Year 2023 saw some of the biggest misfires. Their budgets were huge but the collections were stunningly bad. Some of the films might have recovered their investment from non-theatrical avenues (OTT figures are not known to any), but their box-office performance was sorely poor.
In this section, Ragalahari takes stock of some of the biggest misses of the year:
'Adipurush':
The most-trolled movie of the year it was. Despite two memorable songs and a drama based on a timeless epic involving beloved Hindu Gods, despite Prabhas and a massive worldwide release, the film virtually ended up being a flop from its first Monday. After a huge first weekend opening, this epic 3D mythological film was an epic misfire.
'Bholaa Shankar':
One of the most outdated movies in Chiranjeevi's career, this one was a shameless remake. Adding insult to injury, it turned out to be a bigger financial misfire than 'Acharya' in terms of returns in percentage terms. It almost finished the career of director Meher Ramesh. Composer Mahati Swara Sagar's tryst with superstar movies began and ended with this avoidable action entertainer.
'Bro':
Keeping aside its collections, the film proved to be a talentless remake. Trivikram's writing couldn't save it despite an emotional climax. Pawan Kalyan might not go for another remake in his career after he is done with the current remake, 'Ustaad Bhagat Singh'.
'Shaakuntalam':
Samantha Ruth Prabhu's biggest flop it was. It is said that Dil Raju regretted releasing this movie after putting so much of his money into it. Directed by Gunasekhar, the 3D mythological suffered from gravely inferior visual quality and content.
'Agent':
The action thriller is Akhil Akkineni's biggest flop in commercial terms. Producer AK Sunkara and director Surender Reddy shouldn't have spiked the budget in the first place. Irrational confidence it was. More than six months after its theatrical release, it is yet to find its way into any OTT platform. Phew!
'Spy':
This Nikhil Siddhartha-starring spy thriller received solid Day 1 openings. However, it fell flat on its face right from the second day. Cheating the audience in the name of unraveling the mystery behind Subhas Chandra Bose's disappearance contributed to the film garnering unanimous negative talk.
'Gandeevadhari Arjuna':
Easily the biggest flop in Varun Tej's career, its budget was talked about in the industry circles with a sense of shock. Director Praveen Sattaru reacted angrily when it was suggested that the film's budget was more than Rs 50 Cr. Even if the budget was Rs 30 Cr, the box-office result was anything but encouraging.
'Peddha Kapu 1':
Srikanth Addala's biggest flop it was. Producer Miryala Ravinder Reddy of 'Akhanda' fame supposedly made this film on a high budget. Debutant Virat Karrna's film garnered only paltry openings. This film also comes with the distinction of ending the fate of its second part in a snap. 'Peddha Kapu 2' won't be made, thankfully.
'Tiger Nageswara Rao':
Producer Abhishek Aggarwal made this film as his dream project. But this Dasara release was comprehensively defeated by 'Bhagavanth Kesari' and 'Leo'. Non-theatrical revenue sources might have saved this costly dud.
