Shah Rukh Khan's Zero To Now Clash With Alita Battle Angel, Mauli and The Accidental Prime Minister on December 21; Should King Khan Be Worried?

Shah Rukh Khan just can't catch a break in the past few years, can he? He, and many of his fans, have pinned their hopes on the upcoming Zero that is scheduled to release on December 21. Ever since his 2015 film Dilwale failed to impress critically, Shah Rukh Khan is having a rough time at the box office. He had two major flops in the past two years, FAN and Jab Harry Met Sejal, while Raees and Dear Zindagi were just hits. The superstar is putting all his energies on Zero in hoping to bring back his box office glory in full form.

The two teasers of Zero have done a good job in bringing interest for the movie, and Shah Rukh Khan playing a vertically challenged man has also made fans curious about the movie. Then there is the slew of cameos in the film, from Salman Khan to the late Sridevi. All SRK needed was a good, unobtrusive release date and Zero, at least, would have had the potential to open to a Rs 100 crore weekend. Even the release date fixed, December 21, was good - Zero could have easily enjoyed the Christmas holiday period, if it had no competition. And yeah, the key word here is 'if'.

For now, Shah Rukh Khan has to battle three movies that are coming out on the same date. There is the former PM Manmohan Singh biopic, The Accidental Prime Minister, that stars Anupam Kher in the lead. Expect the support of the ruling party to go for this movie, considering Mr Kher is a staunch supporter of the same. Then there is Ritesh Deshmukh's Marathi film Mauli. Deshmukh is considered one of the top stars in Marathi cinema, so expect many screens in Maharashtra to be dedicated to Mauli. Considering that this region is a huge money-spinner for a movie, this is definitely a setback for the Zero team.

Finally, there is Alita: Battle Angel. Though it is a Hollywood movie, the trailer of this sci-fi action thriller has been well-received. Considering the trend of how Hollywood movies are beating Bollywood at its own field, Shah Rukh Khan should be wary of this movie. It also means even lesser screens for Zero.

There is also the fact that Ranveer Singh and Sara Ali Khan's Simmba, directed by Rohit Shetty and produced by Karan Johar, is coming out on December 28, and it is a huge movie. Interestingly, Shah Rukh Khan is known for his friendly relations with Anupam Kher, Riteish Deshmukh, Rohit Shetty and of course, Karan Johar, and still he couldn't manage to come out with a compromise. Yet. (thankfully, Sushant Singh Rajput's Kedarnath, which was supposed to clash with Zero is now arriving on November 30.

Shah Rukh Khan's movies were not immune to box office clashes in the past. We all still remember the memorable clashes of Om Shanti Om and Saawariya, Dilwale and Bajirao Mastani, and Kaabil and Raees. It has indicated that even in his top box office form, Bollywood was not averse to clashing with Shah Rukh Khan.

However, the industry has been quite considerate of the other two Khans who rule the industry - Salman and Aamir. Both their movies release without any major competition at the box office. Just look this year itself - Salman Khan's Race 3 released on Eid had no competitor for two weeks, till Ranbir Kapoor's Sanju came out on June 29. This gave the movie the opportunity to earn more than Rs 150 crore at the domestic box office, riding on Salman Khan's star-power. But as the movie was so bad, it is hard to imagine Race 3 making this kind of money, if Sanju had released along with it as once planned. Even Sanju had a two-week leeway, with the next major release, Soorma coming out on June 13.

As for Aamir Khan, his Thugs of Hindostan is releasing on November 7. There is no major Bollywood for two weeks since its release to compete with it at the box office, save for the dubbed Rana Dagubatti-starrer Haathi Mere Saathi. Sure, his last release, Secret Superstar, had released with Golmaal Again, but that was more of a Zaira Wasim movie that Aamir's (just like Dear Zindagi was an Alia Bhatt movie than Shah Rukh Khan's).

With Salman and Aamir getting so much space from others in the industry, we have to ask this - is it fashionable to clash with Shah Rukh Khan or is the industry not scared of King Khan any more? Perhaps, things will change when the first trailer of Zero will land. Or perhaps not!

As of now, Shah Rukh Khan, whether he shows it or not, desperately needs a mammoth hit. His highest grossing movie Chennai Express is the only film of his to enter the Rs 200 crore club. However, his younger, male competitors like Ranveer Singh, Shahid Kapoor (Padmaavat) and Ranbir Kapoor (Sanju) had already made their mark in the Rs 300 crore club this year. So yeah, we can really imagine the pressure cook situation that SRK, Aanand L Rai and the entire team of Zero are in right now.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 24, 2018 09:12 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).