Exact Reasons for Brahmastra movie success and what is the future of the Brahmastra trilogy?

Bollywood was going through probably the toughest phase of its existence but finally, it had to use one of the greatest weapons Brahmastra. But the question is what are the reasons for Brahmastra movie success? which even previously released big movies weren’t unable to decode?

Ever since its announcement, Brahmastra remains in the news. After its release, it continued to garner good numbers at the box office despite criticism and allegations at least it fairs better than maximum Bollywood movies this year.

Look at the numbers Brahmastra Box Office numbers

The first part of Ayan Mukherjee’s directorial Brahmastra Trilogy opened with ₹36cr on 9th September 2022 which exceeded the predictions from the trade pundits. Though the booking numbers provided were phenomenal but still looking at the recent failures had made the predictions on the more conservative side.

Since then, it never looked back and continued its golden run at the box office by increasing its numbers day by day and till its 3rd Saturday i.e., day 16th of its release it crossed ₹238cr net, at the domestic box office. This is an encouraging number because apart from Kashmir files, no other Bollywood movie was able to cross ₹200cr at the Box Office.

The controversy around “Brahmastra movie” and Bollywood.

A lot of revelations and allegations on Bollywood behind the scenes on a national level hurt them badly, regardless of how big the star cast was, they were unable to impress the audience as a result their movies fell flat at the box office, and the recent hashtag boycott Bollywood trend only made it worse for the industry.

The movies like Bachchhan Paandey, Samrat Prithviraj, Liger, Heropanti 2, Jayeshbhai Jordaar, and most shocking for them Laal Singh Chaddha all were declared flops or disasters at the Box office.

Several recent and old comments from the actors have circulated on social media, which do not portray them in a positive light, and people are beginning to distance themselves from the aura of star power which was once one of Bollywood’s biggest draws.

Rise of South film Industries, OTT, and foreign cinema.

It’s no secret that lately the content which is provided by the South film industry is unmatchable. It’s not like all their films worked well at the box office but the content they are releasing for the Pan India audience is getting accepted with open arms.

It all started with S.S Rajamouli’s Bahubali in 2016 and then came the KGF which turned the wave of south films into a Tsunami. The two parts of Bahubali and KGF were blockbusters worldwide. And the recent release of S.S Rajamouli’s RRR had created havoc at the world box office and was even praised heavily by the foreign audience and critics. Pushpa also became a sensation nationwide and fans are eagerly waiting for the second part to be released.

And during lockdown When theaters were closed and the only entertainment option for the people was mobile and TV then the rise of OTT content worked as a catalyst, which showed them that there is much great and unrecognized content to binge on other than Bollywood available.

These contents don’t sell themselves on the names of big stars or Directors or production houses, but the focal point or Hero of these projects is only its content. For almost a year or two people were getting used to watching these projects, which only focus themselves only on good content.

Also, foreign movie production houses have a sort of monopoly over the genre of Sci-fi and unmatchable VFX-loaded movies. The likes of Disney, Marvel, and DC movie craze are only increasing day by day in the country. Making movies of this magnitude requires big production value and a clear vision which very few people in the Indian movie Industry currently have.

The interconnected Cinematic universe created by Marvel and other Movie production houses is working great for the audience, people are liking the movies which are part of a franchise or any cinematic universe.

Even the South Indian Movie Industry has successfully started their cinematic universe-based movies, which you can read here.

On all the above accounts Bollywood seems to have been lagging. The Bollywood movies that were in post-production or about to be released were made from the mindset from the pre-pandemic era which may have worked 2 years ago but now the taste and priorities of the audience have changed.

But one thing which worked for all these above movies or movie industries is their rooted content that is true to its theme and idea of the movie and is without the unwanted masala.

And one thing with south Indian movies that have worked on a subconscious level with the audience is their respect for Indian History and Tradition. All their movies or even movies from Bollywood that worked on the pan India level have knowingly or unknowingly explored and respected the value of India’s Heritage, History, and tradition.

The success of movies like “Karthikeya 2” are prime examples of this.

What worked for the Brahmastra movie?

In these tough times for Bollywood where it is rocked with many controversies on and off screen, they needed some Saviour which could appeal to the audience like other film industries are doing right now.

Amid the “boycott Bollywood” trend, Brahmastra movie was released, but it was hard for the makers to make this film successful, Considering the movie cost $400 crore and has been in production for more than ten years, as well as the fact that the movie is loaded with some of the biggest names in the business, it was important for the movie to be a success.

Brahmastra collected more than expected box office numbers and managed to escape the boycott Bollywood trend. How did it manage to do that? And what are the reasons for Brahmastra movie success?

1. Visual Effects

The first thing that worked for the Brahmastra is the visual effects. The makers gave the audience a visual experience that is worth going to the theater for. Brahmastra has a total of 4500 VFX shoots making the movie a visual spectacle.

2. Connection with the audience

But VFX can only get you that far and you need more than Visual spectacle to be successful at the box office, and then comes one of the most important points i.e., connection with the audience through its characters and its thematic storytelling, and all the highest grossing movies, be it James Camron’s Avatar or Titanic, Avengers or Lord of the rings has this in common.

3. Vision of the director.

Another thing is the Vision of the director, all the big movies, franchises, or cinematic universes can only become successful if the makers have a clear and farfetched vision for the project. and in this case Kudos to the young director Ayan Mukherjee who has a clear vision for the Astraverse movies.

4. Connection to Deep Indian spirituality and history.

The next most important thing that worked with the movie is hidden in its name, which is its deep connection to Indian History, as it is the name of one of the most powerful weapons in Indian History “Brahmastra”(many may refer to Indian History as Indian Mythology). And the director of this movie already emphasized that the lead character in the movie is heavily inspired by Lord Shiv which he gets spiritual inspiration from in real life.

5. Thematic Storytelling and subconscious connection with the audience.

Before the Brahmastra movie, thematic storytelling was missing from Bollywood movies. and This checked the box where the movie gets to connect subconsciously to the audience. All great superhero movies do take something from the old historic or mythological stories be it Marvel or DC, so to set up that kind of universe Bollywood needed some thematic inspiration and Brahmastra has that.

Whether Bollywood admits this or not, the most important thing that worked for the Brahmastra movie is its connection to the Indian tradition and history (or mythology for some). This is the reason which somewhat nullifies the negative buzz around Bollywood and this movie.

What does Brahmastra’s success mean for Bollywood?

The success of Brahmastra movie set up the first ever cinematic universe in Bollywood which if done correctly can give tough competition to the big players at the world level like Marvel and DC. It will encourage the younger generation of directors to follow their vision and do and create something extraordinary for Indian cinema at the world level.

This also created a huge buzz around the Brahmastra trilogy, especially the announced second part which is named Dev.