A wave of shock has swept through the Bollywood film industry as recent releases have failed to attract audiences, resulting in dismal box office collections. Bollywood box office analyst Taran Adarsh expressed this sentiment on X (formerly Twitter), highlighting the underwhelming performance of three films released on August 2nd.
‘Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha’, starring veteran actors Ajay Devgn and Tabu, managed to collect a mere ₹ 1.85 crore on its opening day. Despite being directed by acclaimed filmmaker Neeraj Pandey, the film’s performance remained lackluster, with only slight improvements in subsequent days. The film’s weekend total stands at ₹ 6.75 crore net, a disappointing figure considering its estimated ₹ 100 crore production cost.
Another August 2nd release, ‘Ulajh’, starring Janhvi Kapoor and Gulshan Devaiah, collected a modest ₹ 4.90 crore net over the weekend. While the film’s estimated production cost was ₹ 50 crore, the weekend numbers paint a bleak picture.
The third film released on the same date, ‘The Sabarmati Report’, starring Vikrant Massey, Raashii Khanna, and Riddhi Dogra, has generated the least buzz among the three and no box office data is currently available.
Prior to these releases, ‘Sarfira’, starring Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar, was released on July 12th. Despite featuring a highly bankable star, the film opened with a disappointing ₹ 2.5 crore, significantly lower than expected. The movie’s estimated production cost was ₹ 100 crore, and it has managed to collect ₹ 33.53 crore worldwide so far.
This ongoing trend of low collections has sparked discussions on social media, with many users attributing the lackluster performance to a decline in audience interest. One user remarked that the disappointing box office figures were “expected” and highlighted that only Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan can currently guarantee decent opening numbers, even with negative reviews. Another user compared the ticket sales of recently released ‘Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha’ to Prabhas’ ‘Kalki 2898 AD’ released on June 27th, further emphasizing the current state of the Bollywood box office. Many users expressed the sentiment that Shah Rukh Khan is the current “saviour” of the industry, suggesting that his star power remains a major draw for audiences.
The current scenario raises concerns about the future of the Bollywood film industry, as it grapples with evolving audience preferences and the need for fresh content and marketing strategies to recapture the attention of moviegoers.
