A lot was expected from Rohit Shetty’s Cirkus. But sadly, the film had an underwhelming opening and due to poor word of mouth, it never had a jump in the weekends. On Monday, it fell more than 50% than on Friday, which sealed its fate.
What went wrong with Rohit Shetty’s Cirkus at the box office? Trade experts claim it was lack of humour, lacklustre music and missing masala content
We asked trade experts what went wrong. Film exhibitor and distributor Akshaye Rathi replied, “The answer lies in the question. The film is what went wrong. There’s a certain expectation that people have from Rohit Shetty. People expect a great emotional graph in terms of moments of laughter, drama etc. That is what the film lacked. Its humour was fairly platonic and storytelling. I didn’t mind watching it but the masala and fun you expect in a Rohit Shetty film wasn’t there in ample doses”
Trade veteran Taran Adarsh said, “There were multiple reasons. Firstly, the trailer is always the first impression. That was not received very well by the viewers. The expectations were humongous as it brought together Rohit Shetty and Ranveer Singh after Simmba (2018) and Sooryavanshi (2021). Secondly, the trailer was launched with a lot of fanfare but the subsequent promotion did not enhance the buzz for the film. Though people liked Deepika Padukone’s song, it did not become a rage. The remaining songs just didn’t work. Both these factors affected the advance. The trade and industry assumed that Cirkus would score through spot bookings and picture dekh ke log taarif karenge. But the biggest nail in the coffin was the first day. It proved to be a complete spoilsport.”
He continued, “Something went wrong this time. People were laughing and smiling on screen but off screen, the audiences watching it were not laughing and smiling. The humour fell flat and it was supposed to be a comedy. In my opinion, the show belonged to Sanjay Mishra and Johny Lever. For me, they are the heroes, not Ranveer Singh.”
Trade analyst Atul Mohan explained, “Earlier, people were in the habit of keeping their brains at home. Aaj kal public bahut dimaag lagane lagi hai. First, they watch the trailer and then decide whether they want to see a particular film. Before, the situation was different. A film, starring an actor and director with a huge following, would always arouse curiosity irrespective of the trailer. Now, it’s no longer the case. The audience has even become price-sensitive. There was a time when tickets used to be priced at Rs. 140 and Rs. 150 in many theatres. There would be at least some audience in the morning shows. Even after the negative word of mouth would spread, viewers used to go and watch the film. A film like Dabangg 3 (2019) had poor response and yet did a business of Rs. 146.11 crores. Tab log sochte the ki ‘kharaab hogi toh bhi kitni kharaab hogi yeh film’. Now, the audience totally just rejects it, that too from day 1. In fact, nowadays, the audience either rejects from the first day or accepts the film from the first show.”
Raj Bansal, the owner of Entertainment Paradise in Jaipur, shared, “Since the time the film was announced, the title and the fact that it reportedly was a remake of Angoor (1982) gave the impression ki kuch toh gadbad hai. Those who have seen the film have complained that though it’s marketed as a comedy film, it doesn’t have much comedy. So somewhere the director went wrong with the script.”
A disappointing year for Pooja Hegde
Cirkus was Pooja Hegde’s fourth release this year. Just like Cirkus, Radhe Shyam and Acharya also flopped. Beast has been declared a success but got a negative response. As a result, the actress is being trolled for giving four bad films, that too with big stars.
Atul Mohan felt such kind of trolling was not justified, “It’s not fair. There are very few heroines in the industry and she’s one of them. All these things don’t matter much”
Akshaye Rathi noted, “Before Wanted (2009), Salman Khan had a string of flops back-to-back. But look what happened to his career after that! Every actor goes through highs and lows. I am sure with the right kind of films and the right kind of choices; she will bounce back all over again. Fingers crossed. We need more bankable talent that can score at the box office and that can really spruce up the value of a film. I truly hope that not just Pooja Hegde but many more actors and actresses manage to achieve in the near future.”
Taran Adarsh said, “When you are on social media, then you have to be prepared for such brickbats. And when you have delivered flops, then this is bound to happen. Agar taarif mili hai, toh gaali bhi milegi.”
Raj Bansal, meanwhile, had no qualms in saying, “I don’t consider Pooja Hegde and Jacqueline Fernandez as actresses. This is her fourth flop. I don’t know why producers are casting her.”
To conclude
Taran Adarsh signed off by stating, “Normally, Cirkus would have been over by the weekend but now, the only advantage is that it has a long period of holidays till January 1. But the excitement among people is minimal. On Christmas day, it managed to collect just Rs. 8 crores. That’s a shocker. You can’t give excuses like cold wave, examinations etc. A film like Drishyam 2 picked up in its sixth week. Avatar: The Way Of Water is doing phenomenal business.”
Atul Mohan suggested that the team of the film, especially Ranveer Singh, should move on, “Did anybody expect Ranveer’s Gully Boy (2019) to do Rs. 140.25 crores? Hence, some films at times unexpectedly do too well while some films unexpectedly even fail. It’s all part and parcel of this business.”
More Pages: Cirkus Box Office Collection , Cirkus Movie Review
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