Film franchises seem to be Bollywood's new cash machine

Updated On: 14 December, 2015 08:49 AM IST | | Anirban Das

<p>Bollywood filmmakers' latest formula, albeit hackneyed, is to keep churning out film after film with the same basic plot to keep raking in moolah at the box office</p>

Listen to this article :

Hate Story 3, Grand Masti, Jannat 2 and Welcome Back

The present-day blockbuster economy seems to be increasingly centered around branding, as a lot of importance is laid on developing films that have a built-in fan base. To put it simply, we are talking about the emergence of the franchise culture — a tried and tested formula in Hollywood. These days, major Hindi film projects are conceived with a franchise potential in mind. At times, before a film can hit theatres, its sequel is already in the works. And talking in terms of sheer numbers, it has indeed worked for Bollywood, right from 'Dhoom' and 'Masti' to 'Golmaal' and 'Raaz'. The latest to join the club is 'Hate Story'. The third instalment of the erotic thriller brand has crossed the Rs 40-crore mark in just a week, which is far more than what the first two films could collect in their lifetime run — 'Hate Story' starring Paoli Dam made Rs 15 crore, while part deux featuring Surveen Chawla, Jay Bhanushali and Sushant Singh earned Rs 28 crore. So, are franchises a guaranteed way of setting the box office coffers ringing?

Karan Singh Grover, Zareen Khan and Sharman Joshi in 'Hate Story 3'