New Delhi, June 16, 2026 — The Indian box office witnessed an unexpected turn of events this week as director Vikram Bhatt’s latest horror offering, Haunted 3D: Echoes of the Past, emerged as a surprise champion. Despite arriving in theatres with relatively low pre-release buzz and facing significant screening hurdles, the supernatural thriller has completely overshadowed its high-profile competitors. While horror enthusiasts rushed to single screens and tier-2 cities to experience the spine-chilling 3D effects, other major Bollywood releases, including star-driven dramas and high-concept independent films, faced an uphill battle, struggling to attract audiences over the weekend.
Trade analysts have been taken aback by the sheer resilience of Haunted 3D: Echoes of the Past. According to initial trade figures, the film opened on Friday, June 12, with a strong nett collection of ₹2.50 crore (approximately ₹3 crore gross) in India. Defying expectations of a post-opening drop, the movie picked up substantial momentum on Saturday and Sunday due to strong word-of-mouth. By the end of its opening weekend, the horror sequel safely secured a handsome ₹9.35 crore nett. What makes this feat truly remarkable is that the film was completely kept out of major national multiplex chains due to sudden legal and distribution disputes just prior to its release. Instead, its entire box office engine was driven by independent single screens and B- and C-class theatrical centers, highlighting a massive, underserved demand for pure, atmospheric horror in the mass markets.
The success of Haunted 3D stands out even more when contrasted with the dismal performance of other new Hindi releases. Imtiaz Ali’s highly anticipated social drama Main Vaapas Aaunga managed a meager gross opening of just ₹1.15 crore on Friday and failed to show any major growth over the weekend. Similarly, the Kangana Ranaut-starrer Bharat Bhagya Vidhata fell flat, opening at just ₹1 crore, while Manoj Bajpayee’s critically acclaimed but niche thriller Governor lagged further behind with a modest ₹90 lakh opening day. Film critics note that while these competing projects carried heavier star power, they lacked the raw entertainment value and commercial pull that the Haunted franchise naturally possesses. Audiences currently seem to prefer visceral, theatrical experiences over slow-burning narratives.
Industry experts believe the current trend signals a massive revival for controlled-budget genre filmmaking in India, reminiscent of the classic Ramsay Brothers era where horror movies acted as highly reliable money-spinners. Haunted 3D: Echoes of the Past was produced on a modest and safe budget of roughly ₹15 crore. With its weekend domestic collection already pushing past the ₹11 crore mark and showing stable low-percentage drops on Monday, the film is already on the verge of total budget recovery and will comfortably enter the profit zone by the end of the week. Trade analyst Taran Adarsh remarked that Vikram Bhatt understands the pulse of the horror audience perfectly. By avoiding the recent, saturated trend of horror-comedies and delivering a traditional, emotionally charged, pure supernatural scare-fest backed by strong music, the production team successfully tapped into a loyal fan base.
Interestingly, the horror wave is not restricted to Indian productions alone. While big-budget Hollywood spectacles like Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day saw a slow response in India with an ₹1.8 crore opening, international horror entries found great favor. The Hollywood thriller Backrooms surprised trade pundits by pulling urban multiplex crowds, grossing ₹4.62 crore over its four-day run. Concurrently, the psychological thriller Obsession maintained a phenomenal run in its third week, collecting ₹4 crore gross last Friday alone, pushing its total India gross to an incredible ₹63.25 crore. This simultaneous success of multiple spooky ventures clearly proves that the modern cinema-going audience is actively seeking out thrills, jump scares, and immersive audio-visual experiences that justify the price of a movie ticket.
Reflecting on the unexpected box office victory, filmmaker Vikram Bhatt expressed immense gratitude and shared the emotional rollercoaster behind the release. He revealed that production disputes almost derailed their plans, preventing him from even attending his own film’s premiere. Bhatt mentioned that despite tracking the highest advance bookings among all the new weekly releases, his film was ironically penalized with the lowest number of show allocations. However, he trusted his audience, focusing his promotional campaigns strictly on digital platforms like Instagram and Facebook to target tier-2 and tier-3 cities directly. As the weekday box office hold remains remarkably steady, Haunted 3D: Echoes of the Past has firmly established itself as the definitive savior of the mid-June box office, leaving its Bollywood rivals looking for answers in an increasingly unpredictable market.