Akshay gets ANOTHER FLOP

Dr Chandraprakash Dwivedi's Samrat Prithviraj has under-performed at the box office in most centres, and trade experts blame Akshay Kumar for the debacle.

This is Akshay's third box office debacle in a row after Bell Bottom and Bachchhan Paandey.

Meanwhile, the Kartik Aaryan starrer Bhool Bhulaiya 2 is still drawing in family crowds in the third week of its release in spite of three other major releases, including Major, Vikram and, of course, Samrat Prithviraj.

"Bhool Bhulaiya 2 in the third week is ahead of Samrat Prithviraj in the first week," a staffer at a leading multiplex chain tells Subhash K Jha.

"Samrat Prithviraj's collections are sobering. It has generated very little interest. There was a marginal upward swing on Sunday, but most of the shows are going anti-houseful on Monday," the staffer adds.

Adivi Sesh's Major and Kamal Haasan's Vikram have shown impressive box office collections in the south, but are washouts in Hindi.

"Cine-goers are almost always youth-centric. They need to relate with the movies," says Suman Sinha, a leading film exhibitor in Bihar.

"'83 is an example. Our generation that had seen the World Cup was excited, but the current generations do not relate to Mahendra Dhoni or even Sachin Tendulkar," adds Sinha. "Bhool Bhulaiya has the youth heart-throb Kartik Aaryan."

"Audiences have become smarter. If the content is good and entertaining, it's welcomed with open arms. Else, it's a clear rejection at the box office. Bhool Bhulaiya 2 had fresh content which targeted youth and kept audiences hooked to their seats till the end," says Kishan Damani, a film distributor in Bihar.

"Samrat Prithviraj, on the other hand, failed to entertain," adds Damani. "Direction was poor and Akshay Kumar did not suit the role."