Despite a prolonged streak of box office failures, Akshay Kumar remains one of Bollywood’s busiest and most in-demand actors, consistently signing new projects while others in his position might struggle to find work.
The post-pandemic era has been particularly challenging: among 15 theatrical releases, only a few such as Sooryavanshi and OMG 2 have succeeded commercially, while the rest-most of them being big-budget ones like Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, Samrat Prithviraj, and Kesari Chapter 2-have performed below expectations or failed.
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Still, Kumar remains the top star with 3-4 films per year, with a strong line of upcoming releases.
The reason behind this resistance is the economics of contemporary Bollywood. Although his theatrical appeal has fallen, Akshay Kumar’s movies continue to be very profitable in the pre-release market. Producers get a large part of their investment back through digital (OTT), satellite, and music rights-even before the movie releases in cinemas.
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For example, when a movie such as Selfiee flopped at the box office, its OTT rights were sold for about ₹50 crore, guaranteeing the producers that they didn’t lose a rupee. Kumar’s consistency as a producer of multi-platform material, plus his image for being professional and having a committed non-theatrical fanbase, makes him a low-risk, high-return bet for producers.
Critically, the belief that Akshay Kumar requires a “comeback” is misplaced. His professional life has always been cyclical, with past sequences of flops preceded by grand successes. He himself admits that failures are the nature of the business and is concerned with looking ahead instead of pursuing a magical comeback.
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As long as he keeps providing value through all the mediums, producers will continue to support him-regardless of box office fluctuations. In contemporary Bollywood, Akshay Kumar does not require a comeback; he has already redefined surviving and flourishing in the new environment of the industry.
