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Many of the highly anticipated films did not bring any moolah at the box office, making the first half of 2024 quite disappointing.
Yes, there were hits but Bollywood has seen better times.
Here's a look at the box office disappointments of the year so far.
Bade Miyan Chote Miyan
Box office collection: Rs 60 crore/Rs 600 million
There was so much hype around Bade Miyan Chote Miyan.
With Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff coming together in Ali Abbas Zafar's action entertainer, there was a lot of curiosity too.
Plus, the film arrived on the Eid holiday.
But the opening was ordinary and the growth over the weekend was missing.
Maidaan
Box office collection: Rs 52.29 crore/Rs 522.9 million
Releasing five years after it was announced, Maidaan was a dated film.
The makers did their best to give it a fresh look and when the preview screenings were held, it found some appreciation too.
Still, the Ajay Devgn-starrer just could not recover.
After seeing a poor opening, it somehow managed to cross the half century mark but that didn't salvage it.
Yodha
Box office collection: Rs 34 crore/Rs 340 million
After being pushed ahead for about a year, when Yodha finally released in theatres, it did not have much going for it.
This, despite the fact that the action entertainer was launched in style and it got a fair opening at the box office.
But audiences weren't enticed with what they saw and after a week, the Sidharth Malhotra starrer could not sustain itself.
Merry Christmas
Box office collection: Rs 18.30 crore/Rs 183 million
Its release timing at the beginning of the year was wrong.
The film should have arrived around Christmas to resonate with the theme.
Still, this was no Andhadhun from Sriram Raghavan.
It was a bit too smart and audiences couldn't quite comprehend the proceedings in this Vijay Sethupathi and Katrina Kaif thriller.
Crakk
Box office collection: Rs 13.50 crore/Rs 135 million
A film which actually put Vidyut Jammwal in debt, Crakk was an extreme sports film which could not find resonance with the audience.
The promotion also did not establish the core theme and it managed an opening, it crashed soon after.
Love Sex Aur Dhokha 2
Box office collection: Rs 8 crore/Rs 80 million
While Love Sex Aur Dhokha was a sleeper success in 2010, its sequel could not find anything going for it.
The theme was way too risqué this time and alienated 90 per cent of the audiences.
Director Dibakar Banerjee could not spin the kind of tale that had helped the first part find its audience and it failed to cross even Rs 10 crore (Rs 100 million).
Main Atal Hoon
Box office collection: Rs 8 crore/Rs 80 million
Released right at the beginning of the year, Main Atal Hoon -- the Atal Bihari Vajpayee biopic -- was much delayed.
Even Pankaj Tripathi's titular role could not elevate the film.
Ruslaan
Box office collection: Rs 5 crore/Rs 50 million
Aayush Sharma played a hard core action role in Ruslaan but the film's promotions were erratic and it opened to empty theatres.
After struggling to get Rs 5 crore (Rs 50 million), it end its run prematurely in one week.
Bastar: The Naxal Story
Box office collection: Rs 1.30 crore/Rs 13 million
This is the biggest downfall story for an actor-director-producer combo.
After making the blockbuster film The Kerala Story last year, Producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah, Director Sudipto Sen and Actor Adah Sharma got together again to make a film on yet another hard-hitting topic. But Bastar: The Naxal Story was dead on arrival.
Operation Valentine (Hindi)
Box office collection: Rs 1 crore/Rs 10 million
While Telugu film Kalki 2898 AD is doing so well in its Hindi version, it was just the opposite for the other Telugu dubbed film, Operation Valentine.
A lot was spent on marketing and promotion but it wasn't targeted well.
As a result, awareness around the film was zilch.
The final nail on the coffin was its similarity with Fighter which had released just before.
