Why has 'Vikram Vedha' failed to take off at box office?

Mumbai, Oct 03: Newly-released Hindi film 'Vikram Vedha' has completed its first weekend by earning approximately Rs 38 crore (Nett) at the India box office. The film, which was expected to set the box office on fire, has apparently failed to become a crowd-puller despite featuring two big names in the cast.

Why the film has failed to take off?
For a film starring Hrithik Roshan and Saif Ali Khan, the movie should have minted over Rs 100 crore in India in the first weekend. At the least, it should have collected Rs 75 crore, but its performance has caught many by a surprise simply because 'Vikram Vedha' was opened to fairly positive reviews. So, what went wrong?

The main factor that has apparently hit the movie is poor promotions. When big movies are going all out for promotions, it looks like this team did not have a proper plan in place to promote the flick. Or the makers thought having a low-key promotion for such a film would be beneficial for the Hindi movie? Not sure, but it did not work at all.

Did the 'boycott' trend affect 'Vikram Vedha'?
There has been a lot of debate on whether the negative trends and especially 'boycott trends' would impact a film at the box office. However, industry observers refuse to accept the theory.

"The negative trends or 'boycott' trends hardly impact if the content is solid backed with good promotions. All those films failed at the box office in recent years did not appeal the audience. Didn't 'PK' or 'Dangal' taste success at the box office despite controversies?" trade tracker Trinath tells.

The 'boycott' trend is overrated and filmmakers, who failed to impress the audience, have found an easy way to blame the negative social media trend for the failures of their films. "It is highly overrated. Aamir Khan delivered big blockbusters even when there was an online campaign against 'Dangal'," trade tracker Ramesh states.

The Real Reason Why It has Failed to Strike Gold
It is now said that the content of 'Vikram Vedha' has failed to attract viewers. It is a remake of the blockbuster film which was viewed by people across the country on OTT platforms and TV when COVID-19 hit the country.

"During COVID-19, people had no option but to embrace OTT content. So, 'Vikram Vedha' was widely watched by cine-goers. Possibly, this is one reason why the audience was not interested in the film," Trinath opines.

Some industry insiders feel that today more than the stars the content should attract viewers. "It is being proven everywhere that not the star cast but the content that matters. Nobody had expected 'Karthikeya' or 'Sita Ramam' or the latest Kannada flick 'Kantara' would come out with flying colors and films with solid content are winning the hearts of the audience," Trinath points out.