Sikandar, directed by AR Murugadoss and starring Salman Khan and Rashmika Mandanna, continues its steep decline at the box office. On Thursday, the film recorded a domestic daily earning of less than ₹6 crore, marking one of Salman Khan’s lowest single-day collections in recent years. Among his last five theatrical releases, the only films with first Thursday figures lower than Sikandar were Farhad Samji’s colossal disappointment Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan (2023) and Mahesh Manjrekar’s pandemic-era film Antim: The Final Truth (2021).According to early estimates from industry tracker Sacnilk, Sikandar achieved an India nett collection of just ₹5.75 crore, reflecting a 41.03% decrease in daily earnings compared to Wednesday.
Nonetheless, this performance has allowed the Salman Khan-starrer to surpass the ₹90 crore mark domestically and achieve a worldwide gross of ₹140.25 crore. However, the film’s producer, Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment, claims that Sikandar’s worldwide collection has reached ₹158.5 crore within four days.On Thursday, Sikandar experienced a dismal overall occupancy rate of just 8.24% in the Hindi market. Morning shows started with a low 4.74% occupancy, which only improved slightly throughout the day, with afternoon shows recording 8.17%, evening shows at 9.35%, and night screenings managing just 10.68%.
Among his last five theatrical releases, Sikandar ranks among the lowest for first Thursday collections. For comparison, Tiger 3 (2023) earned ₹22.25 crore domestically, while Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan made ₹3.5 crore, Antim garnered ₹2.1 crore, Dabangg 3 (2019) collected ₹7 crore, and Bharat (2019) achieved ₹31 crore. As Sikandar continues its downward trajectory, many theaters have already replaced the film, resulting in a loss of 1,100 shows since its release.
Lastly, Salman Khan’s fans have voiced concerns about what they term “paid negative reviews” targeting Sikandar. A fan club suggested that the negativity surrounding the film may be artificially generated. “It remains to be seen whether this campaign is driven by someone within the industry or by rival fan groups. Such actions have the potential to severely impact a film’s performance,” they commented. They also noted that while some posts claimed that shows are being canceled, theaters like Gaiety Galaxy have sold out their screenings.
