Siddharth Anand Reacts to Fighter’s Lacklustre Box Office Opening

Director Siddharth Anand's 'Fighter' hit the big screens on 25 January.

'Fighter' is set to hit theatres on 25 January.

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter)

Siddharth Anand's Fighter is one of the major releases of 2024. However, the film couldn't replicate the same success that his previous film Pathaan did last year in terms of its opening. The film had a slow start at the box office, collecting just Rs 22.5 crore on its opening day.

Although it gained momentum over the Republic Day weekend, it experienced a sharp decline in collections during the weekdays. Siddharth Anand has recently shared his reflections on why the Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone-starrer is unable to recreate the successes of his previous film.

During his interview with Galatta Plus, he listed out several reasons why Fighter isn't at par with his major successes such as War or Pathan. He said:

“Our expectations as makers have become a little unrealistic. I am talking about myself also, having delivered Pathaan just one year ago. We need to keep our expectations in check and align them with the product. Also, it was a working day. Thursday is considered mid-week. For instance, we held a special screening for friends and family on Thursday, and whoever we texted and asked, at least 40% of them asked, ‘Is the show in the evening?’ So, that time, it hit us how will people bunk work or bunk school and come in the morning.”

He also added that the ariel action thriller may not be for majority of the audiences in India. He explained, “Another thing is the genre. Fighter is a huge leap for a filmmaker. It’s a space that is unexplored and absolutely new. It has no reference point for the audience. They are like, ‘What are these planes doing?'”

In addition to the leads, the film also stars Anil Kapoor, Karan Singh Grover, Akshay Oberoi, Sanjeeda Sheikh, Talat Aziz, Sanjeev Jaiswal, Rishabh Sawhney, and Ashutosh Rana in pivotal roles.

Fighter is backed by Viacom18 Studios in collaboration with Marflix Pictures. It is also the first installment in the aerial-action drama franchise.