A FLOP STORY FOR B’WOOD
Akshay starrer Samrat Prithviraj too tanks. Made on a budget of `300 cr, collections have been way below. This is the 10th film that failed this year in Bollywood
Incidentally, five of the biggest stars have seen their last releases flopping at the box office — and Ajay Devgn’s
Khan’s all bombed
The Akshay Kumar and Manushi Chhillar starrer Samrat Prithviraj was released on June 3. The first historical from Yash Raj Films, it was billed as a big-ticket big screen extravaganza made at a budget of `300 crores. But it made barely `60 crore in the first week — despite being released in 3750 screens across the country.
It earned just `10 crore on the first day and that perhaps set the trend for an underwhelming box office performance. It needed to make at least `250 crore to break even, as the satellite and digital rights would
have sold for a good price.
“Despite the low pricing of the tickets due to the film being declared tax free in a few states, it failed to evoke the fervour that The Kashmir Files did through various screenings for members of the ruling party in India. You basically have to make a good film for the audience to come and see it,” says a trade source. Samrat Prithviraj, directed by veteran Dr Chandraprakash Dwivedi, is not the only film to underperform at the box office this year. Barring Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, the second instalment of the horror comedy starring Kartik
Aryan which the audience has lapped up, and The Kashmir Files, none of the recent films have done as well as expected, with even Gangubai Kathiawadi not making profits at the turnstiles. Incidentally, five of the biggest stars have seen their last releases flopping at the box office — Akshay’s Prithviraj and Bachchhan Paandey, Ajay Devgn’s Runway 34, Salman Khan’s Antim all bombed.
Even Aamir Khan’s film Thugs of Hindostan was banished from the theatres within days of its release. Not to forget SRK’s
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