‘Sikandar’ Fails to Impress at the Box Office on Opening Day

Mumbai: Salman Khan’s much-anticipated action thriller Sikandar, which hit theatres on March 30, has had a mixed reception at the box office, falling short of expectations for a grand opening. Despite the movie’s high anticipation and the festive period of Eid, Sikandar‘s opening collection has been described as decent but not extraordinary, especially when compared to the actor’s previous blockbusters.

According to box office tracking website Sacnilk, Sikandar earned a net domestic collection of Rs 26 crores on its opening day. The film’s gross collection for Day 1 stood at Rs 31 crores, with an additional Rs 10 crores coming from overseas sales, bringing its total worldwide collection to Rs 41 crores. In terms of domestic sales, the film saw an overall Hindi occupancy rate of 20.95% in 2D and 22.96% in IMAX 2D on Sunday.

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh pointed out the film’s underperformance compared to Salman Khan’s previous films, noting that an opening day collection of Rs 40 crore or more was expected, especially given that Sikandar had the widest release for a Hindi film in India, with over 5500 screens and approximately 22,000 shows per day. Adarsh shared his analysis on X (formerly Twitter), comparing the opening of Sikandar to Salman’s previous hits like Tiger Zinda Hai, Sultan, and Tiger 3, all of which had openings well over Rs 30 crores.

Despite the film’s high-profile release, the disappointing figures could partly be attributed to the circulation of pirated versions of Sikandar online, potentially diverting audiences away from cinemas.

The film also features a strong supporting cast, including Rashmika Mandanna, Kajal Aggarwal, Sharman Joshi, Prateik, Smita Patil, and Sathyaraj, with AR Murugadoss directing the action-packed project. Produced by Sajid Nadiadwala, Sikandar was expected to capitalise on its star power and wide release, but it remains to be seen if it can recover its momentum in the coming weeks.