The Diwali-release film Thamma, starring Ayushmann Khurrana and Rashmika Mandanna, is making headlines not only for its story but also for its hefty production budget. According to several trade outlets, the film has been produced at an estimated cost of ₹125 crore (production) plus ₹20 crore in print & publicity, taking the total “landing” budget to approximately ₹145 crore.
This article examines how this budget compares within the film’s universe, what it signals for Bollywood’s evolving scale of production, and what Indian audiences and industry watchers should keep an eye on.
Budget figures and their sources
- Trade reports indicate the film’s production budget is around ₹125 crore.
- With print & publicity (P&A) cost added — reported at around ₹20 crore — the total budget is estimated near ₹145 crore.
- According to The Times of India, Thamma has now become the most expensive film in the Maddock Films-led “Maddock Horror Comedy Universe” (MHCU), surpassing previous high budgets such as Stree 2.
It’s worth noting that these figures are drawn from media reports citing production sources; as is common in the film industry, exact audited budgets may vary slightly and are not always publicly disclosed.
Why the ₹145 crore budget is significant
1. New benchmark in its genre
Within the MHCU — which includes films like Stree (2018), Bhediya (2022) and Munjya (2024) — most films had budgets well below the ₹100 crore mark. Thamma’s budget pushes the envelope, indicating greater ambition in scale, effects and marketing.
2. Greater risk, greater expectation
A budget of this size places more pressure on the film to perform theatrically, especially in the Hindi-language market, to recover the investment and deliver returns. The higher cost arises from several reported factors: international VFX houses reportedly engaged, star salaries, and technology formats (IMAX/4DX) among others.
3. Reflects the rising cost of Indian big-screen spectacle
As Indian audiences gravitate toward high-quality visuals, premium formats and simultaneous multi-language releases, production and creation costs increase. Thamma’s budget reflects the “festival release” game where studios invest heavily for Diwali/holiday windows. Indian film production scales continue rising.
4. Commercial ecosystem impact
For distributors, exhibitors, streaming platforms and advertisers, a large-budget release like Thamma opens up higher stakes: screen allocations, premium ticket pricing, global release logistics and post-theatrical monetisation all come under spotlight. Success or failure will affect future green-lighting of similar high-budget horror-comedy ventures.
Comparisons within the industry
- Thamma’s estimated budget (~₹145 crore) places it above many recent Hindi horror-comedies and positions it among mid/high-budget mainstream Hindi-language films.
- For context, earlier MHCU films had lower budgets: Stree 2 reportedly had a budget in the lower hundreds of crores but not as high as Thamma.
- The growth in budget aligns with a global trend in Indian cinema where the top-tier releases (festival colour, VFX-heavy) increasingly cross ₹100 crore production costs, let alone P&A.
What to watch — for Indian audiences and industry watchers
- Box-office break-even threshold: With a ₹145 crore budget, Thamma will need strong opening and sustained box-office performance, as well as robust ancillary revenue (OTT, satellite, overseas) to be profitable.
- Marketing and release strategy: The Diwali release date, wide screen count, premium formats (IMAX/4DX) and multi-language distribution are part of recoup strategy. Observing how these elements play out will be instructive.
- Genre sustainability: Horror-comedy in Hindi has had periodic successes; heavy investment signals belief in its mass appeal. If Thamma does well, we may see more such high-budget genre experiments. If it under-performs, studios may recalibrate budgets back.
- Impact on talent, technology and production: Big budgets often allow better VFX, location shoots, technology formats, and higher actor/crew payments. For Indian film-makers and technicians, this signals job-market changes and higher standards.
- Audience reception vs cost: Ultimately, the story, word-of-mouth and content quality will determine whether the cost was justified. Indian audiences are increasingly discerning — scale alone does not guarantee success.
The revelation that Thamma is produced at an estimated ₹145 crore budget marks a turning point for Hindi cinema’s horror-comedy space and the broader “mid-to-large” budget bracket. For Indian audiences, it means higher production values, enhanced cinematic spectacle and elevated expectations. For the industry it means higher risk, higher stakes and the possibility of new benchmarks—if the film succeeds.
Whether Thamma delivers commercial success and creative impact will be watched closely in the coming weeks. For now, the budget itself has already made headlines—and sets the stage for what Indians watch, how they watch and how much the industry invests in their attention.
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