For over a decade, the Christmas holiday period in Bollywood was synonymous with big-budget blockbusters and box office records. However, the last seven years have seen a consistent downturn in the fortunes of films released during this festive season. The last truly successful Christmas release was Salman Khan’s Tiger Zinda Hai in 2017, which emerged as a blockbuster with a lifetime collection of ₹339.16 crores. Since then, Bollywood has struggled to replicate the same magic, with flops, average earners, and outright disasters marking what used to be a lucrative release window.
7 Years of Christmas Blues: Has Bollywood’s Christmas Blockbuster Era come to an end?
Between 2008 and 2016, Aamir Khan turned the Christmas period into his personal fortress. His films, such as PK (2014) and Dangal (2016), both achieved the rare distinction of being All Time Blockbusters, earning Rs. 340.8 crores and Rs. 387.38 crores respectively. These films not only dominated the domestic box office but also set global records for Indian cinema. Aamir’s ability to deliver content-driven films with mass appeal redefined what Christmas releases could achieve. His streak, coupled with other hits like Dhoom 3 (2013) and Salman Khan’s Dabangg 2 (2012), established Christmas as Bollywood’s most coveted release slot.
The 2017 release of Tiger Zinda Hai marked the last true Christmas blockbuster. Its massive success seemed to promise continued domination for Bollywood, but subsequent years have told a very different story. Films released during Christmas have struggled to cross the Rs. 100 crores mark, with a few exceptions failing to make a lasting impression. Baby John in 2024, despite being an action-packed film starring Varun Dhawan, managed a paltry Rs. 33.38 crores, making it one of the biggest Christmas flops in recent history. Similarly, Cirkus in 2022, a much-hyped comedy by Rohit Shetty, tanked at Rs. 35.65 crores, a rare disaster for a director known for his mass appeal. Dunki in 2023 provided a glimmer of hope with Rs. 212.42 crores but fell short of expectations given Shah Rukh Khan’s star power.
Post-2017 Decline: Seven Years of Disappointment
The 2017 release of Tiger Zinda Hai marked the last true Christmas blockbuster. Its massive success seemed to promise continued domination for Bollywood, but subsequent years have told a very different story. Here’s a closer look at the data:
| Movie Name | Release Date | Lifetime Collection | Verdict |
| Baby John | 25-Dec-24 | Rs. 33.38 Cr | Flop |
| Dunki | 21-Dec-23 | Rs. 212.42 Cr | Average |
| Cirkus | 23-Dec-22 | Rs. 35.65 Cr | Disaster |
| 83 | 24-Dec-21 | Rs. 109.02 Cr | Flop |
| Dabangg 3 | 20-Dec-19 | Rs. 146.11 Cr | Semi-Hit |
| Zero | 21-Dec-18 | Rs. 90.28 Cr | Flop |
The pandemic years further dented Christmas box office fortunes. 83 in 2021, Kabir Khan’s ambitious cricket drama on India’s 1983 World Cup victory, underperformed with Rs. 109.02 crores. Its high production costs, combined with pandemic-related constraints, left the film struggling to break even. Similarly, Zero in 2018, featuring Shah Rukh Khan, failed to capture audience interest, earning just Rs. 90.28 crores. Even pre-pandemic, the signs of decline were visible with Dabangg 3 in 2019 achieving only semi-hit status despite Salman Khan’s star power.
Veteran trade analyst Taran Adarsh looked at the Christmas period not producing big numbers in a chat with Bollywood Hungama. He said, “This is very surprising because Christmas leads to New Year. It’s a holiday not just in India but also US, UK, Australia, Canada, Europe; everywhere. Talking about India, we all are in a holiday mode. People step out to restaurants and movies. I would not blame the period. I would blame the content. Be it Zero or now, Baby John. The rejection comes in when the audience doesn’t accept a film. Earlier, Aamir Khan ruled in Christmas. He had solid films coming in and he delivered huge numbers, be it PK, 3 Idiots, Ghajini.”
Adarsh pointed out two south films whose Hindi dubbed version did well in Hindi market when the original Hindi film didn’t work. “The two films that did well in this period are KGF: Chapter 1 (2018), which came with Zero and Salaar which came in 2023,” he said. “KGF 1 did well and paved the way for KGF 2, which we all know created history. It withstand an opponent like Zero at that time. There were people, especially these self-proclaimed trade analysts, who wrote that KGF won’t even earn Rs. 1 crore. They were out to ruin the reputation of KGF. Then they had to eat their words back; that’s besides the point. But the industry was generally not looking forward to it. But box office can be very unpredictable.”
He added, “Both films were from outside Mumbai. One was from Bengaluru (KGF) and the other from Hyderabad (Salaar). So, from these two cities we got success for the Hindi version. But the fact remains that we did not get such success for the Hindi films, which was very unfortunate. And that’s the reason why Christmas for the past few years (hasn’t produced a big hit). But I genuinely hope that the year 2025 proves to be a turning point yet again for the Hindi film industry. So, let’s not blame the period, blame the content for it. There have been instances where films have failed during Diwali and Eid also. We failed to provide content to the common man and that’s the reason these films didn’t work at the box office.”
Adarsh also mentioned that Pushpa 2, Animal, Baahubali 2, Avengers: Endgame, etc, are shining examples of films not requiring a festival or holiday period to earn record-breaking numbers.
Christmas once stood as the crown jewel of Bollywood’s release calendar. However, the past seven years have turned this lucrative period into one fraught with underperformance and missed opportunities. To reclaim its former glory, Bollywood must focus on delivering content that resonates with audiences while adopting innovative marketing strategies to draw them back to theatres. The festive cheer may have dimmed for now, but Bollywood’s history of resilience suggests that a turnaround is possible. Only time will tell if the industry can restore Christmas to its former box-office glory.
More Pages: Baby John Box Office Collection , Baby John Movie Review
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