Sequel film ’12 Gaun’ failed to attract an audience

KATHMANDU:- The film ’12 Gau’, released during Dashain two years ago, revived the action genre—a category that had remained virtually dormant for nearly a decade. Despite competing against a major franchise like ‘Chhakka Panja 5’, the film grossed nearly 200 million rupees (20 crore) at the box office. This is considered the highest-ever earning for a Nepali action film.

Following the commercial success of ‘12 Gau’, there was talk that an era of action films had returned to Nepal. Driven by this optimism, several action films were produced with significant investment; however, none of them succeeded. Even ‘Acharya’—starring Nikhil Upreti, who is known as an action star—faltered at the box office. Subsequently, many pinned their hopes on the sequel to ‘12 Gau’, but it failed to even uphold the reputation of the original installment.

It is reported that ’12 Gaun 2′, which was released on Ashoj 30 to coincide with the Dashain festival, has grossed over 20 million rupees (2 crore) as of Wednesday. In contrast, the first installment of the film had grossed over 50 million rupees (5 crore) within its first week alone. Having failed to attract the expected number of viewers from the very first day, the film has lost 60 percent of its screenings by its second week. Currently, the total number of shows for the film nationwide is fewer than 50.

There appear to be three primary reasons for the commercial failure of ‘12 Gau 2’. The first is the release of ‘12 Gau’ on YouTube just as the new film was about to hit theaters. Although initially perceived as a strategic move by the producer, it is clear that the negative reception the film received from the audience adversely affected ‘12 Gau 2’. A large number of viewers who watched the film on YouTube even questioned its success.

Another reason for a film’s failure is attributed to its writing. When the story and screenplay are weak, issues arise in everything from character establishment to the development of conflict. Furthermore, since the sequence of events is easily predictable, the film fails to spark any curiosity in the audience. With a lack of innovation even in the action sequences, the film failed to generate positive word-of-mouth—a primary factor in its failure.

It is analyzed that the high volume of film releases during this year’s Dashain festival negatively impacted ‘12 Gau 2’. At the box office, the film faced competition from ‘Aa Baata Aama 2’ and ‘Chha Maya Chhapakkai 2’. The simultaneous release of these three films led to a fragmentation of both the audience and the available cinema screens. Furthermore, the lack of a positive audience response appears to have further hindered the film’s commercial performance.

The failure of ‘12 Gau 2’ has made one thing crystal clear: audiences will no longer head to the theaters based solely on the fact that a film is a sequel; they need to be confident that the movie itself will satisfy them. The fact that ‘Aa Baata Aama 2’ and ‘Chha Maya Chhapakkai 2’—which were released alongside ‘12 Gau 2’—also failed to attract the expected number of viewers suggests that the days when a film could succeed based on the sequel label alone are over.