The Bengal Files performed poorly at the Box Office. Made with a budget of ₹35–40 crore, it managed to earn only ₹16 crore worldwide. The Vivek Agnihotri movie is the third instalment in his ‘Files’ Trilogy, after The Tashkent Files and The Kashmir Files. Since the latter was a huge hit at the Box Office, The Bengal Files was expected to perform well too.
ALSO READ: ‘Attempted suicide, blackmailed by influencers’: Kashmir Girl in viral pic
Nevertheless, the movie received a lukewarm response from the audience. The Noakhali Riots and the Direct Action Day riots formed the core of the movie’s plot. Despite the engaging theme, the movie did not perform as per expectations.
I asked people on X why the movie failed at the Box Office as per them. Their opinions ranged from the running time of the movie to the substance of it.
What people said about The Bengal Files
One user said that people are tired of watching movies based on issues that make them feel helpless. A person also described the movie as “too gory” for the Hindu Community.
Because people are tired of watching these issues feeling helpless for a lot of shit still happening irl- IMO
— ⟡ (@nickiminachhh) October 19, 2025
Another user said that it’s because of Vivek Agnihotri himself.
Movie was just okay. Vivek Agnihotri ko story telling nhi aati. Movie engaging nhi hoti uski. Documentary type hoti hain uski movie.
— vintage tipu sir_ 53.78_ (@onetiponehand_) October 19, 2025
According to one user, it is tough now to get the audience to theatres.
Tough to get people to theaters now.
— WatcherOfTrolls (@Plippip2) October 19, 2025
VRA isnt an amazing director so folks know they can watch later not a cinema hall movie
There were two recurring themes in the answers. Firstly, it is that the movie itself is not very good or engaging. Secondly, people choose “happy entertainment over disturbing scenes”. A lot of people found flaws in the film-making skills of Vivek Agnihotri himself.
ALSO READ: ‘Owning humans is not inherently evil’: Christian Podcaster uses Bible to justify slavery
Some people also believe that the timing of the shows had something to do with the poor numbers. They said the movie had bat time slots in theatres with all shows post 8 pm. That made it difficult for them to watch the movie in theatres. If there were time slots during the day, then they would have watched it.
It’s unclear to what extent the show timings affected the earnings. But it’s unlikely that the movie would have earned significant more at the Box Office if its time slots were different. Also, the movie was banned in West Bengal. That, undoubtedly, affected the earnings quite a bit. But then again, even without the ban, it’s unlikely that the movie would have been a hit.
‘Not interested in watching a movie focused on Hindus suffering violence’
A right-wing friend of mine who is a movie enthusiast himself did not watch the movie. I asked him his reasons for the same. He told me, “I am not interested in watching a movie focused on Hindus getting raped and killed, especially not in theatres where it is more visceral and you cannot walk away.”
“The trailer and the marketing made the movie seem too depressing, with not enough hope or catharsis,” he said. He added, “I might have watched it if it was a Gopal Patha biopic. If the movie revolved around Gopal Patha as the protagonist out and out, there might have been right-wing excitement.”
I personally did not watch the movie for similar reasons. Because I am a Bengali Hindu myself with origins in Bangladesh’s Sylhet district, I am well aware of the history and magnitude of the violence. Therefore, spending money on a movie that will make me feel miserable did not make sense to me.
The friend further said that he believed the marketing for The Bengal Files was one of the primary reasons for its failure. “The Kashmir Files was based on a neutral/national issue. But the title of this movie made it seem like a political movie targeted at the West Bengal Government for the upcoming elections there.”
Another movie enthusiast friend had similar reasons for not watching the movie. She said she had “no interest” in watching a Vivek Agnihotri movie. “His film-making style is boring. I had watched The Kashmir Files. It’s all just Twitter discourse.”
