India, Oct. 13 -- With Border 2, 2026 began on a high at the box office with the film emerging a commercial success crossing a collection of Rs.300 crore. It set the ball rolling, and through the year, films like Dhurandhar The Revenge, Cocktail 2, Welcome To The Jungle, Dhamaal 4, Awarapan 2, and more recently, Drishyam 3 have kept the cash registers ringing, and proving that this year, it has been the year of franchise films. But why has the audience responded so well to these IPs this year?

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh says while the familiarity can bring in a good opening, it's the content that sustains the film. "A franchise always has a recollect value, and it can attract the audience on day one, but then the content has to do the ta...