Why Tiger 3's average box office collection should worry Salman Khan big time

It has been nearly six years since Salman Khan gave a critical and commercial hit. The last time it happened was 2016, Sultan, directed by Ali Abbas Zafar.

The movie went on to become a critical and commercial success, raking in Rs 565 crore globally. But that was it. Since then, Salman Khan has yet to deliver a critical as well as commercial hit to his fans.

It was expected that Tiger 3 would finally end the dry run at the box office for Salman Khan, but looks like a blockbuster of Salman level is still some time away. Tiger 3 has actually not performed well commercially, which is a big letdown for Salman Khan and YRF.

Tiger 3's underwhelming performance

• Tiger 3 has only been able to collect Rs 278 crore in the third week, which is too less for a star like Salman Khan and a banner like Yash Raj Films (YRF).
• Compared to this, Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan had collected Rs 505.85 crore by the end of the third week. 
• Though Tiger 3 has also crossed the worldwide mark of Rs 400 crore, with its collection being Rs 446 crore, as reported by Indian Express, the movie still is struggling to make money.
• Ek Tha Tiger, the first installment in the Tiger series in 2012 had blown the roof on its first day itself, garnering over Rs 30 crore in India. That was also Salman’s first association with YRF films and Aditya Chopra.
• It was the beginning of YRF’s venture into action films, and Salman Khan was the one to start with.

However, the fans seem to have stopped taking interest in Salman Khan’s films in the last few years, and the lukewarm response to Tiger 3 is proof of that.

• The collections of Tiger 3 might take a severe hit with Ranbir Kapoor’s Animal hitting the theatres on December 1, along with Vicky Kaushal’s Sam Bahadur.
• The craze for Ranbir’s Animal is huge, and it has already made Rs 10 crore ahead of the release from advance bookings.
• The release of these two movies would impact Tiger 3 too, because the screen count of the Salman Khan movie will reduce significantly. 
• Tiger 3 might witness a drastic reduction in footfall in the cinemas by the second week of December, which might also be an indication of the end of its theatrical run.

Salman Khan's fading stardom

• In the last few years, Salman Khan’s stardom has taken a considerable hit, which was never the case for him, irrespective of how his movies have performed.
• However, it all began with Race 3 in 2018, where Salman Khan replaced Saif Ali Khan, and this didn’t go well with the audience. 
• Race 3 made approximately Rs 303 crore worldwide, triple of that of what the first two parts collected, but it was trashed by critics and fans for its extremely weak and confusing story.
• Salman Khan then came up with two home productions in 2019: Bharat and Dabangg 3. 
• Both the movies were panned by critics, though Bharat was still considered better than Dabangg 3.
• 2021 saw the release of Radhe, on OTT due to the Covid lockdown and it was a big disaster; in fact, one of the biggest disasters for Salman Khan.
• Salman didn’t have any release in 2022, and in 2023 he came up with Kisi ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan directed by Farhad Samji, another home production which also turned out to be a damp squib for Salman.

There were high expectations from Tiger 3, but looks like it has also not gone too well for Salman Khan and this might be a big warning signal for the actor.

Why this should concern Salman

• Salman Khan’s stardom might be impacted after a string of flops and underwhelming movie collections.
• He is one of the highest bankable actors in the industry, alongside Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan.
• Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan and Jawan raking in Rs 2,000 crore in one year, and Salman unable to do that with his movies is bound to have comparison as to who is the bigger Khan.
• Shah Rukh Khan’s impeccable stardom and his return with Pathaan in 2022 changed things big time for him.
• At the moment, Aamir Khan is also struggling with good movies, as his Lal Singh Chaddha (2022) was a flop. Aamir had come up with a movie nearly six years after the debacle of his Thugs of Hindostan (2018). But it didn’t work for him.
• The biggest worry for Salman Khan is also his dwindling fan following in recent years.
• Salman Khan has had a massive fan following, and he is the one whose movies have seen hoots and whistles in the theaters. But again, Tiger 3’s cold reception puts a big question mark on Khan’s appeal among the audience.

The Dabangg star hasn’t announced his next venture yet. The 57-year-old star has a lot to figure out before he starts something new.