Post Covid – 9 releases, 6 FLOPS, and average lifetime of Rs. 78 crores. Trade experts decode Akshay Kumar’s post-pandemic blues and massive box office slump: “If any actor overexposes himself, toh woh nahin chalega”

A lot was expected from the Eid release, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan. But sadly, it has failed to work at the box office and would struggle to even cross the Rs. 75 crores in its lifetime. It is a big blow for its lead actor Akshay Kumar, who had a dream run from 2016 to 2019 but is struggling in the post-pandemic era.

Akshay Kumar has had 9 releases in post-Covid out of which 6 have been flops – Bellbottom [Rs. 30.63 cr.], Bachchhan Paandey [Rs. 49.98 cr.], Samrat Prithviraj [Rs. 68.05 cr.], Raksha Bandhan [Rs. 44.39 cr.], Selfiee [Rs. 16.85 cr.] and Mission Raniganj [Rs. 33.74 cr.]. While 2 films – Sooryavanshi [Rs. 196 cr.] and OMG 2 [Rs. 150.17 cr.] – were super hits, Ram Setu [Rs. 71.87 cr.] was an average grosser. The average lifetime collection of his films in the post-Covid era is just Rs. 78 crores. This includes Sooryavanshi and OMG 2 and if you remove these two successful films, the average lifetime falls to Rs. 50 crores. The total lifetime earnings of all his films is around Rs. 700 crores of which approximately 50% of collections [Rs. 346.17 cr.] has come from Sooryavanshi and OMG 2.

We asked the trade experts what has gone wrong with this actor, who’s a great performer and who has a sizable following among the audience. Trade veteran Taran Adarsh explained, “Be it Akshay or Shah Rukh Khan or Salman Khan or Aamir Khan or Ajay Devgn, you are as good or as bad as your last Friday. I remember I met Mr Amitabh Bachchan on the sets of Khuda Gawah (1992) at Darya Mahal, Versova. I told him, ‘Your performance in Agneepath (1990) is being hailed’. He replied, ‘But the numbers are not there’! Even then, you were known by your opening day, opening week and lifetime business. So, even when Aamir Khan delivers a dud like Laal Singh Chaddha (2022) or Shah Rukh Khan delivers a string of flops before Pathaan (2023) or Akshay Kumar delivers back-to-back flops in the current period, then it affects your standing. This is an industry governed by box office numbers. The star ratings or how fantastic the performance of the actor is prove to be irrelevant.”

Trade analyst Atul Mohan said, “Akshay had pinned a lot of hopes on this one. I guess people want to see him in inspirational films, which has worked well for him in the past. Also, comedy is his forte.”

Raj Bansal, the owner of Entertainment Paradise in Jaipur, feels that having too many releases in cinemas as well as on OTT went against Akshay. “If any actor overexposes himself, toh woh nahin chalega. An actor should do two films a year or at the most, three films,” he said.

However, all is not lost for Akshay. He has exciting films lined up like Sarfira, Skyforce and the much-awaited comic caper, Welcome To The Jungle. The experts feel that these films can turn the tide for him if the content appeals to the audience.

Girish Johar, producer and film business analyst, reasoned, “For stars like Akshay Kumar, a couple of hits and flops do not change their equity. His next can be keenly anticipated; it all depends on that particular product. If the trailer clicks, he’ll be back. A lot is being said that his bad time is going on. But actors like Akshay are above all that. They have seen several ups and downs. It all depends on that one Friday, that one trailer that the audience loves, and it can do the trick for them.”

Also Read: All Show, No Go: Trade experts discuss what went wrong with Akshay Kumar-Tiger Shroff’s Bade Miyan Chote Miyan: “There’s no content in the film; there has been an overdose of India vs Pakistan in our films”