Maddock films have been changing the game for horror, horror comedies and also the VFX being used in Bollywood movies. We have often seen films like Adipurush being cast aside for their low-budget CGI and VFX only with teasers and trailers. However, the Stree franchise box office collection has shown a completely different picture.
The recent release Stree 2 broke records with a Rs 76 crore collection on Day 1, leaving behind Shah Rukh Khan led films like Jawaan . Stree 2 has turned out to be a blockbuster just a few days after its release. The film franchise has upheld its status with good writing and great casting in the last couple of years.
The franchise began with Stree in 2018, with a new concept and relatively new production house. It quirky and unique plot had brought the fans to the theatres, but the writing kept bringing them back with releases like Bhediya, Munjya and now Stree 2 . The franchise's box office collection proves they have been successful despite the other biggest aspects of the films -CGI and VFX.
Stree in 2018 bagged a collection of Rs 181 crore against a budget of Rs 23–25 crore. A big chunk of the budget most likely went into the cast and production which took place at real locations. The film also used heavy VFX, but for limited screen time.
The screenplay and Rajkummar Rao's performance had the audience so mesmerized that the soap opera level VFX was barely noticeable. SEE ALSO: How Munjya Stands Up To Its Predecessors — Stree And Bhediya Stree 2 ka VFX kaam kar gaya, pura maza aa gaya. #Stree2 pic.
twitter.com/VFgYr4l8FQ — Nidhi Dewangan (@Nidhi_Dewangan_) August 15, 2024 Watched stree 2 yesterday The movie was great but the missing thing was comedy, humor timing, acting, horror touch and VFX— Whiku // (@whiku_) August 19, 2024 But it was noticeable in the follow-up films like Munjya and Bhediya . While Bhediya saw a CGI wolf or a werewolf with limited screen time, Munjya created a complete CGI character who remained on screen for majority of the runtime.
The franchise makes best use of night time shots to get away with the botches in the VFX. Both Stree and Bhediya saw the same being used and Stree 2 followed the tradition but it wasn't the case with Munjya . We say the not so well done, CGI creature in well lit rooms at times in light and still the film saw a massive successful theatrical release.
Bhediya led by Varun Dhawan and Kriti Sanon saw a massive box office collection ₹90 crore against a production budget of approximately Rs 60 crore. According to reports, Varun charged Rs 7 crore for the film while Kriti charged Rs 4 crore. On the other hand, Munjya on a production budget of only Rs30 crore grossed at Rs 127.
95 crore in India and Rs 4.18 crore internationally. The latter with a smaller cast, smaller budget and a bigger use of VFX managed to make more money than Bhediya with a more commercial cast.
Bhediya mein bhi aisa he tha Maddock wale ke paas koi discount coupon hoga acchi VFX companies ka https://t.co/diqtHyO0we — An Honest Man (@AnHonestManSays) August 15, 2024 After watching the cameo of Varun in #stree2 I realised that Bhediya movie deserves more appreciation. Be it a Presentation, Vfx, Cinematography, BGM all were good.
Vampires of Vijaynagar vs Bhediya dekhne Me Maza Ayga universe ka upcoming movie jo hai 🔥 pic.twitter.com/w9KdDa8tii — saif (@nightchanges) August 18, 2024 Truth be told, the CGI used in these films ( Stree franchise) isn't at the level of Brahmastra or that of Kalki 2898 AD .
It isn't far from the level we are used to seeing in TV shows like Sasural Simar Ka, or Naagin . People have complained about the VFX being bad and have called out the dark shots which are hard to watch and still, these box office collections have proved it doesn't matter. Instead of the filmmakers being trolled, Stree is normalizing bad CGI and VFX on the big screen.
SEE ALSO: What Is The Secret Of Stree? Decoding The Success Of The Horror Comedy Franchise All four movies - Stree, Bhediya, Munjya, Stree 2 are highly celebrated, and even bound to become classics like Bhool Bhulaiyaa in the genre. The animation used in the film has turned out only to be a small part of the big picture instead of the film being driven by just the VFX. In the past, the same was seen in the case of Anushka Sharma's Pari and recently in the case of Netflix's film Bulbul also set to return for a sequel.
Normalizing such VFX may give a better chance to filmmakers with smaller budgets but good stories. A chance to survive in an industry which is still somewhat driven by star power, their fandoms and expectation to catch up on the international level. The stunning VFX in #Munjya by Prime Focus also deserves a special mention.
They have been consistently doing great work and prove their worth yet again. Crafting the eerie protagonist from scratch using cutting-edge CGI took over a year for them pic.twitter.
com/foFVIKPD9a — Fenil Seta (@fenil_seta) June 14, 2024 level of realism achieved in Munjya's CGI is astonishing! It's a testament to the talent and dedication of the VFX team. #MunjyaTeaser pic.twitter.
com/8UXbd5QM4x — Vansh Choudhary (@vansh24366) May 21, 2024 Cover artwork by Patrick Gawande/Mashable India.
