Shamshera flops at the box office, makes Rs 10 crore on Day 1

Vaani Kapoor and Ranbir Kapoor in 'Shamshera', which released in theatres on July 22, 2022.

Shamshera, which released across 4,000-plus screens on Friday, July 22, 2022, failed to take off at launch. Experts say there's little hope of recovery in the coming days and weeks for the film starring Ranbir Kapoor in a double role.

The film was expected to do better business on opening day for a number of reasons: the film opened at 4,000-plus screens; there was a lot of support for this produced by Yash Raj Films and directed by Karan Malhotra. Promotion and marketing for the film were superb, too. Add to that, there was no real competition for Shamshera from past or new releases from any film industry - Bollywood, Hollywood or south. And there was industry support, with distributors, exhibitors and trade in general pining for it to succeed.

Also read: Shamshera review: Born to be wild

Still, the film just about managed to go past JugJugg Jeeyo, which says a lot about it.

Though the promo of the film was good, Shamshera the film didn't quite deliver the goods, and as a result, the footfalls were not there.

Since the film didn't show positive trending in the evening or night shows either, there is little chance for it to grow much on Saturday and Sunday. As of now, the best-case scenario for the film looks like a weekend of Rs 40 crore.

The situation is not much better for mid-budget films, which have been box-office disasters. One after another, films have been failing, even when they feature known stars.

HIT - The First Case, with Rajkummar Rao in the lead, is a remake of a Telugu film which had done decent business at the box office and trended well on OTT. Despite being made by the same director with the same narrative, there have been no takers in the Hindi version, with the first week wrapping up at Rs 7.50 crore.

The fate of Shabaash Mithu is even worse. This is Taapsee Pannu's first theatrical release since Thappad (2020). However, the sports biopic couldn't find audiences in theatres, and the film has folded up at Rs 2.75 crore, which is really poor.

The only film that is doing some kind of business is Thor: Love and Thunder. The Marvel superhero flick is now in its third week, and has collected Rs 94.50 crore so far. It should eventually reach the Rs 100 crore mark, though that would be about it for the film since it's among the weakest of the lot from Marvel. The franchise, of course, has built a fan base over a period of time. And with no real competition, it has managed to find some numbers coming its way.

Also read: Ranbir Kapoor: "I come from a film family, but I have also been a film fan"