” says Mehra, adding, “The audience wants entertaining films, irrespective of the genre or language.”
We are already halfway into 2016 and have seen a mix of actioners, romantic dramas, biopics, thrillers and comedies keeping their date with cinebuffs. But if an assessment of the box office has to be made, Bollywood seems to have encountered more speed bumps than smooth roads in the first six months.
Four and a half dozen films released within this time period, but only two — Airlift and Housefull 3 — managed to break into the Rs 100-crore league. Both films starred Akshay Kumar, but they belonged to diverse genres — the first one was a drama-thriller while the other a leave-your-brains-at-home comedy.
Trade analyst Amod Mehra says, “It wasn’t a very exciting first half. There were some hits, and many average grossers and flops. The only silver lining was that except May, every month had at least one film of which people took notice — Airlift in January, Neerja in February, Kapoor & Sons in March, Baaghi in April and Housefull 3 in June.”
Trade folk suggest the first half of most years is more or less lacklustre, but what took them by surprise was the steady dominance of Hollywood at the Indian box office. “No Hindi release could match up to the might of The Jungle Book, which did a solid business of Rs 175 crore here. Then came Marathi film Sairat, collecting Rs 90 crore and giving many Bollywood films a run for its money. It was undoubtedly, the surprise package of the year,” adds Mehra.
If sources are to be believed, Hollywood films made over $ 61 million at the Indian box office in 2016’ s first half in comparison to the $ 62 million they made in all of 2014 what with several of them overshadowing Bollywood releases. “The Conjuring 2 released alongside Amitabh Bachchan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui- starrer Te3n and collected Rs 3 crore more on its opening day. Overall, it minted Rs 50 crore, which is the highest for any English language horror film in India,” says exhibitor-distributor Akshaye Rathi, adding that other Hollywood releases like The Jungle Book, Captain America: Civil War and Deadpool were some films that gave B’wood a tough time.
Rathi says “small is big” has clearly been the highlight of this year so far. “Small films with controlled budgets emerged victorious at the box office. Airlift and Neerja were the best examples,” he adds.
As far as the biggest disappointments go, Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Fan and Katrina Kaif and Aditya Roy Kapur’s Fitoor take the cake. Made on a big budget, the former just about broke even while the latter incurred losses. Even Azhar and Udta Punjab couldn’t cash in on the controversy that they were embroiled in. “One thing is clear,” says Mehra, adding, “The audience wants entertaining films, irrespective of the genre or language.”
The Conjuring 2 outperforms the Hindi releases this week
7:49 AM
Subhash K Jha (DNA; June 14, 2016)
They’ve done it again! One of this week’s
international releases, The Conjuring 2 has outdone the collections of
Hindi releases Te3n and Deepak Tijori’s Do Lafzon Ki Kahani.
The first day’s box-office collection of Conjuring 2 at the Indian box-office was approximately Rs 4.25 crore rupees, as compared to approximately Rs 2.75 crore for Te3n and around Rs 1 crore for DLKK. A worried producer, who has a major release this year, says, “If this remains a trend, we’ll have to shut shop.”Trade analyst Atul Mohan says, “Hollywood movies are generating a greater response than Hindi films nowadays. What I believe is that the cinema-going audience is the younger generation, which forms a major part of the population today. The alarm bells are getting louder and louder. The audience wants time-pass and if Hindi films cannot give it, they will patronise Hollywood films.”
Says film critic Raja Sen, “I think Te3n had very little buzz. There were hardly any promotions and people were unaware that it was releasing. Also the strange name might have been hard to popularise. I told people I had to review Te3n and they assumed I was going to watch three movies one after another.”
(Crisp) Movie Review: THE CONJURING 2 by FENIL SETA
10:46 PM
The Conjuring was scary and The Conjuring 2 is scarier! It is a rare sequel which is so much better than the first part! And part 1 itself was rocking and so one can surely go with HIGH expectations for The Conjuring 2! It’s difficult to explain in words but the makers have got the horror element just right. There are almost 3-4 scenes that give one a jolt! Total paisa vasool! Patrick Wilson (Ed Warren) is super-efficient while Vera Farmiga (Lorraine Warren) does a superb job. Madison Wolfe (Janet) leaves the maximum mark out of all the kids. Frances O'Connor (Peggy) essays a difficult role effortlessly. Surely, the best horror movie experience for me!
My rating - ***** out of 5!
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