Cirkus Week 1 Box Office: Rohit Shetty's comedy led by Ranveer Singh doesn't find takers; Netts only Rs 30 cr

Rohit Shetty's Cirkus fails to utilise festive season with a very low box office turnout.

By Rishil Jogani

Published on Dec 29, 2022 | 09:27 PM IST | 429.4K

Rohit Shetty's Cirkus may end its theatrical run with a gross collection of around Rs 50 cr nett (Credit: T-Series YouTube Channel)

Rohit Shetty's Cirkus, starring Ranveer Singh, Jacqueline Fernandez, Pooja Hegde, Varun Sharma, Sanjay Mishra and Johnny Lever among other actors released in theatres on Christmas weekend and the first week numbers have been nothing but dismal to say the very least, with the film struggling to even touch Rs. 30 cr India nett in 7 days. The lesser we talk about the overseas numbers, the better as it is among the lowest grossers for both the actor and director. A good chunk of the film's screens have gone to other existing releases which are recording better occupancies.

The Curious Case Of Cirkus Not Performing At The Box Office:

The case of Cirkus is a curious one as it was not just pegged as the most important Bollywood film this year but was also raved upon by most trade sources once the trailer was out. To add to that, the makers were absolutely confident about their product with Shetty going on to say that few whom he showed the film to, found it better than his own cult classic comic caper, Golmaal. The film did not get much support from the audiences, with most complaining about the done-to-death comic segments and the shabby green screen work.

What Did Not Work For Cirkus?

The songs failed to create the magic expected out of them. The Golmaal Universe angle and the dance number by Deepika Padukone didn't add much to the prospects of the film as it opened to a dud response by just about managing to collect Rs. 6 cr nett India on the first day and then dropping by over 50 percent after the weekend, despite the post Christmas box office weekend which has historically been very lucrative for films. James Cameron's Avatar: The Way Of Water, which released a week prior, recorded over double collections of Cirkus even in its second week and resultantly, that film managed a second week nett of over Rs. 100 cr. To add more to the tragedy of Cirkus, Avatar: The Way Of Water can most certainly top Rs. 400 cr India nett, depending on how it does post New Year. It will positively hit the Rs. 300 cr nett mark tomorrow and emerge as the third highest grossing film in India for the year 2022, only behind KGF: Chapter: 2 and RRR.

Has The Movie Going Audience Become Lethal Or Are Makers Responsible For The Lacklustre Performance Of The Film:

The dismal performance of Cirkus has left everyone in shock and may lead to many future changes in choices for both Shetty and Singh. Comedy is a slippery genre and the landing of punches isn't easy. With a whole variety of films available for the audience to choose from, it becomes even more critical to bring the prospective viewers to theatres. The strongest of circuits for Shetty's films have ghosted him with Cirkus and this is after a film like Sooryavanshi, which literally revived movie theatres in the country after Covid-19. The contrasting performance of both films proves how lethal the movie going audiences can be. It also shows that a lot of thought must be given to the way trailers are cut in the country as more often than not, it is that part of the film footage that actually draws the audience to theatres on the first day. Also, the word of mouth travels with the speed of fire in today's time with social media becoming a very powerful tool. One mostly knows about how a film is, a few hours into its release.

What will Rohit Shetty And Ranveer Singh Work On Next?

Both Rohit Shetty and Ranveer Singh have movie projects to look forward to. Rohit Shetty's first direct to streaming series - Indian Police Force, starring Sidharth Malhotra, Vivek Oberoi and Shilpa Shetty to release some time next year. He will start shooting for Singham Again with Ajay Devgn and Deepika Padukone from mid next year and the film shall release in 2024. The film is expected to have important cameos from Akshay Kumar and Ranveer Singh who will reprise the role of Sooryavanshi and Simmba respectively. As about Ranveer Singh, he will next be seen in Karan Johar's next directorial, Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani. As mentioned above, he will also shoot for his cameo in Singham Again next year. Ranveer is yet to give clarity on his projects post that.

In a press meet for Cirkus earlier this year, Rohit confirmed to be working with Ranveer Singh on Simmba 2 in the future apart from roping him to be a part of the next movie in the Golmaal series, expected to go on floors after Singham Again. While we don't really know if these plans still stand, we hope to see more of them in the future as they have made a very memorable film in the form of Simmba back in 2018, which is still the highest grossing cop film in the country.