Big Blow To Akshay As ‘Samrat Prithviraj’ Shows Get Cancelled Amid Poor Box Office Run
After going through a golden run at the box office with 12 back-to-back hits, Akshay Kumar has hit a rough patch as his films are failing to attract audiences in theatres.
Last year, he delivered a big box office disaster in Bell Bottom, followed by success in Sooryavanshi.
However, earlier this year, his first 2022 release Bachchhan Paandey turned out to be a major flop as it couldn’t even go past the Rs 50 crore mark by the end of its run.
His second release of the year, Samrat Prithviraj seems to be heading towards being an even bigger disaster as the period epic was made on a reported budget of Rs 200 crore and has even crossed the Rs 50 crore mark after 5 days of its release.
What’s worse for the film is that after a fair day 3, it crashed on day 4 earning a poor Rs 5 crore.
The collection of the film dropped further on day 5 collecting in the range of Rs 4-4.25 crore and its morning shows were even canceled due to lack of audience.
A source told Bollywood Hungama, “The business in Mumbai city was not up to the mark even on the weekends. Hence, it was bound to have a drop on Monday. Yet, we didn’t expect show cancellations in the morning due to zero audience. Where shows didn’t cancel, the occupancy was in the single digits. The scenario is similar on Tuesday as well.”
The source further added, “The situation was similar in Kolkata and Bengaluru. Delhi was marginally better. The film has put up well in Hindi belts. However, the metros with a high density of multiplexes and higher ticket rates underperformed on the first three days and hence these theatres are performing poorly from Monday onwards.”
An exhibitor told the website, “All multiplexes were forced to play 6-7 or 10-12 shows of Samrat Prithviraj depending on the number of screens. It got far too many shows, due to which the occupancy was limited on the weekends as the demand was not there. From Monday, many multiplexes have reduced shows. Since the film didn’t pick up well on Monday evening, the shows were further reduced on Tuesday. The reduction of shows will happen on Wednesday and Thursday as well as if the trend continues.”
Another source stated that more shows will be canceled in the coming days, “There was a slight growth for evening and night shows on Monday, which was bound to happen. However, the trend is not encouraging at all. Exhibitors should be ready for more show cancellations and poor footfalls till Thursday.”
However, an industry expert is still hopeful about the film’s success, “All is not lost for Samrat Prithviraj. The response has been decent, especially in the B and C centers. And let’s not forget that it has got tax exemptions in several states. There’s no competition for the film in non-2k states till the release of JugJugg Jeeyo. Hence, it’ll continue to hang around in cinemas for 3 full weeks.”
Also starring Sanjay Dutt, Sonu Sood, Manav Vij, Ashutosh Rana, and Manushi Chhillar, Samrat Prithviraj is directed by Dr. Chandraprakash Dwivedi.
The movie clashed with Lokesh Kanagaraj’s Vikram starring Kamal Haasan, Vijay Sethupathi, and Fahadh Faasil. The movie has been a major box office blockbuster earning around Rs 200 crore globally in just 5 days of its release.
The third release of the week, Adivi Sesh’s Major too has been a box office success and continues to perform well even on weekdays.
