Maddock Horror Comedy Universe

Maddock Horror Comedy Universe
Lineup slate of Maddock Films
Created by	Dinesh Vijan Amar Kaushik
Original work	Stree (2018)
Owners	Maddock Films Jio Studios
Years	2018–present
Films and television
Film(s)	Stree (2018) Bhediya (2022) Munjya (2024) Stree 2 (2024) Thama (2025)
Financial summary
Budget	est. ₹235 crore
Box office	est. ₹1,287.31 crore

Maddock Horror Comedy Universe is an Indian shared universe consisting of Hindi-language supernatural comedy horror films created by Maddock Films. All films in this universe are based on Indian folklore.^[1] The first installment, Stree, was released as a standalone film. The universe-building began with Bhediya, in which characters from Stree appeared. This was followed by Munjya, where characters from Bhediya and Stree appeared. Stree 2 continued by featuring characters from Bhediya, making Bhediya the central link connecting all three films.^[2]

Films

Key

†	Denotes films that have not yet been released

Film	Release Dates	Director(s)	Cast	Producer(s)
Stree	31 August 2018	Amar Kaushik	Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana, Abhishek Banerjee	Dinesh Vijan and Raj & DK
Bhediya	25 November 2022		Varun Dhawan, Kriti Sanon, Abhishek Banerjee, Deepak Dobriyal, Paalin Kabak	Dinesh Vijan and Jyoti Deshpande
Munjya	7 June 2024	Aditya Sarpotdar	Sharvari, Abhay Verma, Sathyaraj, Mona Singh	Dinesh Vijan and Amar Kaushik
Stree 2	15 August 2024	Amar Kaushik	Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Abhishek Banerjee, Aparshakti Khurana	Dinesh Vijan and Jyoti Deshpande
Thama †	17 October 2025	Aditya Sarpotdar	Ayushmann Khurrana, Rashmika Mandanna, Paresh Rawal, Nawazuddin Siddiqui	Dinesh Vijan and Amar Kaushik

Stree

Main article: Stree (2018 film)

The first installment of the franchise is directed by Amar Kaushik and produced by Dinesh Vijan and Raj & DK. It stars Rajkummar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor, alongside Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana and Abhishek Banerjee. The plot is inspired by the urban legend Nale Ba, which means "come tomorrow" in Kannada, adapted in the film as "O Stree Kal Aana" (oh woman, come tomorrow) in the film.^[3][4] Stree was theatrically released worldwide on 31 August 2018 and received positive reviews. The film grossed over ₹180 crore at the box office against a budget of ₹23–25 crore, becoming a box-office success. The film received ten nominations at the 64th Filmfare Awards and won Best Debut Director for Kaushik.^[5]

Bhediya

Main article: Bhediya

The second installment was directed by Amar Kaushik and produced by Dinesh Vijan and Mrighdeep Singh Lamba. The film stars Varun Dhawan alongside Kriti Sanon, Abhishek Banerjee, Deepak Dobriyal and Paalin Kabak. The plot is inspired by an Arunachal Pradesh legend about a shape-shifting werewolf who kills to protect the jungle. Additionally, characters from Stree appeared in the film, including cameo appearances by Shraddha Kapoor, Rajkummar Rao and Aparshakti Khurana. Abhishek Banerjee reprises his role as Jana (Janardan), Bhaskar's cousin.^[6] Bhediya was theatrically released on 25 November 2022, garnering positive reviews. The film grossed about ₹90 crore against a production budget of approximately ₹60 crore at the box office. It received 13 nominations at the 68th Filmfare Awards, including Best Film (Critics), Best Actor (Critics) and Best Special Effects.^[7][8]

Munjya

Main article: Munjya (film)

The third installment was directed by Aditya Sarpotdar and produced by Dinesh Vijan and Amar Kaushik. The film stars Sharvari, Abhay Verma, Sathyaraj and Mona Singh. The titular character was created using CGI. Additionally, characters from Bhediya made cameo appearances in the film, including Varun Dhawan and Abhishek Banerjee. The film is based on folklore from Konkan that depicts a mischievous spirit named Munjya from Marathi tradition, which haunts peepal trees or wells. This spirit arises when a man dies unmarried between his thread ceremony and marriage ritual and often causes disturbances to fulfil his unfulfilled desires. Munjya was theatrically released on 7 June 2024, garnering mixed reviews. The film grossed over ₹132 crore worldwide against a production budget of ₹30 crore and became one of the highest-grossing Hindi films of 2024.^[9][10]

Stree 2

Main article: Stree 2

The fourth installment and direct sequel to Stree was directed by Amar Kaushik and produced by Dinesh Vijan and Jyoti Deshpande. The film stars Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Abhishek Banerjee and Aparshakti Khurana. The story follows the events after Stree, where the small town of Chanderi is haunted by a beheaded creature, "Sarkata", who is abducting women. Stree 2 was theatrically released on 15 August 2024. The film received positive reviews from critics and has grossed over ₹787.8 crore at the box office against a production budget of ₹50–120 crore.^[a][11]

Upcoming Films

Film	Release Dates	Director(s)	Cast	Producer(s)
Thama †	17 October 2025	Aditya Sarpotdar	Ayushmann Khurrana, Rashmika Mandanna, Paresh Rawal, Nawazuddin Siddiqui	Dinesh Vijan and Amar Kaushik
Shakti Shalini †	31 December 2025	TBA	TBA
Bhediya 2 †	14 August 2026	TBA	TBA
Chamunda †	4 December 2026	TBA	TBA
Stree 3 †	13 August 2027	TBA	TBA
Maha Munjya †	24 December 2027	TBA	TBA
Pehla Mahayudh †	11 August 2028	TBA	TBA
Doosara Mahayudh †	18 October 2028	TBA	TBA

Thama (2025)

The fifth installment in the franchise, titled Thama, was announced on October 30, 2024. The film, centers around a vampire storyline and stars Ayushmann Khurrana in the lead role as Thama, a man-turned-vampire.^[12] The cast includes Rashmika Mandanna, Akshay Kumar, and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. The film is directed by Aditya Sarpotdar and produced by Dinesh Vijan and Amar Kaushik, with a planned release for Diwali 2025.^[13][14]

Shakti Shalini (2025)

The sixth installment in the franchise. The film is scheduled to release on 31 December 2025.^[15]

Bhediya 2 (2026)

The seventh installment and a sequel to Bhediya, titled Bhediya 2, is in the pipeline, with Amar Kaushik returning as the director and Varun Dhawan reprising his role. While the project has been officially announced, the makers are still in the pre-production phase, and principal photography has not yet started. The film is set to release on 14 August 2026, coinciding with Independence Day.^[16][17]

Chamunda (2026)

The eighth installment in the franchise. It is scheduled to release on 4 December 2026.^[18]

Stree 3 (2027)

The ninth installment in the franchise and a sequel to Stree 2. The film will feature Akshay Kumaras the main antagonist, reprising his role from his appearance in Stree 2. Producer Dinesh Vijan confirmed that Stree 3 was already written.^[19][20] Director Amar Kaushik mentioned it would take three years to produce.^[21][22]

Maha Munjya (2027)

The tenth installment in the franchise and a sequel to Munjya. The film is scheduled to release on 24 December 2027, coinciding with Christmas.^[23]

Pehla Mahayudh (2028)

The eleventh installment in the franchise, Pehla Mahayudh, will serve as the first part of the two-part finale for the current phase of the franchise. The story will continue and conclude in the twelfth installment, titled Doosara Mahayudh, releasing later in the same year. Pehla Mahayudh will feature characters from all previous films in the franchise and is scheduled to release on 11 August 2028.^[24]

Doosara Mahayudh (2028)

The twelfth installment in the franchise, Doosara Mahayudh, will serve as the conclusion to the two-part finale of the current phase of the franchise. Picking up directly from the events of Pehla Mahayudh, the film will bring together characters from all previous installments for a climactic showdown. Doosara Mahayudh is scheduled to release on 18 October 2028.^[25]

Characters

This table lists the characters connected across the Maddock Horror Comedy Universe.

Character	Actor	Films
		Stree	Bhediya	Munjya	Stree 2
Vicky	Rajkummar Rao	Main	Cameo		Main
Girl with No Name	Shraddha Kapoor	Main	Cameo		Main
Bhaskar aka Bhediya	Varun Dhawan		Main	Cameo	Cameo
Dr. Anika	Kriti Sanon		Main
Rudra	Pankaj Tripathi	Main			Main
Janardan aka Jana	Abhishek Banerjee	Main	Main	Cameo	Main
Bittu	Aparshakti Khurana	Main	Cameo		Main
Bittu	Abhay Verma			Main
Bela	Sharvari Wagh			Main

Crew and personnel

Occupation	Films
	Stree	Bhediya	Munjya	Stree 2
Director	Amar Kaushik	Amar Kaushik	Aditya Sarpotdar	Amar Kaushik
Producer	Dinesh Vijan, Raj & DK	Dinesh Vijan, Jyoti Deshpande	Dinesh Vijan, Amar Kaushik	Dinesh Vijan, Jyoti Deshpande
Writer	Raj & DK, Sumit Arora (dialogues)	Niren Bhatt	Niren Bhatt (screenplay), Yogesh Chandekar (story)	Niren Bhatt
Cinematographer	Amalendu Chaudhary	Jishnu Bhattacharjee	Saurabh Goswami	Jishnu Bhattacharjee
Editor	Hemanti Sarkar	Sanyukta Kaza	Monisha R. Baldawa	Hemanti Sarkar
Composer	Sachin–Jigar (songs), Ketan Sodha (score)		Sachin–Jigar (songs), Justin Varghese (score)
Lyricist	Vayu, Badshah	Amitabh Bhattacharya
Production Company	Maddock Films, D2R Films	Maddock Films, Jio Studios	Maddock Films	Maddock Films, Jio Studios
Distributor	AA Films, Jio Studios, PHARS Film	Pen Marudhar		PVR Inox Pictures, Pen Marudhar

Box office

Film	Release date	Budget	Box office	Ref.
Stree	30 August 2018	₹23–25 crore	₹180.76 crore	[26][27][28]
Bhediya	25 November 2022	₹60 crore	₹89.97 crore	[29][30]
Munjya	7 June 2024	₹30 crore	₹132.13 crore	[31][32]
Stree 2	15 August 2024	₹50–120 crore[a]	₹884.45 crore	[37][38]
Total[b]
Budget	est. ₹235 crore
Gross	est. ₹1,287.31 crore

See also

• Cop Universe
• Don (franchise)
• Dhoom (franchise)
• Race (film series)
• YRF Spy Universe
• Lokesh Cinematic Universe

Notes

1. Stree 2's reported budget varies between ₹50 crore (India Today^[33]) – ₹60 crore (DNA India^[34] and The Financial Express^[35]) – ₹120 crore (Pinkvilla^[36]), with the latter figure including print and advertising costs
2. Calculated using upper limits

References

1. "Stree 2 and Bhediya 2 to take Dinesh Vijan's horror-comedy universe to new heights; Deets Inside". PINKVILLA. 12 April 2023. Archived from the original on 7 May 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
2. Web, Statesman (28 August 2024). "Stree 2, Munjya, Bhediya set stage for Maddock films' next big horror films". The Statesman. Archived from the original on 28 August 2024. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
3. Srivastava, Soumya (1 September 2018). "Nale Ba, the Bengaluru urban legend that inspired Stree". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 27 November 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
4. "A real horror show". Bangalore Mirror. 27 October 2019. Archived from the original on 16 July 2024. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
5. "Stree 2 and Bhediya 2 to take Dinesh Vijan's horror-comedy universe to new heights". India Today. 12 April 2023. Archived from the original on 7 May 2023. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
6. Sharma, Devesh (25 November 2022). "Bhediya Movie Review". Filmfare.com. Archived from the original on 25 November 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
7. Agarwal, Mehak (25 November 2022). "'Bhediya' movie review: 'Potential to develop into franchise', netizens, critics give Varun Dhawan's latest film a thumbs up". Business Today. Archived from the original on 25 November 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
8. Chaubey, Pranita (25 April 2023). "Filmfare Awards 2023: Here's The Full Nominations List". ndtv.com. Archived from the original on 2 December 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
9. Mathur, Vinamra (28 May 2024). "'Munjya': Decoding the folklore this horror-comedy is based on and meeting India's first CGI actor". Firstpost. Archived from the original on 30 June 2024. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
10. Gupta, Shubhra (7 June 2024). "Munjya review: Dinesh Vijan's latest horror-comedy is neither scary nor funny, goes downhill after 30 minutes". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 2 August 2024. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
11. Bohra, Anurag (9 August 2024). "Varun Dhawan romances, Shraddha Kapoor in Khoobsurat from Stree 2, fans ask 'Vicky ka kya hoga'". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 9 August 2024. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
12. Naman Ramachandran (5 November 2024). "Ayushmann Khurrana Talks 'Thama,' Latest Entry in Maddock's Horror-Comedy Universe (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
13. "'Thama': Ayushmann Khurrana, Rashmika Mandanna to headline Maddock Films' new horror-comedy". The Hindu. 30 October 2024. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
14. "Thama: Ayushmann Khurrana joins Stree, Bhediya in Maddock's horror-comedy universe". India Today. 30 October 2024. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
15. "'2 Alias ruining it': Alia & Kiara's rumoured entry in horror comedy universe with Shakti Shalini, Chamunda irks fans". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
16. "Varun Dhawan announces 'Bhediya 2', to release in 2025". The Hindu. 13 April 2023. Archived from the original on 18 August 2024. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
17. Cyril, Grace (13 April 2023). "Varun Dhawan's Bhediya 2, Shraddha Kapoor's Stree 2 to take over horror-comedy universe. Details inside". India Today. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
18. "Maddock Films announces 8 horror-comedy universe movies, Stree 3 and Bhediya 2 get release dates". The Indian Express. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
19. Sehgal, Chirag (18 July 2024). "Stree 3 CONFIRMED! Dinesh Vijan Says Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor Film 'Already Written'". News18. Archived from the original on 5 August 2024. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
20. Panchal, Komal RJ (22 August 2024). "Stree 3 will be a 'big epic saga', script is ready: Actors Aparshakti Khurana, Abhishek Banerjee give update". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 24 August 2024. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
21. Web, Statesman (4 September 2024). "Stree 3 release date disclosed by director Amar Kaushik". The Statesman. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
22. "Stree 3: Dinesh Vijan announces third installment of Shraddha Kapoor, Rajkummar Rao, Pankaj Tripathi film". The Indian Express. 18 July 2024. Archived from the original on 16 September 2024. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
23. "'Stree 3', 'Munjya 2' announced; adds 4 more movies in horror-comedy universe". The Times of India. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
24. "Maddock Films announces slate of eight films for the next four years". The Economic Times. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
25. "EXCLUSIVE: Maddock Films set for horror comedy universe with 8 films lined up from 2025 to 2028; Shakti Shalini & Chamunda are 2 new entrants". Pinkvilla. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
26. Hungama, Bollywood (18 September 2018). "Box Office: Understanding the economics of Stree and the profits it has earned for its makers". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 16 July 2024. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
27. "Stree Actor Rajkummar Rao: "Not Budget, Content Determines A Film's Success"". NDTV.com. 22 February 2019. Archived from the original on 16 July 2024. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
28. Hungama, Bollywood (31 August 2018). "Stree Box Office Collection till Now". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 8 July 2023. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
29. Agarwal, Mehak (28 November 2022). "Bhediya box office collection: Varun Dhawan, Kriti Sanon-starrer mints Rs 28.55 crore". Business Today. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
30. "Bhediya Box Office". Bollywood Hungama. 25 November 2022. Archived from the original on 22 December 2022. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
31. "Munjya TV release soon; here's when and where to watch the horror comedy". Business Standard. 16 August 2024. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
32. "Munjya Box Office". Bollywood Hungama. 9 June 2024. Archived from the original on 9 June 2024. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
33. "'Stree 2' box office day 10: Rajkummar's film sets spooky benchmark with Rs 500 crore". India Today. 25 August 2024. Archived from the original on 25 August 2024. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
34. "Not Stree 2, Kalki 2898 AD, Shaitaan, HanuMan, this Rs 3-crore film is India's biggest hit of 2024, has no stars, but..." Daily News and Analysis. Archived from the original on 28 August 2024. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
35. "Stree 2 proves big returns don't need big budgets: How Rajkummar Rao-Shraddha Kapoor film became Bollywood's most profitable movie – A 500% ROI story". The Financial Express. 26 August 2024. Archived from the original on 27 August 2024. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
36. Mankad, Himesh (16 August 2024). "Stree 2 Box Office: Shraddha Kapoor, Rajkummar Rao film becomes highest grossing Hindi Film of 2024 in 5 days". Pinkvilla. Archived from the original on 22 August 2024. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
37. "'Stree 2' box office day 10: Rajkummar's film sets spooky benchmark with Rs 500 crore". India Today. 25 August 2024. Archived from the original on 25 August 2024. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
38. Hungama, Bollywood (16 August 2024). "Stree 2 Box Office Collection". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 16 August 2024. Retrieved 16 August 2024.

External links

• Stree at IMDb 
• Bhediya at IMDb 
• Munjya at IMDb 
• Stree 2 at IMDb