Despite record-breaking highs (Jawan, Animal and Pathaan), the 2023 box office will also be remembered for a few lows that left A-list stars, including Kangana Ranaut, Tiger Shroff and Kartik Aaryan, bruised. Here’s a look at some of the movies – from big-budget players to more reasonably priced fare – that lost Bollywood studios and independent distributors major buck in 2023. Also read: Films failing at box office leave cinema halls in major crisis as they suffer losses
Not even Vivek Agnihotri, whose The Kashmir Files was the first Hindi film to cross ₹250 crore post-pandemic, was immune, nor Kartik Aaryan, who gave one of the biggest hits in 2022 with the horror comedy Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2.
In no particular order, here are highly-anticipated films that didn’t work at the box office in 2023:
Tejas
The Kangana Ranaut film that featured her as an Indian Air Force pilot did not perform as expected. As per a report by Sacnilk.com, it collected only ₹6.2 crore nett in India after it was released in October. Directed by Sarvesh Mewara, Tejas revolved around the journey of Tejas Gill, an Air Force pilot, who went on a dangerous rescue mission. The film also featured Anshul Chauhan, Varun Mitra, Ashish Vidyarthi, Vishak Nair, Kashyap Shangari, Sunit Tandon, late Rio Kapadia, Mohan Agashe and Mushtaq Kak.
Ganapath
Tiger Shroff and Kriti Sanon’s post apocalyptic dystopian action film showed poor box office collection despite being released around the Dussehra holiday. The futuristic film collected ₹13 crore nett in India as per a report by Sacnilk.com. Ganapath was written and directed by Vikas Bahl of Queen fame and was reported to have been made on a budget of ₹200 crore. Amitabh Bachchan also had a crucial role in the film.
The Vaccine War
Helmed by Vivek Agnihotri, the film had a poor run in India. As per a Sacnilk.com report, it did a business of ₹10.33 crore nett at the domestic box office. The Vaccine War was produced by Pallavi Joshi and I Am Buddha. It was released in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu on September 28. The film featured Nana Patekar, Sapthami Gowda, Pallavi Joshi, Raima Sen and Anupam Kher in pivotal roles.
Chandramukhi 2
Chandramukhi 2 featured Kangana Ranaut and Raghava Lawrence in lead roles. The film was released in theatres on September 28. According to Sacnilk.com, it collected ₹39.21 crore nett in India in all languages; it was released in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam and Kannada. The film was the sequel to the blockbuster hit Tamil horror comedy film Chandramukhi, which starred Rajinikanth and Jyothika in lead roles.
Selfiee
Akshay Kumar’s Hindi remake of the Malayalam film Driving Licence (2019) had a poor first weekend, his lowest in a decade. The film, directed by Raj Mehta and produced by Prithviraj Productions, Dharma Productions, and Cape Of Good Films, also featured Emraan Hashmi, Diana Penty and Nushrat Bharucha. As per a report by Sacnilk.com, Selfiee, which was released in February, collected ₹17.03 crore nett in India and was reportedly made with a ₹100 crore budget.
Shehzada
Kartik Aaryan’s film Shehzada, the Hindi remake of Allu Arjun’s Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo (2020), failed at the box office. Released in February, it collected ₹32 crore nett in India as per Sacnilk.com. As per reports, Shehzada was made on a budget of ₹85 crore. Shehzada was helmed by Rohit Dhawan. Besides Kartik, the film starred Kriti Sanon in the lead. It also had Paresh Rawal, Ronit Roy, Sunny Hinduja and Manisha Koirala in pivotal roles. Shehzada marked Kriti and Kartik’s second collaboration after Luka Chuppi.