Filmmakers plan for years ahead to ensure they reserve Diwali weekend for their biggest and most anticipated releases. It is the biggest festival not just in India but overseas giving them the best chance to attract a maximum audience to the theatres. Even this year two highly anticipated movies – ‘Singham Again’ and ‘Bhool Bulaiyaa 3’ will be seen clashing in the theatre on the Diwali weekend.
Back in 2018, Aamir Khan also chose Diwali to release his highly-awaited movie. It was the most expensive Indian film made then but it failed miserably at the box office. The movie that we are talking about is ‘Thugs of Hindostan.’
Reportedly, it was made at a budget of approximately ₹300 crore. According to trade experts, the movie was required to make over ₹500 crore in India to be a hit. The movie was headlined by Aamir Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, and Katrina Kaif; thus, it was expected that the star power would be able to draw in the audience.
However, all such beliefs were shattered when the movie’s opening day collection was only ₹52 crore. It was then coupled with bad reviews and extremely negative word of mouth, and the movie managed to make only ₹6 crore by day four. On the second Monday, the number didn’t even reach a crore. In the end, ‘Thugs of Hindostan’ made only ₹151 crore nett in India and ₹322 crore gross worldwide.
According to a Mid-Day several theatre owners demanded a refund from the makers. “As is the practice with YRF, the studio had taken on the distribution responsibilities. The exhibitors agreed to the minimum-guarantee deal as they expected handsome profits from the big-budget film, but the tables have turned. So, we are planning to approach the sub-distributors [YRF] to get a refund. We hope YRF, Aamir Khan, and Amitabh Bachchan will help us in this situation, else there is a possibility of a few theatres having to even shut down,” said an anonymous exhibitor.
Even Aamir Khan apologized for not meeting the expectations. In a statement given to Hindustan Times in 2019, Aamir said, “I’ve always felt responsible for my work, but for the last 18-19 years, I didn’t have a film that didn’t do well, so that’s why people might have felt I was doing this for the first time. And especially because it was a much-awaited film; people had high expectations, so I was very sorry, hurt and upset that we went wrong. I felt emotionally that I should address it and apologise to people for not living up to the expectations.”
The movie is now available for online streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
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