‘Sikandar’ Box Office Verdict – Hit or Flop: 5 Reasons Why Salman Khan-Rashmika Mandanna’s Movie Has Failed in Theatres

By now, it’s clear that Salman Khan’s latest film Sikandar is not performing well at the box office and can arguably be labelled his biggest failure since 2010—excluding Antim, where he played more of a glorified supporting role in a film headlined by his brother-in-law, Aayush Sharma. While the makers claim that the movie has crossed the INR 100 crore mark in India, trade sources suggest that, at the time of writing, Sikandar is still struggling to even touch that milestone, sitting at INR 98.75 crore. And let me remind you - it’s already in its second week. More importantly, this is a Salman Khan film; the same star who, not too long ago, could hit the INR 100 crore mark within two days of release. And this is a film reportedly made on an INR 200 crore budget. ‘Sikandar’ Box Office Verdict – Hit or Flop: 5 Reasons Why Salman Khan Needs To Be Worried About His New Movie Release.

Directed by AR Murugadoss, handling Salman Khan for the first time, Sikandar was positioned as the actor’s grand comeback after the lukewarm reception to Tiger 3 in 2023. Salman even took a year-long break to focus solely on this film, refraining from signing any new projects during that time - barring early buzz around a film with Atlee, which now appears to be the one the director is making with Allu Arjun.

Rashmika Mandanna starred as the female lead, considered something of a lucky charm in trade circles after her back-to-back hits: Animal, Pushpa 2: The Rule, and Chhaava. Producer Sajid Nadiadwala has also had a successful track record with Salman, having delivered hits like Jeet, Judwaa, Mujhse Shaadi Karogi, and Kick (which he directed himself). Add to that the trend of South directors delivering massive hits - most recently Atlee with Jawan and Sandeep Reddy Vanga with Kabir Singh and Animal - and Sikandar seemingly had all the ingredients for success.

So where did it all go wrong?

1. The Trailer and the Songs

Sometimes, all it takes is a strong trailer or the right pre-release hype to reignite excitement. The teaser for Sikandar did manage to generate some early buzz. However, the full trailer failed to make much of an impact, and Pritam’s soundtrack didn’t strike a chord with Salman fans - something essential for his movies to click. The trailer evoked memories of Jai Ho, and the pairing of Salman Khan and Rashmika Mandanna felt awkward, with their significant age gap all too evident. Salman, too, appeared visibly tired and stiff. Jab trailer hi aisa ho toh film se kya hi expect karoge?

2. Salman Khan: The Superstar Who’s Lost His Spark