Akshay Kumar is going through one of his leanest phases when it comes to performing at the box office. COVID-19 has worked in strange manners on Bollywood, and he is one of the stars adversely affected by it. Before the pandemic happened, Akshay Kumar was known for giving back-to-back INR 100 crore grossers, scooped a National Award for Rustom and some of his films were praised for their social topics while the actor also worked around comedy and action with a good success ratio. Post-pandemic, it isn't a rosy picture for Akshay, who is not even getting a good opening for his films these days. See what happened to Sarfira. ‘Sarfira’ Box Office Collection Day 3: Akshay Kumar–Sudha Kongara’s Film Nears INR 15 Crore Mark in India.

The remake of the Tamil OTT hit Soorarai Pottru, Sarfira has been directed by Sudha Kongara and also stars Radhika Madan. The film opened to decent reviews, but its box office numbers on the first day were shockingly low. Releasing on July 12, Sarfira earned INR 2.50 crore in India, which is his lowest opening post-pandemic, even lower than Selfiee's INR 2.55 crore. Over Saturday and Sunday, the film did slightly better, but only in comparison to Akshay's remake of Driving License. Sarfira had scored INR 12.55 crore in its first weekend, in comparison to Selfiee's INR 10.30 crore.

If you do not understand how low this is for someone of Akshay's stature, let's remind you that Sarfira just scored the star's 43rd-lowest opening weekend collection. This is saying a lot since some of his 'flop' movies, like Joker, Blue, and Kambakkth Ishq, performed better in their first weekend.

Don't believe us? We have the data to prove this.

Akshay Kumar's Top 45 Opening Weekend Collections:

1. Mission Mangal - INR 97.56 crore

2. 2.0 - INR 97.25 crore (Hindi)

3. Kesari - INR 78.07 crore

4. Sooryavanshi - INR 77.08 crore

5. Gold - INR 70.05 crore

6. Good Newwz - INR 65.99 crore

7. Ram Setu - INR 55.48 crore

8. Singh Is Bliing - INR 54.44 crore

9. Housefull 3 - INR  53.31 crore

10. Brothers - INR 52.08 crore

11. Toilet – Ek Prem Katha - INR 51.45 crore

12. Jolly LLB 2 - INR 50.46  crore

13. Rustom - INR 14.11 crore

14. Rowdy Rathore - INR 48.30 crore

15. Housefull 4 - INR 46.50 crore

16. Airlift - INR 44.30 crore

17. OMG 2 - INR 43.11 crore

18. Housefull 2 - INR 42.50 crore

19. Holiday – A Soldier Is Never Off Duty - INR 41.32 crore

20. Boss - INR 40.75 crore

21. Pad Man - INR 40.05 crore

22. Once Upon Ay Time In Mumbai Dobaara! - INR 40 crore

23. Gabbar Is Back - INR 39.41 crore

24. Samrat Prithviraj - INR 39.40 crore

25. Tees Maar Khan - INR 38.25 crore

26. Bade Miyan Chote Miyan - INR 38.07 crore

27. Entertainment - INR 36.69 crore

28. Bachchhan Paandey - INR 36.17 crore

29. Baby - INR 36.07 crore

30. Khiladi 786 - INR 34.30 crore

31. Housefull - INR 29.80 crore

32. Raksha Bandhan - INR 28.16 crore

33. Special 26 - INR 27 crore

34. Singh Is Kinng - INR 25.53 crore

25. Desi Boyz - INR 25.50 crore

26. Khatta Meetha - INR 23 crore

27. Kambakkht Ishq - INR 22.62 crore

28. De Dana Dan - INR 21.37 crore

29. Naam Shabana - INR 27.18 crore

30. OMG - Oh My God! - INR 18.65 crore

31. The Shaukeens - INR 18.52 crore

32. Thank You - INR 18.50 crore

33. Blue - INR 18.07 crore

34. Chandni Chowk To China - INR 17.87 crore

35. Action Replayy - INR 16.75 crore

36. Welcome - INR 16.52 crore

37. Joker - INR 15.75 crore

38. Patiala House - INR 15.25 crore

39. Heyy Babyy - INR 15.17 crore

40. Bhool Bhulaiyaa - INR 14.37 crore

41. Bellbottom - INR 12.75 crore

42. Mission Raniganj - INR 12.60 crore

43. Sarfira - INR 12.50 crore

44. Bhagam Bhag - INR 11.34 crore

45. Selfiee - INR 10.30 crore

(Collections sourced from Bollywood Hungama).

So, as you can see above, Sarfira has taken a very slow start at the box office when it comes to having a lead like Akshay Kumar, even after earning mixed-to-positive reviews. ‘Sarfira’ Movie Review: Radhika Madan Outshines Akshay Kumar in This Mawkish Remake of Suriya’s ‘Soorarai Pottru’.

Can Sarfira Prove to be Hit Despite Slow Start?

Sarfira is reportedly made on a budget of INR 85 crore. The movie has to make a miraculous recovery from hereon to turn itself profitable, though it is not impossible. However, the biggest challenge for Sarfira would be Bad Newz, starring Vicky Kaushal, Triptii Dimri and Ammy Virk, that's releasing on July 19. There is already a good buzz around the film, produced by Dharma Productions, and there is a decent chance that Bad Newz will dominate well in the opening weekend and do good business in the urban centres.

What Went Wrong With Sarfira?

There are multiple reasons for Sarfira's underwhelming start at the box office. There's, of course, Akshay Kumar's poor form itself. Secondly, the audiences are in no mood for remakes these days, unless the original isn't too popular (see Shaitaan), or there is a franchise branding attached to it (see Drishyam 2). Sarfira also came to theatres with a low buzz that got enveloped by Indian 2/Hindustani 2's promotional blitzkrieg, which itself didn't perform well thanks to its poor reviews. Real-life-inspired films are also not doing well at the box office these days; see Chandu Champion.

Watch the Trailer of 'Sarfira':

What Next for Akshay Kumar?

While Akshay Kumar is certainly going through a low phase, there are still some exciting projects ahead for the superstar this year. There is the comedy-thriller Khel Khel Mein, directed by Mudassar Aziz, which arrives on August 15, though it faces stiff competition from Stree 2 and Vedaa. On October 2, Sky Force, directed by Abhishek Anil Kapur and Sandeep Kewlani, arrives, an action-thriller based on 'India's first and deadliest airstrike' during the Indo-Pakistani air war of 1965.

Then of course there is the multi-starrer Singham Again, which may have Ajay Devgn in the lead, but Akshay Kumar has a crucial role in the Rohit Shetty film. Singham Again is the biggest upcoming Hindi film to arrive in 2024, and it is bound to get a bumper opening purely for its franchise and star-value.

 

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 15, 2024 03:58 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).