Bollywood witnessed a flurry of high-budget movies failing to reach break even in 2023, a year that also saw record-breaking blockbusters like Jawan, Pathaan and Gadar 2 revive the Indian film industry following the post-Covid slump. Here’s a look at 10 such box office disappointments of the year.
Adipurush
Despite tremendous pre-release hype, Om Raut’s Adipurush, a mythological drama starring Prabhas, Saif Ali Khan and Kriti Sanon, turned out to be one of the biggest flops of the year. Although the film earned approximately Rs 390 crore gross worldwide, most of it was during the opening weekend, following which the earnings were on a downward spiral. The film was reportedly made on a budget of Rs 700 crore.
Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan
Salman Khan’s Eid release Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan failed to make an impact, earning only Rs 182 crore gross worldwide. The Farhad Samji-directed movie, which also starred Pooja Hegde, Shehnaaz Gill, Venkatesh Daggubati, Palak Tiwari, and Raghav Juyal, struggled to resonate with the audience.
Selfiee
Akshay Kumar and Emraan Hashmi-starrer Selfiee fared poorly at the box office, managing to earn only Rs 23 crore gross globally. The Raj Mehta-directed Hindi remake of the Malayalam film Driving Licence failed to draw the audience to theatres despite its hit dance numbers.
Mission Raniganj
Akshay Kumar’s survival drama Mission Raniganj, which also featured Parineeti Chopra, performed poorly at the box office. The Tinu Suresh Desai-helmed rescue drama, based on the Raniganj Coalfields collapse of 1989, could only earn Rs 45 crore worldwide.
Shehzada
Kartik Aaryan’s production debut Shehzada, the Hindi remake of the Telugu blockbuster Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo, failed to cross the Rs 50-crore mark globally. After a spate of serious roles, Kartik was back to playing the goofy-but-charming characters he is popular for with Rohit Dhawan’s directorial Shahzada. The comedy drama, however, failed to draw audiences to theatres and closed its box office run at Rs 47.43 crore gross worldwide.
Ganapath: A Hero is Born
Vikas Bahl’s Ganapath: A Hero is Born aspired to be an action-packed apocalyptic movie. However, the Tiger Shroff, Kriti Sanon, and Amitabh Bachchan-starrer failed to meet expectations, receiving lukewarm reviews and failing to impress movie-goers. It ended up with a worldwide gross collection of Rs 35.13 crore despite a Dussehra release.
Bholaa
Ajay Devgn-starrer Bholaa was yet another big-budget film that received a lukewarm response at the box office. A remake of the Tamil-language hit Kaithi, the directorial venture of Ajay Devgn failed to meet expectations, garnering only Rs 111.64 crore gross worldwide.
The Vaccine War
After the success of The Kashmir Files, director Vivek Agnihotri promised to depict a gripping account of the COVID-19 era with The Vaccine War, offering to recount the story of the making of India’s COVID-19 vaccine. However, the scientific drama, starring Nana Patekar, Anupam Kher, Raima Sen, Sapthami Gowda, Pallavi Joshi, and Paritosh Sand, bombed at the box office, garnering Rs 9.47 crore gross worldwide.
Tejas
Kangana Ranaut's streak of box office disappointments continued with her 2023 release Tejas. Produced by Ronnie Screwvala, the Sarvesh Mewara-directed war drama could only manage to generate Rs 4.25 crore.
The Ladykiller
Director Ajay Bahl's action thriller The Ladykiller faced controversies right from the day of its release. Starring Arjun Kapoor and Bhumi Pednekar, the film got a very limited release in only a handful of theaters across India. The movie garnered a meager Rs 38,000 on its opening day and concluded its theatrical run with a paltry lifetime earning of only Rs 1 lakh.
