Between 2016 and 2019, Akshay Kumar was undeniably ruling Bollywood. Known as the “hit machine,” his films consistently opened strong and became hits and super hits. In 2019 alone, he delivered four superhits—Kesari, Housefull 4, Mission Mangal, and Good Newz—each doing business of 200 crores net.
However, the situation has drastically changed post-pandemic. Akshay Kumar’s films now struggle to open with even 5 crores, and their lifetime earnings are ending below 35 crores. Here are the opening figures of his recent films:
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– Bell Bottom: 3 crores
– Bachchan Pandey (Holi): 12 crores
– Prithviraj: 9 crores
– Raksha Bandhan (Independence Day): 6 crores
– Ram Setu (Diwali): 14 crores
– Selfiee: 2 crores
– Mission Raniganj: 2.5 crores
– Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (Eid): 13 crores
– Sarfira (expected): 2 crores
Akshay’s downfall is beyond shocking. How did a once-popular actor become so unpopular that his films now struggle to draw even 1-2 lakh footfalls?
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Sarfira, his latest release, has received a disastrous response, comparable to Selfiee and Mission Raniganj.
With just one day to go, Sarfira has sold approximately 1,000 tickets in major multiplex chains like PVR, INOX, and Cinepolis. In Mumbai’s premium single screens, BookMyShow shows zero advance bookings.
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In stark contrast, Prabhas’ two-week-old Kalki 2898 AD has retained higher show counts and capacity screens on its third Friday, outshining Akshay’s new release.
Even Rajkummar Rao is selling more tickets nowadays. A film with no stars and just a computer AI-generated creature, Munjya, sold 10 times more tickets than Sarfira.
Every star hero has a base of diehard fans who watch their films no matter what. The fact that Sarfira couldn’t sell even 1,000 tickets in advance suggests that not even 1000 fans are left for Akshay Kumar.
Even Shah Rukh Khan, who experienced a dull phase between 2015 and 2018, saw his least-hyped films open to more than 15 crores. Today, an Akshay Kumar film opening with 15 crores seems like a distant dream.
The early media reviews for Sarfira are brilliant. Akshay has called it the best film of his career and still, everyone is avoiding it like plague.
It would be the greatest miracle if Akshay Kumar could make a comeback from here.
