Selfiee eyes less than Rs 5 crore at day 1 box office, Akshay Kumar’s woes continue

Selfiee is expected to make less than Rs 5 crore on its opening day, marking a new low for Akshay Kumar.

The film Selfiee will feature Emraan Hashmi and Akshay Kumar locking horns. (Photo: Varinder Chawla)

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It doesn’t seem like Akshay Kumar‘s fortunes are about to change any time soon. After a string of flops in 2022, the actor was hoping to start 2023 on a successful note with this week’s Selfiee. But early box office estimates suggest that the film won’t even be able to match up to the underwhelming performance of his recent flops. According to a forecast by industry analyst firm Ormax Media, Selfiee is expected to earn only Rs 4.8 crore nett on its first day of release. Final numbers are yet to come in.

Industry tracker Sacnilk concurs. The portal is predicting an opening between Rs 4 crore and Rs 5 crore for Selfiee, after low advance sales. Koimoi, meanwhile reported that the film failed to reach Rs 1 crore mark in advance bookings. The film debuted in over 3,000 theatres domestically, and will struggle to deliver a respectable opening unless it gets positive word-of-mouth. But even that is looking unlikely, going by the reviews. The Indian Express’ Shalini Langer wrote in her review, “The good thing about Selfiee is that it doesn’t pretend to be more than it is. The bad thing about it is that it is not even trying.”

#OrmaxCinematix FBO (First-Day Box Office Forecast) for today’s major Hindi release Selfiee (India nett) #FBO pic.twitter.com/zv0M0bhuy7

— Ormax Media (@OrmaxMedia) February 24, 2023

Also read | Selfiee movie review: Akshay Kumar, Emraan Hashmi film is not even trying to be more than it is

Akshay starred in four back-to-back box office flops last year — Samrat Prithviraj, Bachchhan Paandey, Ram Setu and Raksha Bandhan. He also starred in the thriller Cuttputlli, which was released directly on Disney+ Hotstar.

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Bachchhan Paandey actually had a decent Rs 13 crore opening, before tanking due to negative reviews. The period drama Samrat Prithviraj delivered a Rs 10.7 crore opening day, Raksha Bandhan made Rs 8.2 crore and Ram Setu delivered a Rs 15 crore day one haul. His last hit, Rohit Shetty directorial Sooryavanshi, earned over Rs 26 crore on the first day. Akshay attempted a variety of genres, and worked with both reputed directors and relative newcomers on these projects, several of which had big-name producers backing them.

He reflected on the unsuccessful streak at an event last year. He said, “If my films are not working, it is our fault, it is my fault. I have to make the changes, I have to understand what the audience wants. I want to make changes, I want to dismantle my way of working and think what kind of films I should be doing. Nobody else is to be blamed but me.”

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