Finance
Each of Akshay Kumar’s 2022 theatrical releases — Ram Setu, Raksha Bandhan, Samrat Prithviraj, and Bachchhan Paandey — bombed at the box office, but they all had strong openings. The same cannot be said for the actor’s most recent film, Selfiee. On its first Friday, the film performed worse than last week’s flop, Kartik Aaryan’s Shehzada. On its first day of release, the Kartik Aaryan film grossed Rs 6 crore.
According to industry tracker Sacnilk, Selfiee, which also stars Emraan Hashmi, earned only Rs 3 crore at the box office on its first day, with an overall occupancy of only 9.95%. The figure is even lower than what industry experts had predicted conservatively prior to the film’s release.
Girish Johar, a film producer and trade analyst, predicted that the film’s opening day revenue would be between Rs 4 crore and Rs 5 crore. The last time an Akshay Kumar film opened for less than Rs 5 crore was in 2010. On the first day of its release, his film OMG Oh My God! earned Rs 4.25 crore.
Selfiee is a remake of the Malayalam drama Driving License. It was a commercial success, starring actors Prithviraj Sukumaran and Suraj Venjaramoodu.
While addressing what led to the box office failure of Shehzada, which was also a remake of a hit Telugu film, film trade analyst Taran Adarsh had explained, “More than the remake factor, the problem with Shehzada is the content. It is a pale adaptation of the Telugu film in terms of writing, direction and acting.” It seems like the same issue has plagued Selfiee, a half-hearted adaptation. Film critics have collectively panned the film.
Girish Johar said, “Akshay Kumar’s choices post the pandemic have not gone down well with the audiences. Before the pandemic, he was ahead of the curve, that’s why he had a great period. During the pandemic, the audience’s taste has evolved much faster than what he probably envisaged. All it needs is better planning.”
Source:IE
