MUMBAI: Akshay Kumar's period drama 'Samrat Prithviraj' has turned out to be a commercial disaster as the film has earned a measly total of Rs 55 crore at the domestic box office against its massive reported budget of Rs 200 crore, something which is a part and parcel of a period film given the heavy production design, VFX and era-specific costume design.
Reportedly, the film's shows in many circuits are being cancelled and flushed out due to zero occupancy to make way for more commercially viable shows of other films, reminiscent of the fate of Kangana Ranaut-starrer 'Dhaakad' which had reportedly put up a collection of just Rs 4,400 on day 8 of its release with just 20 tickets sold across India.
'Samrat Prithviraj', a YRF production, directed by Chandraprakash Dwivedi, opened in theatres on June 3 where it clashed with two films from different territories - the trilingual 'Major' (Hindi, Telugu and Malayalam) and the pan-India 'Vikram' starring Kamal Haasan, Fahadh Faasil and Vijay Sethupathi.
While both 'Major' and 'Vikram' continue to register an upswing in their collections, 'Samrat Prithviraj' has been singularly rejected by cinegoers despite its grandeur and scale. Senior film trade analyst Taran Adarsh took to his Twitter to share the figures of 'Samrat Prithviraj's India business.
He tweeted, "#SamratPrithviraj is rejected... The heavy budget on one hand and the poor outcome on the other, has sent shock waves within the industry... Fri 10.70 cr, Sat 12.60 cr, Sun 16.10 cr, Mon 5 cr, Tue 4.25 cr, Wed 3.60 cr, Thu 2.80 cr. Total: ? 55.05 cr. #India biz (sic)."
'Samrat Prithviraj' is the second commercial dud in line both for Akshay Kumar (after 'Bachchhan Paandey') and Yash Raj Films ('Jayeshbhai Jordaar').