How Bollywood's Potential Blockbusters Turned Into Damp Squibs In 2022

The year 2022 has been a rather bleak year for Bollywood with one big-ticket film crashing after another at the box office

Sudhirendar Sharma

Updated on: 10 September 2022 12:57 pm

The year 2022 has proved to be jinxed for Bollywood with many big-ticket and eagerly-awaited movies starring superstars finding no takers at the box office. From Aamir Khan's Laal Singh Chaddha and Ranbir Kapoor's Shashera to Ranveer Singh's Jayeshbhai Jordaar and Vijay Deverakonda's Liger, the list of the films which have failed to set the cash-boxes ringing is quite long this year. Here is a flop list that has sent the alarm bells ringing in Bollywood and beyond.

Bachchan Pandey (March 18)

Sajid Nadiadwala's Bachchan Pandey had big actors like Akshay Kumar, Jacqueline Fernandez, Kriti Sanon, Pankaj Tripathi and Arshad Warsi in lead roles. It was a remake of a 2014 Tamil hit. This action-comedy film started off well but did not get the audience later.

Attack: Part 1 (April 1)

John Abraham, Jacqueline Fernandez and Rakul Preet Singh's film Attack Part 1 is an action-packed science fiction film. Jayantilal Gadha, Ajay Kapoor and John Abraham produced the film, which had a slow start at the box office. Film critics and audiences rejected the film.

Jayeshbhai Jordaar (May 13)

Ranveer Singh played the lead role in Yash Raj Films' Jayeshbhai Jordaar. Looking at the performance of Ranveer Singh's previous films, everyone had high hopes for this film but it film could not woo the critics and the audience. The film flopped miserably at the box office.

Jersey (April 22)

After the success of Kabir Singh, everyone had great expectations from Shahid Kapoor's Jersey. The story of this remake of a 2019 Telugu film of the same name was based on the life of a cricketer. But the presence of Shahid Kapoor, Mrunal Thakur, and Pankaj Kapoor could not save the film from being a flop.

Heropanti 2 (April 29)

Produced by Sajid Nadiadwala and directed by Ahmed Khan, the sequel to the 2014 film Heropanti starred Tiger Shroff, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Tara Sutaria in the lead roles. The action film had music by AR Rahman too, but it failed to woo the critics and audiences.

Runway 34 (April 29)

Starring big stars such as Amitabh Bachchan and Ajay Devgn Runway 34 was inspired by a true incident but film critics found it far from reality. The film had a bad opening and could not recover.

Dhaakad (May 20)

Kangana Ranaut appeared in her action avatar in Dhaakad. Critics and audiences had high hopes after the trailer of the film was released, but their hopes were dashed. The film turned out to be a box office disaster.

Anek (May 27)

An important film made on North-East. Ayushmann Khurrana and director Anubhav Sinha tried to create cinematic magic again after Article 15 but the film failed to strike a chord with the audience. There was also a controversy over the narrative of the film. The film performed poorly at the box office.

Samrat Prithviraj (June 3)

Akshay Kumar played the title role of Samrat Prithviraj in the film produced by Yash Raj Films but the audience rejected it. Critics rapped Akshay Kumar for his performance. The film was a big failure at the box office.

Shabaash Mithu (July 15)

Taapsee Pannu played the role of Mithali Raj in Shabaash Mithu, based on the life of Indian female cricketer Mithali Raj. In recent times, Taapsee Pannu has played the lead role in several biopics on female sportspersons. But her role in this movie was not liked by audiences and critics.

Shamshera (July 22)

Four years after Sanju, Ranveer Kapoor made a comeback with Shamshera. The presence of actors like Sanjay Dutt and Vaani Kapoor in this Yash Raj Films film had raised expectations but the audience and critics did not like it. Ranveer Kapoor's performance also drew sharp criticism. The film fell flat at the box office.

Rakshabandhan (August 11)

Aanand L Rai's film, which was released on the occasion of Rakshabandhan, was widely promoted but the film could not do wonders at the box office. Akshay Kumar's film received a mixed response after its trailer was released but the audience did not reach the theaters in large numbers to watch the film.

Laal Singh Chaddha (August 11)

Aamir Khan's much-awaited film is based on the American film Forrest Gump starring Tom Hanks. The film faced boycott calls on social media. Despite all the efforts by Aamir to make it a hit, it found no takers at the box office.

Dobaaraa (August 19)

A science fiction film by Anurag Kashyap starring Taapsee Pannu is in the lead role. It got good reviews from critics but could not get the footfall. The complex story left the audience confused. Many of its shows got canceled due to a dearth of audience.

Liger (August 25)

Southern superstar Vijay Deverakonda failed to attract the North Indian audience despite all the hype preceding its release. Boxer Mike Tyson played a role but it failed to generate interest among the audience.