Salman Khan’s Eid release, Sikandar, also starring Rashmika Mandanna, Sathyaraj, and Kajal Aggarwal, among others, is struggling to draw audiences to cinemas. On its fourth day, the film’s earnings dropped by nearly 50 percent.

According to industry tracker Sacnilk, Sikandar earned Rs 19 crore at the box office on Wednesday. The film had an overall 12.08 per cent Hindi occupancy, with the maximum footfall coming in the night shows. After four days of release, the total nett collection of Sikandar in India stands at Rs 84.25 crore.

Worldwide, the AR Murugadoss directorial has earned Rs 123.75 crore, with Rs 35 crore coming from the overseas market. However, the production house behind the film, Salman Khan Films, claimed that the film has earned Rs 141.5 crore globally.

Sikandar is turning out to be one of Salman’s weakest box office performers. His last theatrical release, Tiger 3, had earned Rs 21.1 crore on its fourth day. Before its release, trade experts had anticipated Sikandar to be one of the biggest box office earners of 2025, but it is unlikely to see significant growth over the weekend.

Released on 30 March, Sikandar hasn’t received a favourable response from the audience either. Adding to its woes, the film was leaked on the internet even before its theatrical release, which hampered its box office performance.

In a recent interview, Salman Khan addressed not receiving a shout-out for his film. He told Bollywood Bubble, “Unko aisa lagta hoga ki zaroorat nahin padti mujhe (Maybe they think that I don’t need their support).” However, he then added, “But, sabko zaroorat padti hai. (Everybody needs support).”

‘Sikandar’ does nothing for the lovers of quintessential Hindi cinema. It fails to even serve the ardent fan base of Salman Khan – people who, over the years, have made him one of the most revered stars of the country. These are the people who have spent their hard-earned money every year, especially during Eid festivities, to clap and whistle for him, celebrating his gigantic screen presence.

The actor has always maintained that his films are meant for a particular segment of movie-goers – those who have forgiven over-the-top cinema as long as it is entertaining. However, with ‘Sikandar’, that threshold appears to have been crossed. The audience’s most basic expectations have been ruined – clean entertainment and a full package of action, drama, romance and emotions that nobody else can deliver the way Salman Khan does.

What has gone wrong this time? Do Khan and people around him not believe in self-assessment? Are we learning nothing from our past mistakes? Are we too arrogant to understand that times have changed, the industry has moved on, and audience expectations have risen? For how long can we pretend to not see that the new bottle you’re using for old wine is already broken?

‘Sikandar’ can be seen as the ultimate showdown between Salman Khan and his audience. The problem emerges when the team of ‘Sikandar’ takes the audience for granted, but the bigger problem arises when Khan starts taking himself for granted. The entire ‘Sikandar’ team let Khan down, and he let himself down too.