Salman Khan's 'Sikandar' opens at ₹26cr amid piracy, negative reviews
What's the story
Salman Khan's latest film, Sikandar, directed by AR Murugadoss, was released in theaters on Sunday, a day ahead of the Eid-ul-Fitr celebrations in India.
The film's first-day box office collection stood at an underwhelming ₹26cr, per industry tracker Sacnilk.
The overall Hindi occupancy was at 21.60%, with maximum footfall during evening shows.
Notably, the film was projected to earn over ₹30cr on Sunday.
Piracy impact
'Sikandar' faced challenges from piracy, negative reviews
The film's performance was marred by piracy issues.
Sikandar was shockingly leaked online hours before its theatrical release.
Trade expert Komal Nahta told ANI that the film's collections could be significantly impacted by this leak.
"The film is not extraordinary, and if people have got the film on their phones, then why will they go to the cinemas? At least 30-40% of the business has been lost because of this."
It also received negative reviews from critics.
Performance comparison
'Sikandar' underperformed compared to previous releases
While Sikandar's opening day collection is impressive, it failed to beat Khan's last release, Tiger 3, which earned ₹44.5cr on its first day.
Tiger 3 also remains Khan's biggest opener yet.
Additionally, Sikandar could not beat Chhaava's ₹31cr opening day collection and earned ₹54cr worldwide on its first day, a number that doesn't do justice to Khan's stature.
The film also stars Rashmika Mandanna, Sathyaraj, Kajal Aggarwal, and Sharman Joshi in pivotal roles.