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It's been a good year at the box office.
Still, there were some rude shocks as well.
In certain cases, it was very surprising to see hardly any footfalls in theatres when the films should have done well.
Here's looking at the major theatrical flops of 2023.
Adipurush (Hindi)
Box Office collection: Rs 136 crore/Rs 1.36 billion
This was touted to be the biggie of the year but once its teaser was out, there was so much backlash that the film's release date had to be pushed ahead for many months.
A newer look of the film ensured that it started well and even entered the Rs 100 Crore Club in the first weekend itself.
Still, the Prabhas starrer got so much of backlash for its narrative by Director Om Raut and dialogues by Manoj Muntashir that the downfall was even stepper and the expensive film turned out to be a theatrical disaster.
Mission Raniganj
Box office collection: Rs 33.74 crore/Rs 337.4 million
The Akshay Kumar starrer was a well made film and saw critical acclaim too.
But that didn't make the audiences step into the theatres.
The positive word-of-mouth ensured that the film ended up doing a little better after its disastrous opening.
But it has done well on OTT.
Shehzada
Box office collection: Rs 33 crore/Rs 330 million
Despite being a remake of the Allu Arjun blockbuster, Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo, Shehzada did not find many takers on its theatrical release.
Kartik Aaryan tried his hands at being a masala hero, but audiences didn't seem interested.
The Rohit Dhawan film was largely faithful to the original, but the spunk was missing.
Selfiee
Box office collection: Rs 16.85 crore/ =Rs 168.5 million
Selfiee, starring Akshay Kumar and Emraan Hashmi, deserved to do so much better but it largely went unnoticed.
Was it because everyone had already watched the original Malayalam film, Driving License?
One can never be too sure but the fact remains that this Raj Mehta film should have met with a better fate.
Ganapath: A Hero Is Born
Box office collection: Rs 9.70 crore/Rs 97 million
The Tiger Shroff-starrer was being planned as a multiple series but even before the release, the makers gave a clear indication that it would be a standalone.
Director Vikas Bahl made a complete mishmash of the narrative and the visuals, and despite a unique subject at hand, the treatment was such that the film's fate was obvious at the trailer stage itself.
The Vaccine War
Box office collection: Rs 6 crore/Rs 60 million
Last year when Director Vivek Agnihotri arrived with The Kashmir Files, the film was supported by the ruling party, critics and, of course, the audiences, and hence turned out to be an all-time blockbuster.
None of that happened during The Vaccine War as the film didn't find takers right from the trailer stage itself.
When the film released, there was zero hype and even when it got some support, it was too late.
The Great Indian Family
Box office collection: Rs 5.65 crore/Rs 56.5 million
No one even knew that a film called The Great Indian Family was being made.
What was even more surprising was the fact that the country's most premium production house, YRF, was at the helm of affairs while Vicky Kaushal was the leading man.
A social comedy, it arrived virtually unannounced and then disappeared without making any noise.
Tejas
Box office collection: Rs 5 crore/Rs 50 million
Tejas was announced quite some back and with Kangana Ranaut as the leading lady, one waited to see how she would play an air force officer.
There was some effort spent on marketing, promotion and release but it did not lead to any footfalls in theatres.
Kuttey
Box office collection: Rs 4.65 crore/Rs 46.5 million
The first notable release of 2023, Kuttey saw an interesting ensemble cast of Tabu, Arjun Kapoor, Konkona Sen Sharma, Radhika Madan, Naseeruddin Shah and Kumud Mishra.
Marking the directorial debut of Aasmaan Bhardwaj, Vishal Bhardwaj' son, Kuttey could have been seen as a follow-up to Kaminey.
But the trailer itself gave a clear indication that this noir flick would have a limited audiences.
Dono
Box office collection: Rs 0.70 crore/Rs 7 million
2023 was the year of the Deols but not everyone in the family enjoyed a success.
Sunny Deol's younger son Rajveer just could not make the cut for Dono.
Even though Sooraj Barjatya's son Avnish Barjatya was directing the film, nothing came out of this romantic entertainer, which also marked the debut of Poonam Dhillon's daughter, Paloma.
