'Stree 2' crosses Rs 500 crore mark globally, revitalizes bollywood box office

Rajkummar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor's horror-comedy film 'Stree 2' has achieved a significant milestone, helping to lift Bollywood out of a dry spell by crossing the Rs 500 crore-mark (gross) worldwide within just 10 days of its release. Directed by Amar Kaushik, the film, which also stars Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana, and Abhishek Banerjee, opened with an impressive Rs 51.8 crore on August 15.

By the end of Day 8, 'Stree 2' had earned Rs 308 crore, including earnings from Wednesday paid previews. On Day 10, the film added another Rs 33.80 crore to its collection, bringing its domestic nett total to Rs 361 crore. Globally, the movie's earnings stand at a remarkable Rs 505 crore. Notably, the film was made on a modest budget of Rs 50 crore.

Abhishek Banerjee, who reprises his role as Jana, credited the film's success to the positive energy of the team. He stated, “When you have 200 people giving positive energy while making the film, those 200 get multiplied to 2 lakh and then 2 crore in the cinema halls. It's nothing but good energy on the sets. Every day, we would start a scene with a song which is relatable and contextual to the scene - maybe from the early 60s, 90s - anything which is Bollywood, OG Hindi song and that's how we start our day on the sets. We eat together, we hang out together. It's like a family making a film. That's exactly how the energy is supposed to be on the sets.”

'Stree 2' faced competition from John Abraham's 'Vedaa' and Akshay Kumar's 'Khel Khel Mein' at the box office, but still managed to pull in impressive numbers. The film's success highlights the importance of a strong ensemble cast and a positive work environment, reminiscent of classic Bollywood filmmaking, according to Banerjee.