Salman Khan’s brand appeal at the box office has reportedly declined in recent years. The change has been quite noticeable for trade observers and fans. His latest release Sikandar was expected to perform strongly but failed to meet box office expectations.
The film carried strong anticipation because it marked a collaboration with director A. R. Murugadoss. Despite the combination, Sikandar did not deliver the expected commercial success. This result has raised fresh discussions about Salman Khan’s current box office standing.
Attention has now shifted to his next film Battle of Galwan. However, the early buzz around the project appears limited compared with Salman’s earlier releases. Both fans and trade watchers seem to be approaching the film with cautious expectations.
On social media, the hype around Battle of Galwan is moderate. Some trade experts believe that a box office collection of around Rs 150 crores would be a reasonable result for the film.
Interestingly, a few analysts say this lower expectation could work in the film’s favour. According to them, Battle of Galwan is the least hyped Salman Khan film in nearly 17 years.
From Veer to Sikandar, most Salman Khan films opened with massive hype and extremely high expectations. Even films like Race 3 and Jai Ho faced criticism despite earning decent box office numbers.
Those films were often labelled disappointing mainly because expectations around Salman Khan were extremely high. In comparison, the expectations for Battle of Galwan are currently much more moderate.
Trade analysts say that considering the present buzz and the film’s scale, a total above Rs 150 crore net could be considered a good outcome for the project.
However, many fans disagree with this assessment. They argue that the current box office environment has changed significantly in recent years.
Large films today can sometimes cross Rs 150 crores within the opening weekend itself. Shah Rukh Khan’s recent releases have even crossed the Rs 1000 crore mark worldwide.
Because of this, some fans believe that Rs 150 crores may look modest for a superstar like Salman Khan. They feel a star of his stature should be aiming for much bigger numbers.
Supporters also point out that several top stars are collaborating with leading directors and major production houses. These projects are often backed by large budgets and ambitious scripts.
In contrast, Salman Khan has recently worked on several mid budget projects. Some critics feel that repeated collaborations with weaker directors and reliance on his own banner have affected the scale of his films.
This situation has disappointed many long time fans. They believe that a superstar of Salman Khan’s stature deserves films that match his massive popularity.
In the era of large scale blockbusters, many feel Rs 150 crores no longer carries the same impact. Fans now hope that Salman Khan chooses stronger scripts and bigger collaborations in the future.
