2.0 and Baaghi 2 only sequels to have done well in a year filled with franchise disasters

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While 2018 has hardly been exciting when it comes to the sequels, one just hopes that the trend reverses in 2019.

By Joginder Tuteja

Much was expected from sequels in 2018. After all, the set formula leads to set audiences and expectations too are pretty much in check. You know what would be there in the offering and hence as long as a film in entertaining, you are content.

No wonder, 2017 was superb when it came to sequels/franchise affairs, what with biggies like Baahubali – The Conclusion, Tiger Zinda Hai and Golmaal Again turning out to be massive blockbusters. Then there were Judwaa 2, Jolly LLB 2, Badrinath Ki Dulhania and Fukrey Returnsthat turned out to be biggies as well.

Hence, it seemed pretty much on the cards that 2018 too would be big when it comes to sequels/franchise since as many as 10 such films were lined up for release right across the year.

Unfortunately, it turned out to be an anti-climax of sorts, what with just two films making big moolah, one film making some kind of profits and rest all failing miserably at the box office.

The biggest success of them all turned out to be Baaghi 2. Tiger Shroff’s earlier installment of the Baaghi franchise had collected Rs 77 crore. Buoyed by the film’s success, producer Sajid Nadiadwala mounted second in the franchise on an even bigger scale while bringing in Ahmed Khan as the director.

Audiences nodded in approval as well and the film’s opening day Rs 25.10 crore emerged as one of the best of the year. This isn’t all as the film sustained quite well too and ultimately went way past the Rs 150 crore mark to eventually close at Rs 166 crore. Blockbuster.

Same was the case for 2.0 too, though mainly in the Hindi version. Given the excessive budget of the film (in the upwards of Rs 500 crore), it was thought that the numbers from the Hindi version would be an added bonus when compared to the Tamil original that would cover a much larger distance.

However, surprisingly while the Hindi version emerged as a super hit at the box office, same was not quite the case with the Tamil and Telugu versions.

There was one more film that earned some sort of moolah, Race 3. However, the Rs 169 crore total of the Remo D’Souza directed film wasn’t good enough as the stakes were a lot higher for the third in the franchise.

Unlike Race and Race 2 which were still thinly connected at least, Race 3 was a different ballgame altogether and was primarily aimed to milk out the franchise quotient.

Audiences weren’t really impressed though with the Salman Khan-starrer and missed the lost spirit of Race 3. One hopes Race 4 will be made with Abbas-Mustan and Saif Ali Khan now.

Rest all sequels/franchises were major flops and disasters though 1921 somehow hung on to bring in limited profits. Vikram Bhatt’s formula of spooky drama found its loyal audiences in the interiors as 1921 followed the franchise 1920. The film with Zareen Khan in the lead role managed to bring in Rs 16 crore, though one would have expected a lot more moolah from it.

The biggest disappointment though was Namaste England which was second in the franchise created by Vipul Shah. He had made a memorable film in Namaste London but this one with Arjun Kapoor and Parineeti Chopra wasn’t even given any sort of a chance by the audiences. With mere Rs 8.10 crore coming in, the lifetime number was what many would have expected the film to bring on the very first day itself.

Same holds true for Yamla Pagla Deewana Phir Se as well which has now killed the franchise that had a good kick-start for the Deol family. As a matter of fact when the film’s sequel Yamla Pagla Deewana 2 had flopped at the box office, no one would have expected that the third in the series would be made.

Perhaps it was the popularity of the franchise on the satellite circuits that prompted the makers to attempt yet another all-Deol affair. Audiences clearly showed their lack of interest for the film.

Another franchise which has counted its last breath with the third installment is Saheb Biwi aur Gangster 3. The first one had been loved, second had been liked and now third has been totally ignored.

Though Jimmy Sheirgill and Mahie Gill have stayed on to be an integral part of the franchise, Randeep Hooda, Irrfan Khan and Sanjay Dutt have been the gangsters.

This made Saheb Biwi aur Gangster 3 as the biggest of them all. Ironically, it turned out to be the biggest disaster of the franchise, what with the lifetime collections at a mere Rs 6.68 crore.

A couple of other sequels did try to bring in some sort of footfalls. However, they couldn’t really cover much of a distance. Erotica drama Hate Story has done well in the first, second and third part with the last in the series even managing to enter the Rs 100 crore club. However, Hate Story IV couldn’t get to even half of that with the lifetime total folding up at Rs 22.38 crore. Urvashi Rautela did all to bring on a sizzling appearance but to no avail.

On the other hand Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi did try to up the fun quotient, this time with Sonakshi Sinha joining Jimmy Sheirgill. The film did have good laughter element but surprisingly audiences weren’t left impressed. The film folded up at a total of Rs 20.18 crore that was way lesser than the first in the franchise which had gone past the Rs 30 crore mark.

As for the biggest sequel disaster of them all, the (dis)honor goes to Kamal Haasan’s Vishwaroop 2. Not that the first part had done too well in its Hindi release.

However, the sequel couldn’t make any noise whatsoever, either before or during the release. Furthermore, poor making of the film further resulted in this biggie turning out to be a damp squib and the results were there to be seen at the box office with mere 4 crore coming in.

While 2018 has hardly been exciting when it comes to the sequels, one just hopes that the trend reverses when biggies like Total Dhamaal, Student of the Year 2, Housefull 4 and ABCD 3 arrive in 2019.