Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions is in the news due to a recent partnership with Adar Poonawalla, the CEO of Serum Institute of India. Poonawalla has acquired a 50% stake in Dharma Productions through his company, Serene Productions. Johar confirmed this exciting collaboration, praising Poonawalla as a visionary and innovative leader. He expressed confidence that Poonawalla’s involvement will take Dharma Productions to new heights.
Karan Johar shows that everything is going well at Dharma Productions and looks forward to Adar Poonawalla's contributions. However, the specific reasons behind Poonawalla’s stake acquisition are still not clear. An analysis of Dharma Productions' recent performance suggests financial motives may be at play. Between 2022 and 2024, the company released 10 films, with only one major hit. Four films had average performances, one was below average, two were flops, and two were termed as disasters.
The one successful film from Dharma Productions, Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani, starring Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt, earned Rs 355.61 crore against a budget of Rs 160 crore. Among the average performers were Jug Jugg Jeeyo, featuring Varun Dhawan and Kiara Advani, which grossed Rs 136.13 crore on a budget of Rs 85 crore; Brahmastra Part 1, which had a budget of Rs 410 crore and earned Rs 418 crore worldwide; Kill, which made Rs 47.12 crore on a budget of Rs 40 crore; and Good Newwz, which brought in Rs 115.74 crore against an Rs 80 crore budget.
The two flops from Dharma Productions were Yodha, starring Sidharth Malhotra, which earned Rs 52 crore against a budget of Rs 55 crore, and the recent release Jigra, featuring Alia Bhatt and Vedang Raina, which made Rs 52.07 crore on a budget of Rs 90 crore. In the disaster category, Liger earned only Rs 60.80 crore on a budget of Rs 90 crore, while Selfiee managed just Rs 23.63 crore against a budget of Rs 100 crore.
These performances led to considerable financial losses for Dharma Productions, which may have prompted the partnership with Poonawalla.