Selfiee Week 1 Box Office: Akshay Kumar and Emraan Hashmi's film loses steam; Collects Rs 14 crore in 7 days

Akshay Kumar and Emraan Hashmi led Selfiee has been watched by less than 10 lakh viewers in its first week.

By Rishil Jogani

Updated on Mar 03, 2023 | 12:25 PM IST | 345.9K

Selfiee is Akshay Kumar's fifth consecutive theatrical failure (Credit: Dharma Movies Instagram)

Selfiee, starring Akshay Kumar, Emraan Hashmi, Nushrratt Bharuccha and Diana Penty, and directed by Raj Mehta had an alarmingly low first week at the box office, with collections failing to touch even Rs. 15 crores after seven days. After 7 days, the film has collected around Rs 13.80 crores nett. This spoof-comedy-drama never really got going, right from the advance bookings. On the first day itself, it was pretty clear that the film is heading for a very sorry fate. There were a few factors going with, and a few factors against the film. Sadly for the makers, the factors going against the film were way stronger.

Team Selfiee Failed To Keep Audiences Engaged Despite It Featuring An A-Lister Like Akshay Kumar

The results of Selfiee have sent shock waves across the Hindi Film Industry as no one in their wildest dreams expected a film featuring a top billing star that is produced by one of the biggest banners in the industry, struggle to collect Rs. 20 crores nett in its lifetime. To add salt to the wounds, Selfiee is neither a niche film and nor have there been any compromises made with respect to promotions and publicity. Upon that, the film had no hiccups even before its release, that is, it had an extremely smooth release and infact has another open week to cash in, right till the release of Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar.

The Gravity Of A Film Like Selfiee Failing Is Higher Than Other Films Failing

There was an audience for remake films, mid-sized films and most importantly Akshay Kumar films before the pandemic but the dynamics have totally changed after the pandemic, where the audiences have become very picky about the content they wish to watch on the big screen. Films that warrant a big screen experience are preferred to be watched on the big screens and films that can be done without being watched on the big screen are rather waited for, to be directly watched digitally. While Selfiee isn't the only film that has failed post pandemic, the gravity of a film like Selfiee failing is far greater than the other films and the extent to how bad the numbers are can't be downplayed.

Akshay Kumar's Movie Frequency And Omnipresence Is Costing His Films A Great Deal

The harsh reality and the elephant in the room that needs to be addressed is the fact that Akshay Kumar's omnipresence doesn't fit well with viewers. When an A-list actor like Akshay Kumar is shoved into the faces of prospective viewers every day, the likelihood to watch that actor on the big screen starts to fade. The inertia required to bring audiences to watch a feature film on the big screen in today's time and age is certainly difficult. But it is impossible, especially for someone who has a high frequency of films and direct digital releases each year, to pull the audience to theatres every single time. When a set of audience is accustomed to watching you on digital, they don't find it worth to go to the theatres to watch you unless it has more to offer than just the actor's presence. The choices to choose for a viewer are way too many and there is a dire need to build the curiosity that is required to get audiences to theatres, else they are never really running short of options. There are probably a few other films in the actor's pipeline that have a very limited theatrical audience and given the way things stand, these films can face an even tougher time.

Akshay Kumar Is Making New Film Choices Taking Into Account What Most Of His Audience Wants From Him

Akshay Kumar is now working on the sequel to Hera Pheri and is reviving a couple more of his comic franchises. He is also doing Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, a film whose scale can't be underestimated in any way. The release to the sequel of the superhit film Oh My God is round the corner too and it has Akshay Kumar reprising a very crucial role. These are either films that have a cult following or films that are being shot on a huge scale. With these films, he can atleast get a set of his audience back. The only apprehension here is that it would be difficult for the actor to deliver a successful film outside his franchise films and big scale films given that they lack curiosity, something that can be sensed by a number of determinants.

Selfiee is a big theatrical disaster (Credit: Dharma Movies)