Housefull 5 review: Akshay Kumar's slapstick killer comedy gets thumbs down; movie goers say, 'cheap Cringefest'

Housefull 5, a multi-starrer film, was one of the most-awaited releases of 2025. Directed by Tarun Mansukhani, the film hit theatres on June 6. The cast features Akshay Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh, Chunky Pandey, Abhishek Bachchan, Sonam Bajwa, Nargis Fakhri, Sanjay Dutt, Jackie Shroff, Nana Patekar, Chitrangada Singh, Fardeen Khan, Johnny Lever, Shreyas Talpade, Dino Morea, Ranjeet, Soundarya Sharma, Nikitin Dheer, and Akashdeep Sabir.

Interestingly, more than the star-studded cast, it's the film's ending that has caught audiences' attention. Housefull 5 was released in two versions — Housefull 5A and Housefull 5B. While the plot remains the same in both, each version features a different climax.

According to the makers, out of the 140-minute runtime, the first two hours are identical in both versions. However, the last 20 minutes differ, offering two alternate conclusions to the story.

A classic slapstick comedy, Housefull 5 revolves around a murder mystery aboard a cruise ship. A wealthy billionaire (played by Ranjeet) is murdered shortly after announcing that he will be leaving his fortune to his heir, Jolly. The twist? There are three Jollys on board — Akshay Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh, and Abhishek Bachchan. Along with their girlfriends (played by Jacqueline Fernandez, Sonam Bajwa, and Nargis Fakhri), all three become prime suspects in the murder.

The catch is that each version of the film features a different killer in the climax, subtly altering the viewing experience.

Among cinephiles, Housefull 5B has received a better response than Housefull 5A.

One X user said, "#Housefull5B is better than #Housefull5A .... But movie is a disaster as usual."

Another wrote, "#AkshayKumar is the king of comedy Loving every moment of #Housefull5 #Housefull5Review."

The next user wrote, "The public is disappointed, there is no comedy, so better to skip and don't waste your money #Congratulations to Akshay Kumar for another disaster.''

The next user wrote, "Saw Housefull 5B as well. When both Housefull 5A and B is compared I found the latter version watchable than 5A.

In a video posted by Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment ahead of the release, Akshay and Riteish urged the audiences to watch the film twice, once for each ending.