Superheroes are making way for horror and drama for Hollywood films in India.
Hollywood is finding box office success in India on the back of some alternative emerging genres that help the US movie industry stay afloat in the country. Horror (The Conjuring: Last Rites) and drama (F1: The Movie) are the new audience favourites after a long spell of repetitive sequels, franchises and a dull period caused by the actors’ and writers’ strike in Hollywood.
Experts said while there are no clear answers, audiences are tired of overdone genres such as action and superhero movies and some recourse may be taken by tapping brands such as horror, or in the case of F1: The Movie, sports dramas, which are familiar but still underexplored.
At last count, Brad Pitt-starrer F1: The Movie had made over ₹102 crore in box office collections in India. The Conjuring: Last Rites earned over ₹82 crore while Dune: Part Two from last year made ₹27.86 crore and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire pulled in ₹106.42 crore.
According to media consulting firm Ormax, Hollywood accounted for 10% of India’s box-office collections of ₹5,723 crore for the first six months of 2025. Hollywood returned to the double-digit share after three years, having last crossed the 10% mark in 2022.
“Genres like horror, action and family adventure work across India — not just in the metros. These are stories that travel, and the response in tier-two and tier-three towns has been very encouraging,” said Denzil Dias, managing director for India at Warner Bros. Pictures International. “We must keep innovating in how we market films, how we localize and how we reach audiences outside the metros. But the fundamentals—audience appetite, the range of genres and the strength of the pipeline—give us a lot of confidence.”
Too many superheroes
Experts said recent Hollywood hits share some things in common with traditional superhero films—there is a strong brand and recall associated with these films either because they are part of an established franchise or because of a known sentiment such as motor racing, as in the case of F1: The Movie.
“There is a problem with superhero films worldwide—there are far too many of them to keep track of especially if you aren’t a die-hard fan. But box office success (for Hollywood films) is currently built on brands that audiences identify and resonate with,” said Rahul Puri, managing director of Mukta Arts and Mukta A2 Cinemas.
Theatre owners emphasize that price-conscious Indians are wary of paying for the exorbitant tickets that Hollywood studios typically mandate, especially if the films start to feel repetitive. Unlike Hindi or regional language movies, Hollywood films are rarely priced below ₹350 a ticket, even in smaller single-screen cinemas.
“Audiences are looking for variety and films like F1 have benefited from the trend, despite the fact that not everyone really follows car racing. But viewers are very smart today—they don’t just follow social media and reviews, they can also see when a film offers grand scale and value for money,” said Pranav Garg, managing director at Maya Palace, a two-screen cinema in Muzaffarnagar.
Garg added that recent Hollywood films like F1 have cashed in on screenings in premium luxury formats like IMAX in bigger multiplexes. Audiences feel that showcasing films of such scale and budgets in these formats is warranted and don’t mind paying to watch them.
