CutMirchi's coverage shows sequels drawing attention and money, but the release tracker's genre data points to drama and crime as the real backbone of Indian output.
Sequels and franchise films are getting outsized attention in CutMirchi's coverage this past month, led by Drishyam 3's record-breaking opening and Jailer 2's run-up to release, but the release tracker shows drama, thriller and crime remain the dominant genres across Indian film industries, and most tracked titles are not franchise entries. The loudest stories are sequels because sequels generate numbers worth writing about, not necessarily because they outnumber original films on screen.
Drishyam 3 is the clearest sequel success story in the coverage
Ajay Devgn's Drishyam: The Conclusion opened to Rs 62 crore net on its Gandhi Jayanti release, which Rediff's Joginder Tuteja noted was Devgn's career-best opening day in a run spanning more than 25 years and among the top five opening days for any Hindi film (25). The three-day domestic net crossed Rs 150 crore, with a worldwide gross of Rs 272.80 crore in the same span (16). By its fourth day, the trilogy's cumulative total of 512.5 crore had edged past Rohit Shetty's Singham franchise, which stands at 511.60 crore, a margin of roughly 90 lakh (27). The film also debuted on Amazon Prime Video on October 1, just three weeks after release, in five languages (14), suggesting franchise titles are also being pushed hard across streaming windows.
Other sequels across Indian languages are drawing coverage, not always at this scale
Sardar 2, the Tamil spy-action sequel starring Karthi, moved to Amazon Prime Video on October 1, 21 days after its theatrical debut, with dubbed versions in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam and Kannada (14). Jailer 2's pre-release event, led by Rajinikanth, SJ Suryah, Vidya Balan, Suraj Venjaramoodu and Ramya Krishnan, is set to stream on Sun NXT on October 9, six days ahead of the film's October 15 theatrical release (23). Mirzapur: The Movie, weeks into its own theatrical run, got a new song added mid-release built around a Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan couplet, with Pankaj Tripathi, Divyenndu and Ali Fazal reprising characters from five years of the show (9). Hip Hop Aadhi's Meesaiya Murukku 2, meanwhile, is a sequel that deliberately departs from its predecessor's story, with the director telling reporters in Chennai that this one centres on a musician built around gaana music rather than his own coming-of-age tale (12). Husharu 2 has wrapped principal photography for a year-end release, continuing a 2018 franchise with the same writer-director returning (30). These are sequels, but they span different scales and different studio bets.
The tracker data complicates any claim that sequels dominate
The release tracker lists 34 Hindi films, 31 Tamil, 32 Telugu, 35 Malayalam and 19 Kannada titles across the window from late August to mid-January, and in every language the leading genre is Drama, not franchise-branded action or sequel-driven spectacle. Hindi cinema in this window is led by Drama at 17 titles, followed by Comedy and Crime. Tamil cinema shows Drama at 19, ahead of Thriller and Romance. Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada follow the same pattern, with Drama topping each list. None of this tracker data breaks films down by original versus sequel, so it cannot directly measure how many of these titles are franchise entries, but the genre spread suggests the bulk of Indian output in this period is not built around returning characters or established intellectual property.
International franchise coverage dwarfs the Indian sequel count in sheer volume
A large share of the franchise-related stories in CutMirchi's coverage this month are not about Indian cinema at all. Marvel's Avengers franchise is getting two Indian theatrical releases this year, Avengers Endgame: Encore on September 25 and Avengers: Doomsday on December 18, both across English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu (1). Spider-Man: Brand New Day has cleared its break-even target domestically by $363.5 million according to the standard 2.5x studio multiplier applied to its reported $225 million budget (3). Zach Cregger's Resident Evil reboot opened to a franchise-best weekend in North America, per Variety's report cited by Koimoi (10), and went on to set an opening-day horror record in China with $12.2 million on 114,000 screenings during Golden Week (19). Insidious: Out of the Further turned an $18 million budget into a worldwide gross past $155 million (7). Transformers 8 is bringing Steven Spielberg back in a creative-control role (24), and The Batman Part II has paused production as director Matt Reeves steps away for personal reasons (18). None of these titles are Indian productions, but their presence in CutMirchi's coverage this month shows how much of the franchise conversation readers are seeing is imported rather than homegrown.
Originals are visible in the coverage too, even if less prominently
The Emmy nomination story is a useful counterpoint: trade analysis cited in the coverage found nearly every drama, comedy and limited series nominee this year came from a fresh concept rather than a book, film or existing franchise, with only two drama nominees being adaptations (2). Luca Guadagnino's Artificial, a docudrama about the rise of artificial intelligence starring Andrew Garfield and Yura Borisov, is covered as an original work despite being framed as a thematic successor to The Social Network (20). These examples are not Indian, but they show original storytelling is not absent from the broader entertainment conversation CutMirchi covers, even in a stretch dominated by sequel headlines.
What the coverage does not tell us
This account is built from roughly a month of one site's published stories, plus a release-tracker snapshot running from late August 2026 to mid-January 2027, and it cannot say what Indian cinema looked like before or after that window. The tracker's genre tags do not distinguish sequels from originals, so the Drama-heavy totals in each language cannot be read as direct proof that non-franchise films are winning at the box office or with audiences. Box office figures cited here, including Drishyam 3's crore totals and the Hollywood dollar figures, are themselves described as early estimates or trade figures in the reports that carry them (16, 25, 10), and should be read with that caveat. Coverage volume is also not the same as audience behaviour: a story being written about a sequel does not mean audiences are choosing sequels over originals in proportion, and the news coverage cannot show why readers click on one story over another, what studios greenlight behind closed doors, or how exhibitors allocate screens between franchise and non-franchise titles.
What to watch
Jailer 2 opens in theatres on October 15, with its pre-release event streaming on Sun NXT from October 9 (23). Avengers: Doomsday is set for December 18 across English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu (1). Husharu 2 is aiming for a year-end theatrical release after wrapping photography (30). All Of Us Are Dead Season 2 remains unconfirmed, with reporting suggesting it could land in late 2026 or slip into 2027 (4). The Batman Part II's release date is now uncertain after Matt Reeves stepped away from the London shoot, though the film is still nominally slated for February 2028 (18). Transformers 8 has no director attached yet despite Spielberg's creative-control role being confirmed (24). Drishyam 3's first Monday performance, flagged as a key test by trade watchers, will also be worth tracking against its opening weekend numbers (16).
Sources
- How Marvel's Original Avengers Almost Never Happened, reported from Bollywood Hungama - Features, Bollywood Hungama - Main Feed
- Original Ideas Dominate 2026 Emmy Nominations Ahead Of Sept 14 Ceremony, reported from Variety
- Spider-Man: Brand New Day Clears Its Break-Even Mark By $360 Million Domestically, reported from Koimoi
- All Of Us Are Dead Season 2 May Slip Into 2027, reported from Collider, Google News · K-drama & K-pop
- Insidious Sequel Turns $18 Million Budget Into $155 Million Hit, reported from Koimoi
- Mirzapur The Movie Adds A Love Song Mid-Theatrical Run, reported from Bollywood Hungama - Features, Google News · Bollywood, Bollywood Hungama - Main Feed
- Resident Evil Reboot Eyes Franchise-Best Opening In North America, reported from Koimoi, Google News · World entertainment
- Hip Hop Aadhi's Meesaiya Murukku 2 Bets Big On Gaana Music, reported from Vikatan - Kollywood Entertainment
- Sardar 2 Hits Amazon Prime Video on Oct 1 Across Five Languages, reported from Track Tollywood
- Drishyam The Conclusion Crosses Rs 150 Crore In Three Days, reported from zeebiz.com, The Free Press Journal
- The Batman Part II Paused: Matt Reeves Steps Away For Personal Reasons, reported from The Times of India Entertainment, LA Times - Entertainment
- Resident Evil Reboot Smashes Horror Record In China With $12.2M Opening Day, reported from Koimoi
- Artificial Review: The Real Sequel to The Social Network Is Here, reported from Variety
- Rajinikanth's Jailer 2 Pre-Release Bash Heads To Sun NXT On October 9, reported from PINKVILLA
- Spielberg Returns to Transformers With Creative Control on Eighth Film, reported from Variety
- Drishyam The Conclusion Opens To Rs 62 Crore, Ajay Devgn's Biggest Ever, reported from Bombay Times, Rediff - Movies
- Drishyam 3 Pushes Franchise Past Singham's Box Office Total, reported from Koimoi
- Husharu 2: When a Buddy Comedy Turns Mythological, reported from Filmfare
This analysis was written by CutMirchi's automated Analysis Desk from the stories listed above and from our release tracker. Figures are as those reports gave them; trade figures are estimates.
Be the first to comment
Join the argument. No password, just your email or a passkey.