Diwali has traditionally been one of Bollywood's most lucrative release windows, with filmmakers banking on the festive holiday, family audiences and the excitement surrounding big-ticket theatrical releases. However, the last five years have demonstrated that a Diwali release date alone does not guarantee box-office success. While some films have turned the festival into a record-breaking celebration, others have struggled to recover their investments despite featuring established stars and popular franchises. Akshay Kumar's Sooryavanshi emerged as one of the most important theatrical releases of the year The 2021 Diwali season was particularly significant for Bollywood as the film industry was attempting to recover from the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. With theatres reopening and audience footfalls gradually returning, Akshay Kumar's Sooryavanshi emerged as one of the most important theatrical releases of the year. Directed by Rohit Shetty, the action entertainer also featured Katrina Kaif, Ajay Devgn and Ranveer Singh. Released on November 5, 2021, the film benefited from the festive window and the excitement surrounding Shetty's cop universe. Despite concerns about audiences returning to cinemas, Sooryavanshi collected approximately Rs 195.55 crore net in India, according to reported box-office figures, while its worldwide gross crossed Rs 290 crore. The film demonstrated that star power, established franchises and mass-market entertainment could bring audiences back to theatres. The following year presented a contrasting picture. Bollywood attempted to capitalise on the Diwali holiday with two prominent releases, Akshay Kumar's Ram Setu and Ajay Devgn's Thank God, but neither managed to deliver the expected box-office fireworks. Ram Setu, which also featured Jacqueline Fernandez and Satyadev, opened amid considerable curiosity because of its subject revolving around the legendary bridge connecting India and Sri Lanka. However, despite the scale of its premise and Akshay Kumar's star appeal, the film struggled to sustain audience interest. It collected approximately Rs 74.7 crore net in India. Meanwhile, Thank God, featuring Sidharth Malhotra and Rakul Preet Singh alongside Ajay Devgn, attempted to attract family audiences with its fantasy-comedy premise. However, the film received a mixed response and ended its theatrical run at approximately Rs 36.35 crore net domestically. Together, the two films collected roughly Rs 111 crore net in India, significantly below expectations. The disappointing performance demonstrated that a festive release and recognisable stars could not compensate for a lack of strong audience engagement. Salman Khan returned as Avinash Singh Rathore, aka Tiger, in Yash Raj Films' Tiger 3 The film collected approximately Rs 282.79 crore net in India, while its worldwide gross reached around Rs 466 crore. It became one of the biggest Diwali releases of the period and reaffirmed Salman's ability to generate significant theatrical interest. While Tiger 3 delivered substantial numbers, its collections were affected by weekday drops and mixed audience reactions. Nevertheless, it remained the defining Bollywood Diwali release of 2023. Diwali 2024 witnessed one of the biggest Bollywood box-office clashes in recent years, with Kartik Aaryan's Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 going head-to-head with Ajay Devgn's Singham Again Anees Bazmee's Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, featuring Vidya Balan, Madhuri Dixit and Triptii Dimri alongside Kartik, emerged as the stronger performer in terms of profitability and its overall theatrical run. The horror-comedy collected approximately Rs 283.80 crore net in India and Rs 423.85 crore worldwide. Meanwhile, Rohit Shetty's Singham Again brought together an impressive ensemble featuring Akshay Kumar, Ranveer Singh, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Deepika Padukone, Tiger Shroff and Arjun Kapoor, apart from Ajay Devgn. Despite generating significant pre-release excitement, the action entertainer finished with approximately Rs 268.35 crore net in India and Rs 389.64 crore worldwide. The two films collectively generated over Rs 552 crore in domestic net collections, making the festive season a major success for the Hindi film industry. Their combined opening weekend also created a record for Hindi cinema at the time, crossing Rs 210 crore net, according to Box Office India. Unlike 2024, Diwali 2025 did not feature a major face-off between Bollywood superstars. Instead, the festive window belonged to Ayushmann Khurrana's horror-comedy Thamma and Harshvardhan Rane's romantic drama Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat. Both films released on October 21, 2025. Ayushmann Khurrana's horror-comedy Thamma and Harshvardhan Rane's romantic drama Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat faced off in 2025 Part of Maddock Films' horror-comedy universe, Thamma, directed by Aditya Sarpotdar, also starred Rashmika Mandanna and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. The film opened strongly, collecting approximately Rs 24 crore on its first day