Siddharth Anand reveals how SRK's Pathaan defeated Hrithik starrer Fighter on Box Office

Siddharth Anand’s recent actioner is making a buzz on the internet but surprisingly it is not about the Box-Office drop in the numbers but rather a stark comparison with another film.  Despite critical acclaim from the audience for Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone’s fresh casting as an iconic action pair, the movie plunged with visible low collection even just a week after its release on January 25. Comparatively, Siddharth Anand’s last film Pathaan, which starred King Khan headlining the cast, was a massive blockbuster globally. Now, the director is reflecting upon the possible contributing factors that halted Fighter from following in the footsteps of its forerunner.

Hrithik Roshan’s Fighter vs Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan

High-octane actioner Pathaan weighed down aerial action in Fighter as the former minted nearly 50 percent more collection as compared to the latter. In a candid conversation with Galatta Plus, filmmaker Siddharth Anand revealed that one of the impactful reasons is the movie is released on a weekday, i.e. Thursday rather than a weekend. Even the special screening was scheduled amid the mid-week, creating abuzz in the attendees.

Highlighting another major reason for the plunging numbers is the new-age action genre. Fighter is not just a usual action movie but centers around squadron leaders led by actors Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone. Citing the surprise element for the audience with the aerial action sequences, Anand asserted that a major portion of the audience is unaware of this genre of action and may have expected the usual.

Also read: Fighter song Mitti out; Hrithik Roshan, Deepika Padukone along with Vishal-Sheykhar’s vocals stir up patriotic fervour

“Another thing is the genre. Fighter is a huge leap for a filmmaker. It’s a space that is unexplored and new. It has no reference point for the audience. They are like, ‘What are these planes doing?'”

Anand also drew a stark contrast on the success of his predecessor directorial and emphasized the value of sky-rocketed expectations since Pathaan’s release on the same date in 2023 and advised filmmakers to refrain from such expected results as the success and failure are unprecedented.

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Fighter Box Office collection

Fighter on Day 8 is inching closer to 150 crore but is still far behind than its predecessor which crossed the 330-crore mark on Day 7 of its release.

The movie also features Anil Kapoor and Karan Singh Grover in pivotal roles and is currently running in theatres.

Also read: Fighter on OTT - When and where to watch Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone's actioner online after its theatrical run