The horror-comedy genre in Bollywood has taken an intriguing turn in 2024, especially with Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 making its entrance soon after Stree 2: Sarkate Ka Aatank. While Stree 2 impressed audiences with a remarkable ₹874.58 crore worldwide gross, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 is already generating substantial anticipation. Set to release on November 1st, the film brings Kartik Aaryan back into the spotlight in a genre he previously dominated.
While Stree 2 rode high with its unique storyline about a headless entity abducting women in Chanderi, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 capitalizes on nostalgia from the previous installments, adding an edge of thrill and comedy fans anticipate from this franchise. Directed with a larger budget and leveraging its Diwali release timing, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 holds the potential to break significant records. However, to surpass Stree 2 financially, it would need to hit an ambitious target of ₹1563 crore.
Other benefits are already stacking up in Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3’s favor with brisk advance bookings and Kartik Aryan having a long-standing fan-following for a good opening at the box office. In this Diwali race, with other big releases lined up, whether Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 has the capacity to draw a massive crowd into the theatres will indeed determine everything. If it can hold the audiences similarly to Stree 2, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 might get positioned as the next big thing in the Bollywood horror-comedy bracket.
At least, fans will have to sit on the edge of their chairs, allowing both films to up the ante for horror-comedy with their peculiar styles and stellar casts in this epic standoff.