Siddharth Anand Opens Up On 'Fighter's Lacklustre Box Office Opening: Our Expectations As Makers Have Become A Little Unrealistic

'Fighter' which was released in theatres on January 25, didn't had a great opening as compared to Siddharth Anand's previous films- 'War' and 'Pathaan'. It is not performing well at the box office. Since Day 5, the collections have seen a significant drop. Going by 'Fighter's collections, we can assume that it will not cross Rs 200 crore club at the domestic market. However, the Siddharth Anand directorial has already breached the Rs 250 milestone at the worldwide box office. In an interview, Siddharth opened up on the lukewarm box office response of 'Fighter'. 

Siddharth Anand, in an interview with Galatta Plus, gave two reasons behind 'Fighter' underperforming at the box office. The 'Pathaan' director feels that it was a big mistake to release the action film on a working day. He also said that his expectations were a little “unrealistic.”

"Our expectations as makers have become a little unrealistic. I am talking about myself also, having delivered 'Pathaan' just one year ago. We need to keep our expectations in check and align them with the product. Also, it was a working day. Thursday is considered mid-week. For instance, we held a special screening for friends and family on Thursday, and whoever we texted and asked, at least 40% of them asked, ‘Is the show in the evening?’ So, that time, it hit us how will people bunk work or bunk school and come in the morning,'' said Siddharth.

He also said that the genre is ''unexplored and absolutely new'' and it has no reference point for the audience. But according to him, it was a huge leap for a filmmaker. 

“There is a huge percentage of our country, I would say, 90 per cent, who have not flown in planes, who have not been to an airport, so how would they know what’s happening in the movie? This is my dissection. They felt this is a little alien. They didn’t understand what kind of exhilaration they are supposed to feel in the air action, so there is a certain initial disconnect. But once you enter the theatre, you realise this is such a basic film,'' he concluded. 

It is to be noted that, Siddharth's 'Pathaan' which was released last year, earned Rs 543.22 crores in the domestic circuit and his previous movie 'War' with Hrithik Roshan collected Rs 319 crores in India. 

'Fighter' starred Deepika Padukone, Hrithik Roshan, Anil Kapoor, Karan Singh Grover and Akshay Oberoi in pivotal roles.